Page 44 of Meet Me at the Grand

If this had been any other situation, she’d be tempted to say “it’s a date” in reply. But tonight was about so much more than a date. She just had to get through his tour, and they’d be able to return to Jonathon Island—where she could give him a tour of her own.

Dani smiled at the thought. “Five forty-five works. See you then.”

* * *

Normally after a client meeting, Liam was exhausted. He’d head “home” to whatever hotel room he was living in, order room service, and turn on baseball or basketball or whatever sport was on and drown out the loneliness with a cheeseburger and a Coke.

But despite the rather poor reception he’d been given by Douglas Kutcher—and all the ways he’d been forced to grovel and soothe away the guy’s worries about the project’s timeline—Liam found himself energized tonight.

And it all was because of Dani.

“And this”—he swept his hand in a grand motion around the hotel’s enclosed courtyard—“concludes the tour.”

She snuggled deeper into her white jacket, which she wore over a casual dress and leggings, her hair down and curled. Though she hadn’t been half as dressed up as others eating dinner in the hotel’s steakhouse, Liam never would have noticed if she hadn’t pointed it out.

Because to him, she was perfect.

Not that it mattered. Though he hadn’t meant to, he’d broken trust with her. Trust he desperately wanted to rebuild—for their partnership’s sake. Maybe their friendship’s too.

He was in no position to give her more than that anyway.

Dani’s eyes swept the courtyard, which was strung with thousands of lights. They hung and burned brighter than the stars above, which twinkled just enough to show themselves. No, it wasn’t the view that Jonathon Island afforded, but for a big-city sky, the inky jewel-studded backdrop was still a beautiful one.

“It really is pretty.” Dani and Liam walked along the stone pathway that cut through the courtyard and veered off in various directions—one toward an open firepit lined with padded couches and chairs, one toward a bank of rooms, another toward a stone fountain that stood in the very center.

“That’s all you have to say?” he teased.

All evening, from the time he’d picked her up at her room and taken her to dinner until now, she’d been fairly quiet, taking it all in. He’d tried to rein in his enthusiasm as he’d shown her the spa, the ballrooms, the penthouse suite—which was undergoing renovation but was almost complete—and all of the other amenities that had the Stone stamp all over it. Before they’d started the renovations, this hotel had been nice but nothing special. But now? Rooms sold quickly and at a premium. He was proud of that fact, if only because the Stone name meant something.

“What do you want me to say?” She smiled, but there was something a bit adrift in it as she lowered herself onto the edge of the fountain and leaned over to dip her fingertips in. A shiver coursed through her body, and she quickly flicked the excess water away and stuffed her hand back into her jacket pocket. “Yes, it’s lovely, and I can see why so many people love it here.”

He sat down beside her. The cold stone pressed through his slacks, and he had to hold in a shiver himself. “But you don’t?”

“It’s not that. My room is really comfortable and relaxing. I love the huge bathroom and tub. The down comforter is really something. But the whole place is so…big. So much.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know. Like, the television, I guess.” She moved her hand through the air. “The rooms at the Grand never even had televisions, and the ones here take up half the wall space.”

“Well, I did advise against such large screens, but Douglas insisted on going bigger than his competitors. Still, people come here to relax, to indulge, to treat themselves to things they never would at home.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “And that can be accomplished with introspection. The chance to escape from reality. How can they do that with so much to distract them? The Grand always had a lot of spaces for that introspection. The gazebo, the community porch, the walking path around the golf course, benches along the grassy bluff. Space to just sit and breathe in the relaxation.” And then she smiled for real, at the memories, he presumed. “That’swhat a vacation should be.”

He didn’t disagree, not completely, but was she seriously suggesting they provide hotel rooms without the latest, and most basic, amenities? “Times have changed. Some people would go crazy without technology to distract them.”

She pursed her lips and looked at him sidelong. “Somepeople?”

He heard what she didn’t say—or you? Standing again, he offered her a hand up. “I’m just saying we need to allow for differences. If you want to attract a broader clientele back to the island, you need to think bigger than how things used to be.”

She considered him a moment before taking his hand and joining him in standing. Electric currents pulsed through his fingertips for the few seconds before she dropped from his hold. “We’ll have to agree to disagree on that. Or maybe I’ll just have to convince you.”

“You’ll have your chance, but right now, it’s my turn—and I’ve got one more place to show you.” And if they didn’t hurry, it would be closed.

Dani gestured down the path toward the hotel entrance. “Lead on.”

With a wink, he took her through the doors and down a hallway toward his favorite place in the entire hotel.

Dani’s eyes widened when he held the door open to her. “An ice cream parlor?”

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