Page 7 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
She tried not to look too greedy as the icy concoction came into her possession. “What flavor have we got this week, Adrian?”
“Prickly pear.”
“And it is divine,” Erin said, giving Lily a wink.
It was. Lily savored the sweet-tart mix of fruit and liquor on her tongue while Erin placed her order, then requested her usual taco salad with the big, crunchy shell of a bowl. Queso appeared along with chips and salsa, and finally Lily could sit back and take a deep breath.
“So you’re late,” Erin said, mouth full of chips.
“And you’ll never guess why.”
“Because you had a mysterious meeting with a tall, sexy hunk with no name?”
Lily plunked her drink down hard on the table, mouth open in shock, not because Erin already knew about her meeting—Claire would’ve blabbed that the second Lily and JD left the coffee shop. No, it was the missing information that surprised her. “Claire didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
Lily unwrapped a house-made tortilla from the basket Adrian had dropped off. Tearing a piece from the warm circle, she dipped it into the gooey cheese. “His name.”
“She knew his name and didn’t tell me?”
Lily wiggled her brows, savoring the tortilla and keeping her friend in suspense.
Erin was practically bouncing on her seat. “So spill. What’s his name?”
She waited a few more seconds, just because she could. When Erin looked like she was about to crawl across the table and shake the truth out of her, she finally conceded.
“John David Lane.”
Erin choked on the bite she’d just taken. “Lane? As intheLanes?”
Lily had a feeling she was going to get tired of that question eventually, especially since she would be introducing JD around town. “TheLanes. Virginia Lane’s heir.”
“Wow.” Erin considered that as she sipped her drink. “I never expected that.”
“Neither did I.”
“So what did he want with you?”
“To talk about smoothing his way with the planning commission.” As they tucked into their food, she explained the gist of her meeting with JD and her proposal. Erin seemed to turn the idea over in her head as she demolished a plate of nachos.
“Do you really think we have the kind of talent a five-star resort would deign to use?” she asked finally.
“Of course! How many of us moved away to the big city”—she brought her fingers up to make air quotes—“only to return because we missed home? Not because we couldn’t make it somewhere else. So many of the business owners here learned to run those businesses in the very cities he plans to scour for the staff he needs.”
“True,” Erin mused. “So who do you think you’ll start with?”
“You.”
Erin stopped with a chip full of queso halfway to her mouth. “What?”
Lily smirked. “I’m starting with you.”
Erin squeezed her eyes shut as if she didn’t quite understand what she was hearing. Lily wouldn’t have been surprised if her friend stuck her fingers in her ears and shook them, then asked Lily to repeat herself. Instead Erin shook her head. “Why me?”
“What do you mean, why you?” Lily narrowed her eyes on Erin. “That man is going to be doing a huge amount of building, and if he wants the best deals and the most reliable crews, he needs a local general contractor.”
Erin pressed back in her seat. “That’s not— I’m not—”
