Page 24 of The Mistakes I've Made
“It’s not—no. Would you just let me do my thing?” I asked, resisting the urge to stomp my foot.
This man frustrated me like no other.
He also set my loins on fire.
I wasn’t even sure I had been aware I had loins up until I walked into that office yesterday afternoon to check out the businesses surrounding the hotel. But, now that I was aware of their presence in my world, they were raging—wild and hot and uncontrolled for the man standing in front of me.
And I had no idea where the off switch was.
“By all means,” he said, raising his eyebrow as his eyes met mine, “go do your thing.”
My stomach flip-flopped again, and before I did anything stupid, like step forward and try to catch one of those lucky droplets of water slowly cascading down his sculpted chest, I forced myself to turn back toward the door.
And away from Taylor Sutherland.
I thought he’d walk away, that our conversation had come to an end, but as I began to fiddle with the door again, I heard his distinct voice sound off behind me once more.
“These columns are still nice and stable,” he said. “Structurally, I mean. They could use some patching and fresh paint, but I doubt they need anything more.”
His words seemed genuine, and the sincere tone was almost jarring compared to the sarcastic, brooding man I’d met just a day earlier.
“Actually, I’m thinking of having them completely removed, along with much of the original structure.”
I could feel the air change the moment the last word left my lips. Like Thor gathering energy from the sky to power his hammer, that was how it felt, waiting for a reply from Taylor. If I could take it back, I would. I’d told him myself, just last night, that these things needed to go through the proper channels, and here I was, dropping bombs like they were nothing, onto ordinary townsfolk.
I let out a breath.
Don’t lie to yourself. There is nothing ordinary about Taylor.
Turning around, I prepared myself for the onslaught of his wrath, the anger, and the speech that was sure to follow.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I found.
“You really are going to destroy this town, aren’t you?” he said, his words soft and defeated.
“What?”
“This building,” he began. “I know it doesn’t look like much with its run-down interior and outdated architecture, but it’s a part of us, and you’d know that if you spent even a moment getting to know the people who lived here. Like Terri, who lives next door to the town doctor. She spent her wedding night here. And, every year after, she and her husband come to this shabby hotel to celebrate.”
“There will still be a place for them to do that,” I urged, feeling uncomfortable by the raw look of desperation written across his face.
“But it won’t be ours anymore. Don’t you see?”
“It’s never been yours,” I argued, my arms firmly crossing over my chest as I looked up at the worn and weathered column. “It’s a hotel. It’s for the visitors.”
He shook his head, his eyes briefly closing as he turned away. “Spoken like a woman who grew up in a hotel.”
My chin jutted out as I swallowed down a whole lifetime of pain. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
“It means, heiress,” he said, “that you wouldn’t know the first thing about the meaning of home, seeing as you’ve never had one.”
Now, it was my turn to look away, mostly because he was right.
A hotel was no place to call a home.
But inside that big skyscraper, up at the very top floor, I’d had one for a brief time. But, now, all I had was one negligent father, a crappy hotel, and an extremely hot townie standing in my way.
“Who owns this hotel, Mr. Sutherland?” I asked, standing a bit straighter.
