I tried not to get too hyped up, but I could feel the excitement I always got when thinking about this. I’d researched it to death and had pages and pages of ideas and notes, but the design I’d finally settled on also felt right down to my very bones. It was one of the reasons I was trying so hard to make my dream a reality. If my family would just give me more time to get the money, I knew I could create the kind of place that would pay back the investment in spades.
James flipped through my sketches and printouts. I tried to gauge his reaction from his facial expressions, but the man was impossible to read. I couldn’t tell if the furrow between his eyebrows was concentration or consternation. Or if he held his lips so tightly pressed because he was trying to bite back criticism or because he could think of nothing good to say.
Finally he glanced up at me, his eyes intense but alight with interest. “This is amazing, Sawyer,” he said. It was the second time he’d said my name aloud that morning, and there was something about it that felt intimate. As if it somehow made the statement more real—more personal. His praise wasn’t generic, it was intentional, and it was meant specifically for me.
It was like my chest suddenly filled with helium, making me feel light enough to float away. “Thanks,” I murmured, suddenly feeling a little off-balance and hoping the heat in my cheeks wasn’t obvious.
His grin turned lopsided as he looked back down at the schematic drawing, moving closer so he could take in the detail. “This is really cool,” he said, pointing to a series of small rectangles off to the side of the main lodge. “What’s this part here?”
“Oh, that’s nothing. I just thought…” I stopped and chuckled. “It’s silly.”
His eyes met mine again. “Tell me.”
The way he said it tightened my gut. The subtle commanding tone he used, the undercurrent of power to the way he spoke—it was obvious this was a man who was used to dominating boardrooms, demanding attention and respect.
At the same time, there was something about James that was inherently calm and reassuring. I took a steady breath. “I thought we could have a small cluster of vintage caravans set back from the edge of the bluff but sort of positioned in a semicircle. Then, on the bluff itself have a campfire ring and gathering place. If we started with the caravan cluster, we could use them to keep some money coming in and stave off having to turn any of our regulars away while the major construction is underway.”
The edge of his mouth turned up. “That’s a really smart idea. I’ll bet people would love it.”
I lifted a shoulder, though inside I preened at his praise. “Yeah, and I thought after the motel itself reopens, those could be big upgraded experiences. They’re a bit like glamping, and I really think we could charge top dollar for them. Don’t you?”
I almost wished for the words back. I didn’t want him to laugh at me or give me a patronizing look reminding me none of my dreams were actually going to happen. But he didn’t do that.
Instead he nodded, leaning a little closer as he took in the designs. “Definitely. My friend Oscar would go nuts over a funky caravan cluster like this. He’d book the whole lot for himself and his friends. I’ll bet some large extended families would want to do the same.”
That was exactly what I’d been thinking, but it was nice to have confirmation that the ideas I’d been dreaming up for so long were on the right track. It was even nicer to finally have those ideas out in the open without being summarily shot down.
“Show me more,” he said. “What do you envision for the lobby and pool area?”
I was grateful he didn’t bring up the current state of the pool which was… aggressively out of order.
After rifling through the stack of papers, I found the sketch of the new pool design. “This is what I have in mind for the pool area.” I explained all of the features and why regulations and insurance wouldn’t let me do the waterslide idea I had. “And then this is the porte cochere,” I pointed out. “Since people like to park by their rooms, they always pull up to the front first before getting their room assignments. This way they’d be out of the sun or rain. It’s not really important since we don’t have terrible heat or much rain during the summer season, but I like the look of it and—”
Before I could finish the thought, James grabbed my chin and kissed me firmly just to the side of my lips. The gesture surprised me so much, I stared at him.
“Don’t ever change.” His voice was rough and different. The look in his eyes was intense. It was only there for a split second before he dropped his hand and refocused on the papers as if it had never happened. “What’s this page?”
“Um…” I glanced between him and the paper before my brain finally came back online. “That’s… that’s just a bunch of doodles for the new logo. I kind of thought it would be cool to cut the shape into wooden key chains for the room keys or something. I don’t know.” I was suddenly having difficulty finding the words for what I was trying to say. Instead my entire brain was focused firmly on the fading feeling of his lips so close to mine. And on trying to figure out what exactly he’d meant by “don’t ever change.” As if his very presence in the inn wasn’t proof that change was inevitable. That the status quo was no longer sustainable no matter what happened to the Sea Sprite.
He studied it for a minute before reaching past me for a pencil. “It kind of looks like this power symbol from a game I played once…” He muttered under his breath while sketching out some different versions of the Sea Sprite logo. I hadn’t gotten it quite right, but I could tell he somehow knew the direction I’d been trying to go with it. “But I think you want it less sci-fi and a bit more… hmm…”
Finally, he turned the paper toward me. “Like that?”
It was a unique combination of a jellyfish and starfish without looking like something Han Solo would have stuck to the bottom of his shoe after visiting the men’s room at the Mos Eisley Cantina.
My eyes widened. “That’s it exactly.” I stared at the sketch as my mind went into overdrive. I could picture the new logo on letterhead, signage, and carved into a custom wooden sign behind the new reception desk. My chest tightened with excitement. “Thank you.”
I looked up at him, and for a moment we just stared at each other. The intensity of the shared experience, of having fed off each other’s energy as we worked toward a common goal, still lingering between us. A smile touched his lips, and I thought I saw the traces of a blush along his cheekbones. “No problem,” he murmured, busying himself with refilling his coffee.
With his back turned, I scanned down his body, allowing myself to remember the shape and feel of him from the night before. But I knew nothing good would come of letting my thoughts linger on that path, and so I sifted through the stack of papers until I found the plan for the lobby. I immersed myself in the work, erasing and sketching, fixing and tinkering, until I heard the bell over the door chime. I looked up and blinked, struggling to bring the empty lobby into focus after staring at the design schematics for so long. James sat on the stool next to me behind the counter.
I frowned, glancing toward the door. “That’s weird. I thought I heard the bell ding.”