He took a pull of his beer. “I’m not sure I followed it all, to tell you the truth. I’d thought that James fellow had been negotiating on behalf of some big NYC developer who wanted to tear the place down and replace it with a fancy high-end resort. But the new lawyer said he was representing someone else—a small investment firm of sorts. One of the principals was there to sign the papers in person, and he made it sound like they wouldn’t be tearing the place down after all.”
The breath caught in my throat. “Not tearing it down?”
Uncle Brian lifted a shoulder. “That’s what he said.”
I watched the sun sink lower, letting the light warm my face as a small glimmer of hope warmed my heart. The Sea Sprite might not belong to the Gilleys anymore, but at least she’d still exist.
“He’s here if you want to ask him yourself,” he added.
I frowned. “Uncle Greg?”
“Well, he’s here too. But the new owner. I saw him when I came in. Guess he wanted to check out his new property or something. His name was something strange and river related… Stone? River?” He snapped his fingers. “Wells, that’s what it was.”
I turned and stared at him, thinking back to the couple that had checked in earlier today. The older one had been named Wells, and he’d had to leave to run an errand. Had he been going to sign the paperwork to buy the Sea Sprite? “Wells? Tall guy? Sharp features? Looks kinda like a corporate tool?”
Uncle Brian laughed and nodded. “Sounds about right.”
What the hell? I leaped to my feet. “Be right back,” I told him, not even waiting for a response before stalking across the lawn toward the party, searching the crowd for our latest guest.
I found him off to the side, standing with his arm wrapped around his husband’s waist as they watched the setting sun. Conor leaned his head against Wells’s shoulder, and it was such a casual image of love and companionship that it brought back memories of my grandmother and grandfather standing together as they too watched the sunset.
Conor straightened when he saw me, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Sawyer, hey. The decorations turned out great, don’t you think?”
I gave him a tight smile and a distracted “Yeah, thanks for your help,” before focusing on Wells. “Are you the new owner of the Sea Sprite?” My tone came out more confrontational than I intended, but I didn’t apologize for it.
He sighed and glanced at his husband before answering. “Sort of. Both of us are partial owners in the company that’s investing in the Sea Sprite.”
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier, when you checked in?”
He shifted on his feet, clearly uncomfortable. “We weren’t quite sure yet whether the deal would go forward or not. We wanted to check out the place first. Get a read on things before making the final decision.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “I don’t understand. I thought Dunning Capital was buying the place.”
“He was, but we made him an offer at the last minute to let us take over the deal.”
“Why?”
Wells looked again at Conor. It was obvious this was a conversation he didn’t want to be having. “We, uh, have a special interest in this property.”
“I don’t understand. Why?” I pressed again.
Wells blew out a frustrated breath. “We felt like a community like McBride wouldn’t be well served with the kind of resort Dunning was planning to build, and we wanted to take things in a different direction. We were told about your vision for renovating the Sea Sprite instead, and when we took a closer look, it seemed like a sound investment. We gathered a few friends together to pool our money so we could buy the contract from Dunning. Technically the deal is structured in such a way that your three uncles were bought out and your share of the purchase price will be used to fund future renovations.”
I frowned. None of this made sense. “But—” I wasn’t even sure what question to ask.
Conor rolled his eyes and leaned toward Wells. “Just tell him,” he said softly. Wells cut him a stern look, clearly telling to be quiet.
“Tell me what?” I asked.
A silent war played out between the two before Conor rolled his eyes. “This was all James’s doing.”
My heart leaped at the name. “James? As in James Allen, the lawyer?”
Conor nodded. “He’s one of my best friends. He was the one to put this all together. The Sea Sprite belongs to you now, and you have all the funding you need to bring your vision to life.”
I staggered back a step, my head spinning. “I don’t—what?”
Conor smiled. “He did it for you, Sawyer.”
I blinked, trying to force the words to make sense. The Sea Sprite still belonged to me? And my uncles still got paid? And I now had the money I needed to fund the renovations I wanted?
And it was all because of James?
Conor stepped forward, a concerned look on his face. “You okay? You look a little wobbly on your feet.”
I nodded, though he was right—it felt like the world had suddenly tilted around me. I stared out at the sinking sun, needing something to focus on, something to ground me in place. It was almost completely gone, just that small sliver of orange on the horizon shrinking smaller and smaller. I held my breath, searching for the green flash, willing it to happen, believing in the promises my grandmother had made me as a kid about luck and wishes coming true.
“Why?” I asked, my voice barely more than a breath. I licked my lips, my throat suddenly dry. “Why would James do all of that?”
I could hear the smile in Conor’s voice when he said, “Because he loves you, obviously.”
I didn’t wait for the flash. Instead I turned and ran.
25
James
My shoulders ached. So did my back. And my legs. As well as my arms. Maybe I was too old for this shit, but I didn’t let that stop me as I slid the pry bar under another slab of marble on the brownstone entry floor and forced it free. I welcomed the physical pain, hoping that it might override the emotional pain burning through me.
So far it hadn’t worked. But I was still hopeful that if I just pushed myself hard enough, worked myself long enough, I could fall into bed at night and find sleep instead of memories of Sawyer.
I closed my eyes at the thought of him. I’d heard from my friend Conor earlier that afternoon that the deal had been finalized and everything had gone smoothly. He’d gushed about how quaint the Sea Sprite was and what an amazing view it had on all sides.
Yes, I’d wanted to scream at him, but what about Sawyer? Instead I’d said, “Did you happen to meet Sawyer?” trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
Of course Conor had seen right through me. “Why do you think we decided to go ahead with the deal? We didn’t fly all the way up here to check out the property, we came up here to see if the man was worthy of you.”
“I told you, that’s not what this is about,” I’d said. “I’m not trying to win him back. This isn’t some grand gesture, it’s just the right thing to do.”
“You say that and yet—”