“With comparables and sensitivity analysis.” There’s no bragging or arrogance in his tone. He’s stating facts. “If we can get provincial tourism grants—which I also looked into a bit, and this proposal conveniently checks all their boxes—we could cover around thirty-five percent of the cost.”
I arch an eyebrow. “We?”
“Well, the town. You know what I mean,” he answers sheepishly, his ears turning bright pink. Ugh, I hate it when he’s cute. He clears his throat and continues. “Local business investment could take care of another twenty percent, leaving a little over six hundred thousand for the town to finance. And I think private investors could cover a lot of that, too. But I didn’t want to include those numbers since that’s not a sure thing.”
“This is incredibly detailed.” I skim over the numbers and formulas he seems to be so comfortable with, knowing I could never achieve this on my own.
“It’s what I do. Did.Do.” Pulling in a ragged breath, his eyes lower to the table, brows tight with an emotion I don’t understand.
I lower my face, attempting to meet his eyes. “It’s impressive, Darcy.” At the softened tone of my voice, he looks up. “My dad is gonna shit himself when he sees this.” I smile, hoping to loosen some of his tension, and he chuckles, muscles visibly loosening. I shush the little voice inside my head that’s currently celebrating the fact I made him laugh.
“Well, I sincerely hope he doesn’t. I was thinking we should probably have some visuals for the community presentation, though. Not just blueprints, but artist renderings of what everything could look like.” He recovers quickly, moving along with the conversation, back to his usual easy-going self.
I snap my fingers. “Oh, my friend Peyton does 3D modeling for architectural projects. She’s great. I can reach out and?—”
“We could have different views, like from Main Street, the boardwalk?—”
“From where people will actually be standing, yes.”
“And maybe a before and after comparison?—”
“So they can see what’s there now and the potential of what could be.”
We’re both leaning in when we stop abruptly, the realization we’ve been finishing one another’s sentences settling heavily in the air between us.
“I had coffee with your dad.” Darcy breaks the silence, forcing my head to snap back.
“What?”
“Yeah, he invited me. Wanted to talk about the town, the Business Bureau. He didn’t mention the marina specifically, but he did ask a lot of questions about my background, my plans for staying in Balsam Bay, and whether I’ll be investing in the town.”He sips his coffee casually, obviously not as affected by this as I am, if the way my insides twist is any indication.
“What did you tell him?”
“The truth,” he says simply. “That I’m here, at least, for the summer, I’m enjoying the slower pace of life. I’m interested in seeing the town grow sustainably. I might not live here full-time, but I chose to have my cottage here because something about this place felt… right, you know?”
“And? What did he have to say to all that?” I’m on the literal edge of my seat here.
“He seemed… receptive, I think. But also like he was feeling me out for something. I don’t know.” Sounds like my dad. Always trying to get information.
“Did you talk about anything else?”
“You, actually.” He smiles proudly.
“Me?” I practically shriek, making him chuckle.
“Yeah, he told me about how you took over the company, made a ton of changes. He didn’t seem… thrilled, if I’m honest.” His face hardens into an almost scowl.
I scoff, attempting to dismiss his concern. “Understatement of the decade. He thinks I ruined his legacy. Hates that I hire women and people who are new to the country.”
Darcy takes a breath. “For what it’s worth, everyone I’ve spoken with has praised Cameron Construction. From your reliability to the quality of your work, your reputation is rock solid.” He eyes me carefully, and I nod in response. “I also told your dad that when he was complaining about the changes.”
My face falls. “You didn’t.”
“I did. I said the town seems to think highly of the company under your leadership. That hiring skilled workers, regardless of their gender or background, sounds like smart business to me, given how positively it’s impacting the entire community.” He shrugs while my mouth opens and closes as I attempt to askwhat came next, but no actual words come out. “He changed the subject quickly after that.” Darcy’s smirk is unmistakable. “I don’t think he’s used to being challenged.”
A humorless laugh spills out of me. “No. No, he is not.” I pause, trying to digest what’s just happened. “You didn’t have to do that, you know?”
”Yes, I did.” He doesn’t let the heavy silence linger for long. “Anyway, the next bureau meeting is in three weeks, right?”
