Heat filled my cheeks.I cleared my throat and continued to unpack the cooler bag.
“Oh, they arrived,” Naomi said, pivoting to glance to the left and sort of behind the truck.
I leaned over her legs to see what she was talking about.“Saunas?”
“Yeah.They were on clearance through some company that was going out of business.So we snapped them up.Raina found them online—she’s really good at finding deals like this—so we all discussed it and decided that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to just buy them now and store them here until we needed them.The McEvoys took two for their cabins, since their property has a few rental cabins on it as well.But then we kept six for here for the cabins we’re going to build.”
“They’re really cute.Like little round barrels.”I sat back against the rear of the bed and pulled out two plastic plates and some napkins.
“They fit up to four people.Not my jam, to be honest.I don’t like being too hot.I’d rather be cold and able to put on more layers than hot.Also, getting locked in a sauna is seriously one of my biggest secret fears.”
I gave her some curious side-eye.“Has that ever happened before?”
She shook her head.“No.Because I’ve never been in a sauna.And I have no plans of going into any of these.But they were so stinking cheap, and they’ll be a great addition to the property and rentals.”
“Are they wood or infrared?”
“Infrared.Wood would be too costly to keep going, with constantly having to have cords delivered.It would also make the place so smoky, and we couldn’t offer saunas year-round.So we went with the infrared and solar panels to help offset the electricity costs.”
“Seems like you guys have everything sorted out.”
“Danica and Bennett are the money crunchers of the team, and they’re doing a great job keeping us all on budget and finding ways to make things more economical.”
I placed the container of red grapes down between us and let out a sigh.“And there we have it.Dinner.”
Turning to face me, she reached for my chin and brought her lips to mine for just a brush of a kiss.“It’s perfect.”
It was like a sexual beast had been awakened within me now that I found a woman I was actually interested in.Even that gentle little peck had my cock getting stiff and this undeniable urge to tackle her in the back of this truck, shoving all thoughts of going slow straight into the ocean.
“You okay?”she asked, as she pulled away and released my chin.“You’ve got a weird look in your eyes.”
I swallowed and shook my head, tossing on a fake-ishsmile.“Yeah.You just look really hot tonight.”
Her cheeks pinked up in a super sexy way, and she tucked a strand of her brunette hair behind her ear before glancing away shyly.
I grabbed a cracker, a piece of cheese, and a slice of prosciutto.“So, tell me about all your grandiose plans for his place,” I said before popping the food into my mouth.
She reached for a few grapes.“Well … that’s Bonn’s old house there.It still has good bones, so we figured we’d keep as much of it as we could intact.But we want to turn it into a bridal suite.Where the bridal party gets ready and the happy couple can stay on the wedding night.”
“So the plan is to make this place into an events ground?”
“Kind of.We want to put staff housing over there, in the woods close to Tom’s land.Cabins all along the property line here, to maximize sun exposure so we can install solar panels on the roofs.A big pavilion with indoor and outdoor space for large group entertainment, and a proper catering kitchen.The McEvoys want a space to grow hops and herbs for their brewery and restaurant, and we wouldn’t mind expanding our grape varieties.We’d put all of that down there where it gets the most amount of all-day sun exposure.”She was pointing in various directions and painting such a vivid picture that by the time she was done, I could almost see it ribbon-cutting-ceremony-ready.
“What’s your timeline?”
Her nose wrinkled in a cute way as she reached for a strawberry.“Ideally, we’d be booked with events and guests and cutting the ribbon this time next year, but a lot of that comes down to permits, availability of supplies, and funds.The McEvoys—like us—are a family-run business, and the world just keeps getting more expensive.”
“It sure does,” I grumbled.
“And while we’ve had the addition of two very deep pockets to our family, and they’ve had the addition of one deep pocket, none of us are willing to accept money from them.”
“You mean Tom and Maverick and their pro-sports money?”
She nodded and sipped her wine.“Yeah.They want to invest, but we’re not ready for that.And they respect our decision.They haven’t been part of the family long, and while we value their input, nobody is under any illusions that this isn’t a fifty-fifty partnership between the five McEvoys and the four of us.”
“Who has deep pockets on their side?Jagger said he only played college football.”
She slid a sideways glance my way.“Brooke?”
