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Sophie turned toward Zach, who still had his back to her. Those broad shoulders stretched his thin gray T-shirt to the max. Well-worn jeans hugged his backside, and work boots that had definitely seen better days spoke volumes about how hard the man worked. She watched as he flipped open the binder and flipped through page after page.
Everything in her life had been safe until she’d fallen for Zach Monroe. Then she’d been a foolish teen. Now she was a grown woman with more common sense.
So why did her stomach always flutter when this intriguing, infuriating man was around? She wanted it—no, needed it to flutter around Martin. She kept waiting for that moment to happen.
“My plans got canceled.” She shoved her phone back into her purse without responding to the message. “Do you want help going through Chelsea’s things? I don’t mind, but I understand if you want to be alone.”
Throwing her a glance over his shoulder, he shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”
Dismissed. Why would she be delusional enough to think he’d accept help from anybody, especially her? Did she seriously believe just because they’d shared a two-minute conversation about their past that he would be ready to play nice? Way too much angst lay between them for the gap to be bridged in such a short time.
She was about to retrieve her items from the bedroom and leave, but Zach’s low, whispered, “You’ve got to be shitting me” had her moving to stand beside him.
What she saw in the binders had her just as stunned.
Chapter Three
Damn it. He’d hoped Sophie was leaving. The spellbinding floral scent mocked him as she moved closer. So close, her bare arm brushed his and it took all of Zach’s control not to step away. He couldn’t let her know how she still got to him, and he damn well couldn’t react to that slightest of touches.
After all this time, after every ugly thing in his life and having every reason shoved in his face as to why he shouldn’t want this woman, he still did.
Yet in the midst of his Sophie-induced haze, the pictures and the words in Chelsea’s handwriting stared back at him from the pages of the binder. Each plastic sleeve held details of exactly what Chelsea’s vision was for the Sunset Lake property.
“A spa?” Sophie asked.
“Not just a spa.” He flipped back to the first page, where Chelsea had written BELLE VOUS in bold letters. “A getaway resort for women. What the hell does that even say?”
Sophie laughed. “It’s French for ‘beautiful you.’”
“Of course she wouldn’t just want to call it something in English,” he muttered.
His sister had had a flare for all things over-the-top. Her dream had been to travel to Paris, but in all her escapades, she’d never made it there.
“So she wanted to open a resort.” Sophie reached over, tugging the other binder from below his. “She laid out so many plans in these.”
Everything from the rich hardwood flooring to the drapery tied back in the entryway of each servi
ce room, instead of doors. She’d even made notes about having little café chairs and tables along the patio that would overlook the lake, where the ladies could enjoy meals or just relax.
Zach glanced over at Sophie and the pages she searched. “She never mentioned this to you?” he asked.
Shaking her head, Sophie turned and met his gaze. “Not a word. I’m seriously just as shocked as you. Maybe she was afraid we’d laugh or talk her out of it.”
Zach didn’t miss the hint of hurt in Sophie’s tone. More than likely she was upset that Chelsea had kept a secret. In reality, though, didn’t they all have secrets? Some not as glamorous as others.
“I have no idea what to do with this now,” he muttered as he closed his binder. He’d seen enough.
“I can’t see you and your brothers getting into the resort and spa business.” Sophie laughed. “Perhaps selling the property would be for the best.”
Maybe in a logical way of thinking, selling the house would be best. Zach had never thought logically, though, and he didn’t intend to start now.
“I’m still not selling.” More than ready to get to the reason he came, Zach headed toward the bedroom.
He should’ve known Sophie would follow. Great.
“Have you even thought about it?” she asked, right on his heels. “Have you wondered what Chelsea would want you guys to do? You know the town would fix it up, make it beautiful and draw people in.”
He didn’t give a shit what the town wanted or what their vision was. He cared about Chelsea, and now that he knew her dream, he couldn’t just laugh it off. Deep inside he knew that’s why she’d kept these notes hidden. Fear of rejection. Rejection was something all four Monroe kids had in common. They’d experienced enough of it before they were rescued by Ed and Nancy Monroe.
