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“Yes,” Alex says, grinning. “So how about that tour of the Bat Cave?”
“How about we start with the manor?” I say with a laugh.
After Zoey and I give Alex and Delaney a tour of the house, we head outside to sit down. I get the fire going because it’s still cool at night, even though summer is on the way and as we all sit around chatting and laughing, I feel myself start to relax, glad that Zoey’s friends are here.
“So are you still going ahead with the expansion plans?” Delaney now asks.
I let out a sigh, knowing that everything work related has taken a back seat over the past week. I’m lucky Brandon is still in town and managing things for me, because without his help, it would have all gone to shit otherwise.
“Yeah, we are,” I start, squeezing Zoey’s shoulder, my thumb brushing against her neck. “But maybe a little more slowly than originally planned,” I concede.
“Really?” Zoey asks, clearly surprised because I haven’t mentioned this to her yet.
I nod, taking another sip of beer. “Yes, we have no idea if this whole expansion thing is what triggered your abduction,” I admit, my brain having been turning over every possibility for how this happened ever since she went missing. “And the last thing I want to do is piss someone off and have them trying again.” A look of regret flashes across Zoey’s face and I lean in to kiss her. “Don’t, babe, this isn’t your fault,” I murmur, already knowing what she’s thinking.
“Maybe it is?”
“Nope, not even close,” I say, before pulling back and turning to Alex and Delaney. “It’s still happening, but I’m just going to focus on the refurbishment of the condos first. We’ll tackle the old motel later,” I continue, knowing if anything was going to piss someone off, it was me reacquiring the lease for the land that shitty old motel sits on.
The condos were never a huge part of the history of this place and quite honestly, with them sitting empty for the past year, they’ve become run down and in desperate need of a facelift. The fact they are so close to the lodge and the nicer condos like where Zoey used to live only has the locals even more keen for them to get a revamp. When I bought them, it was pretty obvious it wasn’t just the realtor who was happy to offload them.
The motel though, that’s a different story. As shitty as it is, it’s still an iconic part of this town, an establishment that’s been around for as long as Zoey’s family has been here. People love it, even if it does attract a certain type of clientele and is a total eyesore on the edge of town. Changing it was always going to be hard, but with everything that’s happened over the past week, I’m kind of putting it all on the backburner for a bit while things settle down.
At least until these assholes are caught anyway.
“Redoing those first makes sense anyway, with the ski academy opening next winter,” Alex says, giving me a quick smile. “We’re gonna need places for people to stay because it’s going to be huge.”
“It is,” I say, returning the smile, grateful for him changing the subject. “We do have the employee bungalows too, but those fill up quickly during ski season.”
We spend the next couple of hours chatting about the academy while we eat dinner. It’s easy and casual and I’m glad that Zoey’s friends feel comfortable enough hanging out here with us. I don’t want it to feel like they have to act a different way just because we all work together.
“So we’ll see you tomorrow?” Delaney asks as we walk them to the front door.
“Yes, wanna grab lunch?” Zoey asks.
Delaney glances up at me, a questioning look on her face that makes me laugh. “You can have lunch with her, Del,” I say, like I would ever stop it from happening.
Delaney grins, before pulling Zoey into a hug. “Lunch sounds good. Meet you around twelve?”
“Perfect,” Zoey says, returning the hug, as we say our goodbyes, before closing the door and heading inside. “Thank you for tonight,” she says, sliding her arms around my waist.
I pull her closer, leaning down to press a kiss to the end of her nose. “You don’t need to thank me, baby. This is your home. Your friends are always welcome.”
“I know,” she whispers, pushing up on her toes to brush her lips against mine. “But thank you for being you.”
I smile against her mouth. “Me?”
“Yes, you,” she whispers. “Now let’s go to bed.”
The next morning, the alarm goes off early for the first time this week. It feels so fucking good to wake up beside Zoey though, even if today this bubble we’ve been in for the past few days ends and we both go back to work.
“Morning,” I murmur, burying my face in her hair.
“Morning,” she chuckles, snuggling into me.
“You ready for today?” I ask, running a hand up her back, her skin warm beneath my touch.
“Yes,” she whispers, pressing her lips against my neck as she pushes me onto my back and moves to straddle my hips. “Today is going to be a good day,” she adds, hands on my chest as she looks down at me, a sleepy but very sexy smile on her face.
