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He searched for a casual way to get the conversation started. “Have your parents always lived on the island?”
She nodded her head. “We have a lot of family on the island. Besides my immediate family, I have aunts, uncles, and cousins here. Do you have a big family? I mean on your dad’s side.”
He shook his head. “When I was young, I wanted a brother, but my mother said it wasn’t going to happen. My father took off when I was seven.”
“There are pluses and minuses to having a big family.”
“I’ve seen you with your family and how close you all are. What are the minuses?”
“My family is always in my business—always trying to fix things.”
He wouldn’t like that either. “I’m sure they’re just doing it because they care about you.”
“Being the only girl in the family doesn’t help. Talk about a bunch of over-protective brothers. I didn’t have a date until my senior prom, and then only because I asked the boy and swore my brothers wouldn’t lay a hand on him.”
Lane smiled. “Kent doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Wait until they all get together. They’re ridiculous.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that.” He didn’t plan to be on the island long enough to meet all of them. His real estate listing was already garnering interest. His assistant was screening interested parties and setting up the walk-throughs.
Her gaze searched his. “Are you planning to leave soon?”
He nodded. “It shouldn’t take too long to settle things. The inn and its prime location have stirred up a lot of interest.”
“So…um, you’ve already listed it?”
“I have.” He could see how much this upset her. Not wanting to ruin the easiness between them, he said, “It was part of our agreement. You get to have the bicentennial, and I get to shop around the inn.”
She nodded. “I remember. I just wasn’t expecting it all to happen so quickly.”
“Are you changing your mind?”
She shook her head. “We have a deal. Besides, I’m going to beat you in the contest, and then none of it will matter.”
He saw the gleam of confidence in her eyes. He couldn’t help but give her a little bit of a hard time. “I don’t know. You didn’t even start on your room today.”
“I’ll have you know that I did.”
“You did? I didn’t see or hear you.”
She smiled. “Glad to hear I still have my stealthy skills.”
He let out a laugh. “Stealthy skills?”
“Uh-huh. I perfected them as a kid so I could sneak up on my brothers.”
“So what you’re saying is that you spied on them?”
“I choose to take the fifth.”
He laughed again. He loved, um…liked this side of Jo. She was fun and it was genuine. This wasn’t a show she was putting on for him.
Just then the chef approached their table with his cart that contained enough food for everyone at the table. He put on quite a display by dicing up the vegetables, flipping the shrimp, and making the grill flame, but it couldn’t beat the food. It was delicious.
As they were partway through their meal, Lane asked, “How did you end up in the hotel industry?”
“I worked at the inn as a teenager. I liked meeting new people, and I didn’t want a job that would put me behind a desk all day. And so when I went to college, I decided to stick with what I liked.” She glanced at him. “And how did you become one of San Diego’s hottest real estate agents?”
