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When he turned the card over and saw the number on the back, he laughed and shook his head, then showed the number to Ollie.
“For fuck’s sake,” Ollie muttered.
“What?” Mia demanded.
“That’s almost half what he offered us six months ago,” Ollie said.
“What? Why are we only just hearing about this?” Jane demanded.
Rafe cocked one brow as he stared down his wife. “You mean, why didn’t I tell you something that was none of your business even though we weren’t dating and you were engaged to another man and I wasn’t speaking to you?”
Jane scowled and pointed at Oliver. “But he wasn’t.”
Ollie snorted. “Don’t drag me into this.”
“Neither of you told me, either,” Abby reminded them, staring at her brothers with wide eyes.
“Honestly, we didn’t think it was that big of a deal,” Ollie said. “A big storm had come through and knocked down a few branches, so we spent the weekend cleaning up.”
“Toby brought his big wood chipper up from Brisbane,” Rafe said. “So I guess it could have looked like we were getting the place ready to sell. But when this Wheeler bloke showed up, all my worst lawyer instincts went on high alert. There was just something off about the guy.”
“I know what you mean,” Mia said. “He smiled too damn much for starters, and he didn’t seem happy when I said I had no intention of selling.”
“I bet. After our encounter with him, I did some digging. Turns out his buyer is a husband and wife team with a history of harassing people until they either agree to sell or get a restraining order.
“These people buy up premium land in small towns on the cheap, then flog it off to developers looking to build boutique hotels and supermarket chains. The chain stores move in, small local businesses go under, and slowly but surely the town dynamic shifts. Things that used to make a town unique vanish, tourism suffers, land values drop.”
Rafe scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Thankfully, most of the small hinterland towns are too far away from the beaches to be of much value to the hotels hoping to cash in on that market. But Melville’s Cross backs onto a national rainforest, and Someday has some of the best views in town, looking out over the valley and mountain ranges.”
He shook his head. “Nothing these people are doing is illegal, so I don’t know what I can do to stop it from happening here. Eventually someone is going to take this guy up on his offer.”
“Well I know what I can do,” Mia said. She waited until she had everyone’s attention before continuing. “I’m turning Someday into a veteran’s retreat. If scores of big, scary soldiers in holiday mode don’t keep these arseholes away, I don’t know what will.”
Chapter Nine
“Ihave to get back to work,” Oliver said as he finished his lunch. Then he turned to Mia. “I don’t suppose you’d like to give me a hand?”
“Sure. What are we doing?”
“Putting rivets in the world’s ugliest gate.”
Mia burst out laughing. The sound of it wrapped around him and made his cock twitch.
“He’s not kidding,” Abby said, grinning. “It’s hideous.” Then to him she added, “I still can’t believe you couldn’t talk her out of it.”
Mia’s gaze snapped to his. “Who?” she said, the word snapping out of her.
She almost sounded possessive.
Jealous, sweetling?
His heart rate kicked up at the idea so he tested the waters further. “My client, Mrs Williams. I tried to sway her towards something more conventional but she seems oddly immune to my charms.”
Mia’s eyes narrowed. “And which charms would those be?”
“You mean you’renotintimately acquainted with Oliver’s charms?” Wolf said, his face a perfect picture of confusion.
Ollie grabbed Mia’s hand and tugged her towards the door before he turned his friend’s face into the perfect picture of a broken nose and a black eye.
