took a deep breath and closed her eyes, so grateful to be done. “Thank you for your time, ladies and—ladies.”
Three sets of hands clapped loudly and vigorously from the audience lounging around Jocelyn’s suite at the Ritz-Carlton.
“You are going to rock, Lacey,” Zoe exclaimed.
“I hope so.” Lacey straightened the two presentation boards she’d picked up at Clay’s apartment that morning, trying not to think about how dead sexy he’d looked when he answered the door wearing nothing but boxers.
He’d worked all night on some preliminary drawings, focused exclusively on the main building. He’d gone to Fort Myers to get county permit information he thought they might need, so Lacey had decided to use the time before the meeting to rehearse for her friends.
“Aren’t you going to talk about the villa concept?” Tessa asked. “That’s what really sets this resort apart.”
“We want to hold back as much as we can and drop that bomb in the actual zoning meeting. The only thing that matters today is getting on the agenda. I think this is enough, don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” Jocelyn agreed. “But it will be bigger, won’t it?”
Lacey sighed, curling up on the sofa next to Tessa. “Right now, everything’s a pipe dream. First I have to close on the two properties next to mine, and then I have to figure out how much insurance money is left. I know Clay is ‘free’ at this point, but once we break ground, I am going to need some serious cash.” She let her head fall back. “It’s so daunting to even think about how to get that money.”
“Hey.” Tessa tapped her leg. “Don’t look at the obstacles. You’ll trip.”
Lacey smiled. “I’m trying.”
When none of them said anything for a second, Lacey opened her eyes just in time to catch some silent communication among the three of them.
“What?” she demanded.
Tessa and Jocelyn shared a long look, but Zoe blew out a breath. “Oh, for crying out loud, tell her now. Don’t wait until after the stupid meeting.”
“Tell me what?”
“No,” Jocelyn said. “I’m still ironing out some details.”
“But she should know,” Zoe insisted.
“It would help her during today’s presentation.”
Lacey sat up slowly. “What are you guys talking about?”
Three not-so-innocent faces stared back at her and finally, Jocelyn nodded to Tessa.
“We want to invest.”
Lacey blinked at her. “Invest?” For a moment Lacey could only stare. And work to keep her jaw from dropping. “You guys want to invest in Casa Blanca?”
“They do,” Zoe said, true sadness in her expression. “I can’t afford to give you anything but moral support.”
“But we can give you actual cash,” Jocelyn said. “And we want to. We really do.”
A whole new set of chills danced over her while her eyes filled with grateful tears. “You would do that for me? How can you do that?”
Tessa shrugged. “Billy and I weren’t running a nonprofit company to create organic farms, you know. And the divorce settlement was generous.” She leaned closer. “I want to do something extraordinary with that money and, Lacey, I believe in you. As long as we can make everything as organic as possible.”
Lacey nodded. “I can do organic.”
“And,” Tessa added, “gardens where you grow your own food. Or…” She dragged out the last word and added a meaningful look. “Where I grow your food.”
It took a second to sink in. “You grow it?”
“I want to stay and help you, Lacey.” Tessa put her hand on Lacey’s to underscore the message. “I want to stay here and create a completely natural, all-organic farm that feeds your resort.”
“Which means she leaves Arizona,” Zoe said glumly.
“And moves here.” The idea wrapped around Lacey’s heart so tightly it threatened to stop her pulse. Tessa here, with her. “Oh my God, Tess. That would be heaven.”
“You know I’m going to be a pain about pesticides and processed foods, don’t you?”
“I will swear off both of them,” Lacey promised.
“And if you want to open in a year, preliminary soil preparation should start, like, almost immediately. In a few months at the latest.”
The hope squeezed her chest, making her breathless. “Can you come to the meeting tonight? The organic gardens should be part of the plan we present. I think it would go a long way to showing exactly what kind of resort we’re building.”
“Of course I can.”
Lacey turned to Jocelyn. “And you want to invest, too?”
“Silently. I’m not growing anything or making grand appearances anywhere. But, yes.” She added her hand to Lacey’s and Tessa’s. “I’m working on getting you a cash infusion that should help