Page 28 of The Shifting Sands Beneath Us

“What are you hoping to get out of this? She’s going to plan your dream house, and then you’re going to sit in it and think of her? Are you going to bring your wife here?”

“No,” I said firmly. “When the house is finished, I’m going to gift it to her.”

He barked out a laugh, but when he saw I was serious, he shook his head in disbelief. “You only have six months.”

“It’ll be done.”

“Have you seen this place? It’s practically falling down.”

“It’ll get done,” I said forcefully. “I don’t care if I have to work day and night. I’ll build it for her.”

“James, listen to me. You met this woman just a few days ago. You know nothing about her.”

“I know I feel more for her in the short time I’ve known her than I have at any other time in my life. I know that when she sees this house finished, it’ll mean something to her. That’s all I can give her.”

“So you can break her heart? Would you be able to come back here and not think of her?”

I just stared at him.

“That’s what you want. You want her to come here and think of you.”

I wasn’t ashamed about that. I knew that if this was a different time, both of us wouldn’t hesitate to see where this attraction could go. She wasn’t someone I would just forget when she left. I would go on with life, but I would always think of my time with her and wish that I could have had more.

“This is fucked up,” Shane sighed. “How the hell do you think you’re going to get away with gifting her a house without her husband finding out?”

“I’ve actually been thinking about that. I didn’t just buy this house.”

He frowned, not understanding.

“Let’s say that a good section of this beach is mine.”

“How much is a good section?”

I glanced down the beach, away from the resort. “All of that.”

His jaw dropped. “All of it?” He scanned the length of beach…well, as far as he could.

“And I was thinking that maybe I could build my own sort of getaway—investment properties.”

Now his eyes lit up. “For that, you’ll need a contractor.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you want them built like this one?”

“No, this one is special. You can do what you want with the others. I just ask one thing.”

“What’s that?”

I could already see the wheels turning as he imagined all the jobs he’d have lined up.

“Nothing too close together. When people come here, I want it to feel like they’re getting away. And I don’t want cookie cutter houses. I want them all original and different from the other houses you build on the island.”

“I can do that.”

I knew he could. It would be more costly because of the individualism, but it would be worth it to keep the island beautiful.

“When are you going to tell her?”