As the school’s football star, he used his athletic body and her tutoring skills to help get him to graduation. Going pro had always been his dream, and he’d gotten drafted by the NFL after college, but an injury had taken him out of the game—literally and figuratively—after three seasons. So now he was running his own construction company in their small hometown. Or at least that’s the information her Facebook stalking provided.

She’d also learned that Wes’s wife, Kelly, his high school sweetheart, had lost her second battle with cancer five years before, and he was raising their daughter alone. Sarah’s chest tightened, her sympathy for him overshadowing the cold shoulder she’d been intent on giving him when and if she ever saw him again. “Sorry to hear about…”

Her voice trailed, and he nodded. “Thank you.” He paused. “So, what do you plan to do with the place?”

“I can’t sell it like this, can I?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it. You wouldn’t get close to what it could be worth with some structural and cosmetic renovations,” Wes said.

Ugh. That might require staying in town.

Her cell phone rang, and seeing her office number, she winced as she sent the call to voicemail. Her boss was going to kill her, but she did not need an audience when she was on a call with Gail. Asking for more time off wasn’t going to go over well. “I’m not sure I’m prepared to take that on,” she said.

“I did an estimate for Dove a few years ago,” Wes said. “I’d be happy to send that to you.”

Sarah hesitated. “I don’t know, Wes. Dumping money into this place seems kinda futile.”

“Look, I’ll send you the quote and you can think about it. Don’t do anything too quickly. It would be a shame to lose this place,” he said.

A shame for him, maybe. But this inn, or rather the ocean in front of it, had been the scene of Sarah’s most embarrassing high school moment, just weeks before she’d escaped town. She didn’t blame the incident on the inn, but it had lost some of its appeal for her after that night.

And she did blame the guy standing in front of her…

He checked his phone. “I have to go, but I’ll get the quote to you tonight.”

Sarah’s nod was noncommittal as she followed him outside. Renovating the place could take weeks or even months. She could possibly oversee the work from L.A., but this was just a headache and a distraction she did not need right now when she was up for a promotion.

“It’s good to see you,” Wes said, and his gaze held a note of appreciation as it swept over her.

Heat rose to her cheeks, and irritation overwhelmed her. Was it? Was it really?