“With all the love in my heart, fuck off.”

Kemp laughed, and for a second I wanted to punch him. Then I realized I wanted to punch him and questioned why. Olivia called him over to ask a question, and instead of going with him, I decided to search for Chloe.

I went toward the shore, focusing on the docks in both directions, checking the benches. They were all deserted, so I wandered toward the restrooms, allowing Kemp’s accusation to bounce around in my head.

I knocked on the ladies’ room door and said, “Anyone in there?”

The door whooshed open, and Trinity Parsons came out alone. She sent me a confused look, and I glanced in behind her.

“Just me, Holden. You okay?”

“Looking for Chloe.”

Trinity shrugged. “Sorry. I haven’t seen her for a bit.”

“Thanks.”

Trinity headed back toward the stragglers, where Cade and Trey Lancaster were extinguishing the bonfire, and my concern notched up even further.

I was about to look in back of the building when Chloe came around the corner, saw me, and smiled. “Hey, husband of mine.”

I’d never experienced such relief before. It was like all the tension rushed out of me, along with a gusty breath. I pulled her into my arms.

It was in that instant that I knew. Kemp, the son of a bitch, was most likely right.

I’d fallen in love with my temporary wife.

Chapter 22

Chloe

The Marks Hotel at Dragonfly Lake was three weeks from its first overnight guests.

Monday, the marketing campaign had begun in earnest, targeting regional cities like Nashville, Louisville, Atlanta, Huntsville, and Memphis. The reservation portal was live on the Marks International website, radio and online ads had begun, and we’d already secured a handful of other media mentions, including a segment on Nashville’s CBS affiliate.

On Tuesday, shortly after noon, we’d gotten our first reservation, and I’d shared a champagne toast with Sebastian Dumay, who I’d hired as general manager, and the other executive management team members who were already in place.

Reservations had continued to filter in since then, and it looked like we were on our way to our first official summer season. I couldn’t begin to describe how rewarding it was to be involved at this level, to be directly responsible for the birth of a new Marks property, to look ahead to future projects with optimism and excitement and strong hope that I would be living out my dream and guiding the company to success after success.

Our next project was in Hallstatt, Switzerland, and Gloria had been onsite there for the past month, but normally Angelica, as the president who insisted on being intimately involved in each and every property, would split her time between the two during the overlap. Once she had the GM in place at one hotel, she’d move on to the next location, where construction was just getting started.