“How soon do you want this?” she asked.
“Next weekend.”
Kelly stared across the aisle at him. “Luke, you can’t possibly plan something of this magnitude in such a short time.”
“Oh, I’m not planning it,” he corrected. “We are.”
She laughed. “You’re insane.”
“No, I’m optimistic,” he told her. “Listen, we need to do this. My mind is back working overtime and you were so right when you said I needed this break. I know exactly how to fix Wingate and we are going to unveil our plan to our family and friends and look to the future with hope. It’s Christmas, Kelly. There’s so much to celebrate right now.”
Having a festive, holiday party and the big reveal of his idea seemed fun and exciting in theory, but how in the hell would they pull this off?
“Do you even know if the Clubhouse is available that day?” she asked.
Luke merely raised a brow and she realized her question was ridiculous. If Luke Holloway wanted something, he was going to get it.
“Ok, so the venue is done.” She made a note in her phone. “What about food or music or decorations?”
“I’m putting you on decorations,” he stated. “You’ve used that one place before.”
He snapped his fingers as if trying to recall, but Kelly chimed in with the local company and typed in its name.
“Music and food can be done easily,” he told her. “The club has people on file and we will use their services.”
Kelly made some quick notes to follow up with all of these people tomorrow...clearly she’d be working Sunday instead of waiting until Monday.
“You’ve thought of everything,” she told him with a smile. “What about banners or pamphlets for guests to see what you’re envisioning?”
“Yes, that’s where I really need you.” He stood up from his seat and crossed the narrow space to sit next to her on the sofa. “We need to pull up all of our resorts and do mock-ups of exactly what we plan on adding to each place. We have to list the new amenities specifically designed for the couples.”
He started naming off several things and she was typing as fast as she could. Maybe she should have brought up her laptop.
By the time they touched down in Royal, Luke was ready to go. He’d already made several calls and had set up meetings...for tonight...as in Saturday night.
Kelly wasn’t surprised, but she was still disappointed. Although she should have realized that, the second he was back, the old Luke would take over and hit the ground running.
Perhaps that’s part of the reason she loved him. The man was diligent, determined, and let nothing stand in the way of his success. He didn’t work for the money; he worked to make things right, to help his family get back their tarnished reputation and regain footing with their company.
As they made their way toward their vehicles, Luke put Kelly’s suitcase in her trunk. He had his own suitcase and she honestly didn’t know if he’d packed any of his tacky resort wear or if he just had his suits inside. He’d worn a pair of navy dress pants and a dark gray dress shirt for the ride home. But she knew exactly what was beneath all of that. There were no fancy clothes that could erase her memory of every mouthwatering muscle he had, because she’d explored each and every one.
“I’m heading to Zeke’s to discuss the plans,” he told her, shoving his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. “If we can get this in motion quickly, then we could use all of these pre-bookings at the resorts to really pull the company back up.”
“That’s a solid plan,” she agreed. “Just don’t rush too much or everything could backfire and then we’d be worse off than we are now.”
He shook his head and sighed. “I doubt things could get worse, but I refuse to let that happen.”
Kelly felt his angst, knew the turmoil and the worry that flooded him. She’d seen it firsthand over the past several months. His family had been through hell at the hands of someone they trusted and Luke bore all of the weight of the company upon his shoulders. He didn’t want to burden others; he wanted to be the one who came up with some magical resolution.
She also knew how much he loved Ava and appreciated all she had done for him after his parents passed. And Kelly understood that, deep down, his gratitude was the driving force behind him wanting to be the white knight who swooped in and saved the day for the woman who basically raised him.
“Come back to my house,” he told her.
Kelly was surprised those words came out of his mouth. She hadn’t been sure exactly where they’d land once they returned, but she had planned on letting him set the tone and the pace.
“Aren’t you going to see your brother?”
Luke nodded and took a step toward her. He reached for her, curling his hands around her shoulders and pulling her close.