His Proposal, Their Forever. Melissa McClone

to Justin. “I’m here on official business with news about the inn.”

      Justin rocked back on his heels. His face tightened. “What news?”

      “I’m sorry, Mr. McMillian, but your company is the victim of a fraudulent real estate transaction,” Grady said.

      “Fraudulent?” Justin asked.

      Ellis nodded. “You got conned.”

      Bailey sat up. “What are you talking about?”

      “Floyd Jeffries sold the inn to two buyers on the same day,” Grady said. “One buyer was McMillian Resorts. The other was represented by Tyler.”

      Justin swore. “You’re joking, right?”

      “I wish I was,” Grady said.

      Justin’s face contorted, turned red. He started to speak, then stopped himself.

      She didn’t know what to say to him. But the news made her dizzy. She leaned back against the sofa pillow. “That’s not the kind of person Floyd is. The man drives ten miles an hour below the speed limit. He’s no criminal.”

      “Was,” Ellis said. “He changed after he met that girl on the internet. I heard he canceled all the upcoming events at the inn.”

      Bailey’s body stiffened. “He didn’t cancel my paint night tomorrow.”

      “You ran the art events, not Floyd,” Ellis said.

      “I don’t know him as well as your sister does, but there must be a mistake.” Justin paced the length of the couch. The lines on his forehead deepened, more like canyons than wrinkles. “We have a top-notch team of lawyers. We might have misunderstood the permit process, but they’re professionals. They’d never fall for a scam deal.”

      “Well, I heard Floyd gave the employees three days off with pay. Never told them the inn had been sold or they’d lost their jobs.” Ellis sat on the sofa arm. “That’s why no one was there last night or today.”

      Oh, no. The staff. Bailey had been so worried about the inn itself she hadn’t thought about the employees. Floyd had worked with some of those people since he’d been a kid. None of this made sense. “That doesn’t sound like Floyd. He cares about those who work for him. He bought my senior prom dress when Dad wouldn’t pay for one without sleeves.”

      “I know the guy was good to you.” Ellis’s voice softened, his tone compassionate. “Floyd bought fish from us for all these years, was often our biggest customer, but he’s not the same person. He’s changed.”

      Justin shook his head. “Floyd might not have disclosed everything about the inn, but my sister negotiated a legal deal. She would never have paid cash otherwise.”

      “Tyler’s client was a cash buyer, too. Part of Floyd’s requirements,” Grady said.

      Ellis whistled. “That’s a lot of money.”

      “No.” Bailey didn’t care what Grady said happened. “Floyd wouldn’t do that to me—to this town—and all the people who trusted him.”

      “You’re right.” Ellis rolled his eyes. “Floyd headed to Belize with his twenty-five-year-old internet girlfriend and a suitcase of cash because of the good weather down there.”

      “Floyd is fifty-five and he’s never married. He’s been lonely.” Bailey knew him better than her brothers did. “He’s been wanting to settle down for years.”

      “With a woman less than half his age? The man has more money than common sense,” Ellis countered. “But now he’s added another zero or two to his net worth and he’s laughing all the way to some tropical island paradise with no extradition treaty.”

      “Innocent until proven guilty,” Grady cautioned.

      “Guilty, bro. You know it.” Ellis sounded convinced. “Tyler will prove Floyd is nothing more than a two-bit criminal. His parents and grandparents must be rolling in their graves.”

      Justin stopped pacing, pulled out his cell phone and looked at Grady. “I have to speak to our attorneys. Is there anything you need from me right now?”

      “No,” Grady said. “But don’t dispose of anything you took from the inn. I’ll need you to return everything.”

      Justin’s face paled. “The truck’s here in town. I’ll have my crew unload the contents.”

      The on-edge tone tugged at Bailey’s heart. The day had gone from bad to worse for him. Justin might want something completely different for the inn than her, but that didn’t matter right now. The guy looked as if he’d been knocked over with his own wrecking ball. She wanted to reach out to him, but she didn’t dare in front of her brothers.

      “Thanks for driving me home,” she said instead. “I’m sure Ellis or Grady can give you a ride back to the inn if you don’t want to walk.”

      “I will,” Grady offered.

      “Thanks,” Justin said, sounding anything but grateful.

      Grady waved. “See you later.”

      “Wait.” Bailey looked over the back of the sofa. “You never said who else bought the inn.”

      Ellis and Grady exchanged a knowing glance. Both shifted their weight.

      Uh-oh. “What?”

      “We were hoping you wouldn’t ask,” Ellis said. “But since you did, AJ said it was okay to tell you.”