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any indication. If he expected her to pull off the renovation in the time he was asking, then Sam had to compromise.
    “Done.”
    He took the glimpse of surprise on her face as a small victory. She’d assumed he couldn’t be flexible. She’d been wrong.
    A new determination filled her eyes. The look hit him in the chest. Hard.
    Then she smiled, and that hit him even lower.
    “The Sunset Harbor Inn will be a five-star boutique hotel in time for your Christmas wedding,” she said. “I guarantee it.”

CHAPTER 3
    H ow in the blue blazes am I going to pull this off?
    Callie had asked herself this very question no fewer than six times since leaving Sam’s office. At least with him being such an unreasonable, egotistical jerk, she’d have no worries about their intimate past getting in the way of their working together. Handsome went only so far. Sam might be one of the most attractive men Callie had ever met, but his personality negated any effect those blue-gray eyes and that sculpted jawline might have.
    The broad shoulders were another matter altogether. Damn if she hadn’t always been a sucker for a good set of shoulders.
    She’d looked forward to this job. To six months of taking her time with it, digging into the details, and making the Sunset Harbor Inn the masterpiece upon which she would build her career as a project leader. Now she’d barely have enough time to put new paint on the walls.
    Callie put a halt to the negative thoughts before they could take hold. She could do this, and she would. So six months was now three. Fine. They’d just need a sound plan.
    The first order of business was to survey the inn from top to bottom to create a running inventory of what could be salvaged. Though most of what she’d seen the day before qualified as dated, there had to be something closer to antique quality on the property. And some of the dated furnishings—dressers and nightstands—could be brought up to boutique standards with a simple makeover.
    In fact, Callie wondered if there weren’t some sort of craftsmen on the island who could handle restoration and refurbishment. A thorough exploration of Anchor Village and the resources available went on her mental to-do list.
    And then Callie remembered the one thing she’d forgotten to do the night before.
    Call her mother.
    Taking a deep breath, Callie closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the call. Best to get it over with. Her mother was what one might consider . . . difficult. She’d never given Callie a compliment, let alone the benefit of the doubt in any situation, including when Callie’s husband had cheated with another woman.
    And not any woman, but the one woman he must have known would hurt Callie the most.
    According to Evelyn Henderson, Josh would never have strayed if Callie had kept him happy. So much for maternal support.
    Standing on the front porch of the Sunset Harbor Inn, Callie touched her mother’s name on her cell phone screen, pressed the cold metal to her ear, and waited.
    Nothing.
    Pulling the phone from her ear, she glanced at the screen. No signal. Walking to the other end of the porch didn’t help. Callie even leaned over the railing, holding the phone high above her head.
    Still no bars.
    “You’re wasting your time,” said an unfriendly voice from behind her. Callie had ignored Bernie and Olaf today, since neither had been much help during their first encounter, and neither had acknowledged her presence when she’d walked past them seconds before.
    “Excuse me?” she asked, not sure which of them had spoken. Or if the comment was even meant for her.
    “No cell service,” Olaf said, offering a smile that revealed two missing front teeth. The expression looked like a snarl, but there was friendliness in his eyes.
    And then she realized what he’d said.
    “There is no cell service here, around the hotel?”
    Bernie shook his head, never taking his eyes off the checkerboard. “No service on the island. And