Two To Wrangle (Hotel Rodeo #2)(37)

“So you actually like this Spanish bullring idea?”

He’d immediately rejected the notion when Cassie had presented her sketches, but Monica’s enthusiasm had him wondering if he should take another look. He came around the desk to peruse the renderings she’d rolled out.

“I love it,” she gushed. “I’ve been to Seville several times. I was even there once during the April fair. Each day they have this fantastic parade of carriages and riders that goes through the city to the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza. Everyone is all dressed up in traditional Spanish finery—the men in short jackets, skin-tight pants, and cordobés hats, and the women in gorgeous flowing dresses. It’s so elegant! And then there are the fairgrounds and the riverbank, all covered in rows of beautiful marquee tents where people meet, drink, dance, and eat tapas. It is fabulous.” Her eyes gleamed. “Oh my God! That’s it! You could do all of that right here!”

“Do what?” He scratched his chin. “ ’Fraid I’m not following you.”

“You could recreate the Seville Fair! I can see it all now, the bullring, the casetas, flamenco dancing, the staff dressed in traditional Spanish costumes. You could combine the rustic Western roots of Las Vegas with a continental flair. This idea is the perfect melding of old and new. I’m thinking we should build the hotel around the bullring, or even build the bullring within the hotel itself.”

“Whoa there, Nelly!” Ty held up both hands with a laugh. “We just went from zero to sixty in nothing flat. Maybe we should just rein back a few steps. That’s not at all the direction I was planning to take here.”

“But why not?” Monica asked.

“Because we’re American, not Spanish. Because this is the Hotel Rodeo.”

“But just think about the bulls, Ty.”

“What about the bulls?”

“You said you wanted to use bulls as your main attraction, so why not build a traditional Spanish bullring?”

“Forget it Monica. I already asked Cassie to work on something else.”

“That’s it?” She jutted her chin. “You’re dismissing the whole idea just like that?”

“Not quite. We just can’t go off half-cocked, is all I’m sayin’.”

“I thought you were proposing a partnership?”

“I am.”

“I’m not going to be a silent partner, Ty.”

“Didn’t expect you to be.”

“If you want me, you’re going to have to give me equal say.”

“How can I do that when I’m talking bulls and you’re going off about flamenco dancers?”

“You just illustrated my entire point!” she said. “If we’re going to work together, you have to let me be a part of this. Partnerships require common goals and like minds. How can this work when we have none of that?”

Ty perched on the desk with a frown. “One little stumble and you’re already getting cold feet? We can work through this if we try, Monica. And I’m willing to compromise—to a point. You just gotta understand that this whole thing was my vision. My idea. My dream. I can’t let you or anyone else take that away.”

“I’m not trying to take it away from you. I just want it to succeed. We’re talking about a huge investment. Look, Ty, I came in here with an open mind, but I can’t take the backseat, and neither can you. Do you see now how incompatible we are? And why I’ve said we could never work.”

“I thought you had more grit than that.”

“That’s not it! I wanted this to work. I really did, but we just don’t have enough common ground. I admit the chemistry between us is incredible, but we burn too hot.”

“You’re right about that part,” he broke into a dark chuckle. “We’ve been playing with gun powder from the get-go. But there’s something you need to understand about gunpowder, Monica. Although it’s highly combustible, it’s also what makes fireworks. So only two things can happen here—we’re either gonna blow like a stick of dynamite or we’re gonna make some major f*cking pyrotechnics. Don’t know ’bout you, but I’m banking on the fireworks.”

“It’s not enough, Ty,” Monica replied softly, her eyes growing misty.

Ty’s chest tightened. Had she decided? Was it over? Was she leaving?

“Wait, Monica.” He stood, gripping her shoulders, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss away all logic and reason, because that would only be a temporary fix. In the end it would circle back around as it always did to the same tired arguments. It was time for a new approach to an old problem.

“Please. Before you decide to bail out on me, there’s something real important I need to show you.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“You’ll find out tonight,” he replied.

“It doesn’t involve bulls, does it?” she asked warily.

His mouth twitched. “No bulls.”

“If it’s so important, why not now?” she asked.

“Because it requires some special arrangements.”

“You’re sounding rather mysterious.”

“Surprises are supposed to be mysterious.” He stood. “I’ve gotta take care of some things. I’ll be back to get you at ten.”