MARION

The week passed in a whirlwind of meetings, calls, and endless site visits. I felt the weight of responsibility pressing down on my shoulders, but my mind kept flicking to Demetria, to the moments I’d stolen over FaceTime and in texts. She had been my constant thought, even in the middle of land acquisitions and blueprint revisions.

This morning, I met with my lawyer and Mr. Buckman, the landowner, to finalize the purchase of the plot in Santa Barbara for my new resort. The process ...