As Luck Would Have It

Lindsey Johnson has long worked as a manager in the property-acquisition section of Manhattan-headquartered Krispen Group, a chain of upscale modern resort hotels. It is in her ability to close the deal that company CEO Drake Krispen reassigns her from a near completed Paris acquisition to the starting negotiations in a potentially more problematic one in the small coastal town of Kilabbey, Ireland. The problem with the property is that a castle sits on it which Krispen would tear down to replace with a modern building, whereas the Town Council, which owns the castle, has been known to be reluctant to sell to anyone who would not maintain it. Lindsey, who has some Irish blood, is making her initial visit to meet with Council coinciding with the town's historic annual Matchmaking Festival. In meeting with Council, she discovers their reluctance to sell to someone like Krispen, the lead Council member, Alroy, who advises her to learn more about Kilabbey and its environs before ever approaching them again. Purely as a high profile move to show Council that she is listening to them, Lindsey reluctantly stays for the Matchmaking Festival just because she knows most of the Council members are highly-involved in its operation. While most Council members welcome Lindsey's involvement despite knowing her ulterior motive so having no intention of finding a match, one, Brennan O'Brien, doesn't. He's arguably the most protective of the castle, taking any opportunity to sabotage her involvement. While some developments complicate matters, two of the more important are: that Lindsey has no idea that Council has never had the money to maintain the property, so would be more than willing to sell; and that Lindsey and Brennan start to fall for each other. Lindsey wants to close the deal and does not want to hurt Brennan.—Huggo