Page 24 of The Undercover Billionaire's Baby

“Lana, stop!”

She burst out of the woods rushing full-tilt, nearly colliding with an overturned beach chair. I thought she’d stop then, but she kicked it aside.

“Lana, hey!”

She was flying, feet pounding, kicking up sand. Heading straight for the water. She’d have to stop there, I thought, but she didn’t. She kicked off her other shoe and stormed in knee-deep, and stood in the gentle waves, hands in her hair.

“Oh, oh,” she said, when I came up behind her. It took everything I had not to slip my arms around her. I wanted, I needed to do something. To save her. To be the one to protect her from the incoming tide. But we’d only just met, and I’d lied from the start. I took a deep breath.

“It’s okay,” I said, the stupidest thing to say. It wasn’t okay. Any fool could see that. Lana didn’t reply, and stood breathing hard. I edged a bit closer and tried again. “I mean, it’s not okay now, but it will be. It will.”

Lana made a broken sound and still didn’t speak.

“Tell me what you need. How can I help?”

“A miracle,” she whispered. “A damn miracle.”

I moved a step closer, into the waves. Lana stiffened and hugged herself, and I stepped back.

“You don’t get it,” she said. “This is… the end.” She gulped and sniffled. Looked up at the sky. “We have eight hundred people here October to May. Over the summer, that swells to twelve thousand. I do all my business now. Like, right now’s the rush. I can’t miss half the season and stay afloat.”

I stood in the wet sand, debating what to say. I could tell her the truth, tell her I’d pay. But would she let me? I wasn’t so sure. It didn’t even sit right with her to lean on her neighbors, people she’d known probably all her life. Would she say yes to a check from a stranger? Worse than a stranger — a lodger who’d lied?

“I’m breaking Mom’s heart.” Lana’s voice shook. A lump rose in my own throat, and I swallowed it down.

“Listen, your business isn’t just the shop.”

“What?” Lana whirled, and now she looked angry. “What are you talking about, not just the shop? That shop was her life’s work. Her heart and her soul. She loved that place. What are you saying?”

I held up my hands to show I meant no harm. “That’s not what I’m saying. It’s a beautiful place. I love all the roses. I could see spending hours in there browsing and reading. But?—”

“But? There is no but!”

“But it’s like you said back at Hidden Beach,” I said, talking fast. “You said it was a haven. A community hub. It brought people together. Well, you can still do that. You can do it and raise money while you get your repairs.”

Lana sniffed, then her eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

“You can do a fundraiser.”

“A fundraiser? Like, beg?”

“No, not like that.” I pushed on. This felt right, if only she’d hear me. “What I’m saying is, you do something that brings people together. This is a fit town. Joggers for miles. So you do a fun run. You get sponsorships. People can support you doing what they already do, doing what they love to do for a business they love.”

Lana was staring. I kept going, on a roll now.

“You’d do a short run, a five-K, and end up on the beach. Have a picnic there waiting for the runners, the town. You’ll show everyone a good time, then announce your grand relaunch.”

“You think people would come to that?”

I moved closer again. This time, she didn’t flinch. “I know they would. The locals will come out because it’s their bookshop. And because it’s you, and they love you. I’ll wager some summer folk will come out as well, to feel like they belong here. Like they’re part of the town.”

“And because they’re rich. They need to seem generous.”

It was my turn to flinch, at least inwardly. Dad was a big fan of charity — the loud kind, the public kind, that got him good press. But Lana was right. We could play into that.

“We can do this,” I said. “I’ll help organize.”

Lana sniffed, dabbed her eyes. She stood up straighter. “It’s okay. You don’t have to. I’ve taken enough of your time.”

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