Page 4 of His Curvy Distraction

Amelia squealed.

“But.” I met her gaze. “We need to keep an eye on the budget. We need to figure out what it really needs and be smart about what we do.”

“I agree. But this is going to be great. Thank you, Omar.”

“Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I really appreciate your time and the chance to do this for the town.”

“Thank you, Harry. It’s very generous of you, and it’s a huge thing to give back this way to the town.”

“I love this place. I hate to leave it, but I know we’ll be back to visit. My oldest just had a baby, and my wife is itching to be out there with their family. Our first grandchild.” Harry puffed up like a proud grandfather.

I couldn’t help but smile. Even without my own kids, I knew the pride people felt when their family grew. I’d hoped to feel that one day, but it wasn’t meant to be for me. Not yet, anyway.

“This will help so many local grandchildren. You’ll be like their honorary grandparents,” Amelia said. She was good. She knew the right thing to say.

Harry dabbed at his eyes and swallowed hard. “Thank you, Amelia. Thank you so much.”

Amelia hugged Harry. “You and Sue make sure you call me before you head out west, okay?”

Harry nodded and moved toward the door. Amelia followed him, then stopped and said she needed another minute with me but would see Harry soon.

“Thanks again, Mr. Mayor.”

“Thank you, Harry. Enjoy that grandchild.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Harry stopped outside my office and spoke to Jane while Amelia approached my desk again.

“The campground is in rough shape. I know that. And I know this is going to be tough, but if anyone can make this happen, it’s Natalie. She’s amazing, Omar. I don’t think you know each other, but she’s really passionate about helping kids, and she’s a special person. Leaving this in her hands is the right move.”

“I’ve met her a few times, but I don’t know her well.” My dick still twitched when I thought about her fist wrapped around it. “But if you think she’s the right one to lead this, I’m not going to tell you no. I will tell you I meant it when I said we need to watch the budget. No going overboard.”

“When have you known me to go overboard?” Amelia asked. She was right.

“You don’t, but that doesn’t mean Natalie won’t. Give me a few days to look at what we have available and what we can spare. We might be operating on credit for some of this until we get the income from the summer camp in.”

“We can also do fundraisers and ask the community to help out. There are a lot of people who would be willing to do things like that. We organized a big event in my neighborhood a few years ago. Helped fix up the community center. And every week there’s a group that comes and does little projects at the center, even now. This is a great town, Omar, and we can take advantage of it.”

I nodded. “Let’s see what Natalie comes up with, and we’ll go from there. I’ll be in touch early next week with a budget, and the three of us can meet to make a plan.”

“Sounds great. Thanks, Omar. I’m really excited about this.”

“I’m glad it’s going to work out.”

Amelia shook my hand, then let herself out of my office, stopping to speak to Jane for a few minutes and gush over pictures of Jane’s eleven-month-old.

I turned to my computer to come up with a budget for Natalie’s new project. Yet again, Natalie Edwards had the potential to make or break the election for me. And she didn’t even know it.

2

Natalie

“Natalie!” Amelia called across the community center. “I need to talk to you!”

I hurried out of the storage room at the back of the basketball court. The panic in her voice put me on edge as I rushed to find her, with a tennis racket in my hand.

“Whoa!” Amelia said, holding her hands up and coming to a halt.

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