Page 59 of Seductive Nights

She gave him the hand-held electronic document signer, and he signed his name with his finger.

On her way back home, she was excited. She was going to make this real estate company a cash cow. They were doing well, especially with Quinn's barracks. It all seemed to work really well.

She was doing what she loved with her sister. She had a new man. Life was looking alright.

33

Jace walked into the town hall meeting holding Margo's hand. He saw Quinn's truck already there. And he saw Sid pulling into the parking lot as they neared the front of the building. He waited for his friend on the sidewalk.

He was nervous. He wasn't gonna lie about that. He hoped tonight would work out well. And if it didn't, if the town council could not see a two-story building on the beach, he'd still make the expansion happen. With the thrift shop gone, he would have plenty of room.

But now all he could see was a two-story building there with beautiful views from the upper deck. Sid approached, and Grace was with him. They both smiled.

Sid nodded. "Are you ready, bud?"

"I'm ready as I'm gonna be."

Margo hugged Grace. The two women smiled sweetly at each other. And Jace felt lucky.

Luckily, his friends' wives got along with Margo.

They could be a big group of friends for a long time. Until they all left this earth.

What could be better than having a strong group of friends and a woman you love? And everyone getting along? Plus a thriving business. All of them. Quinn and Sid both had thriving businesses. Grace's little short-term rental business was doing well. She'd added two more bungalows. Hanna had her bakery. Margo had a real estate company. My god, the six of them together. They were unstoppable.

They turned and walked into the town hall meeting together.

Margo took his hand as they entered the building, and he felt great comfort from that.

She squeezed, knowing he was nervous. And gratefully, she didn't pummel him with a ton of questions.

They saw Quinn and Hanna sitting in the aisle chairs. They'd saved empty chairs next to him.

They sat down and greeted each other, and it wasn't long before the president of the board tapped his gavel to start the meeting.

They had to sit through other agenda items. The approval of last month's meeting minutes, the treasurer's report, and he agenda items for the night.

There was a dispute about dog walking, and a request for additional stop signs at intersections.

Both of those were denied.

And Jace was beginning to get nervous that the board wasn't in the mood to approve anything tonight.

Margo glanced up at him and smiled. She squeezed his hand. "It's gonna be alright."

He squeezed her hand in return. She had given him a list of buildings earlier that were two-story buildings along the water's edge, in case he needed the argument.

Quinn was here with him with the drawings, and the architect was supposed to be somewhere in the room.

He wasn't sure. But he was as armed as he could be to present the best case he could.

His agenda item was called, and he stepped before the board where the microphone was set up.

The president said, "Please introduce yourself."

He swallowed the big knot in his throat. "My name is Jace Marriott. I own Sarge's Sandbar on the beach. I've owned the bar for two years. Since that time, I've improved it in many ways. On the outside, there wasn't a lot I could do. I painted, repaired shutters and awnings, and created a deck out back to keep the sand out of the inside. Inside, I've upgraded the kitchen equipment. I've built a business. A beautiful business. We have a stage out back. We play live music on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. We showcase local musicians. We've had one police call the entire two years I've owned the bar. That was a year and a half ago when the biker gang rolled into town and tried to cause trouble. I run a respectable business. I only hire veterans. And with my friends Sid Hoffman and Quinn Kurtz, who are also businessmen in town, we run a support group at the Legion for veterans."

"Quinn, as you know, is building housing for our veterans, and as a group, we are supporting our veteran community. This request is not only to increase the size of my bar and restaurant by knocking down the thrift shop next door, which I've recently purchased. But also to expand out that way toward where the thrift shop is now so that I can increase the size of the restaurant and kitchen inside. I'd also like to put a second story on with a wraparound deck so diners can sit up on the deck and look out at the beautiful views our waterways offer. I've got the drawings from both Quinn Kurtz of Kurtz Construction and the architect. I believe you've all been given copies of that before I came in."

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