Page 21 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
“I agree.” His hand came up again, this time brushing his thumb along her cheekbone. The rough scrape of his skin against hers sent a shiver down her spine. “I’m glad you were able to get that through my thick head. Any other build, I would have thought of it myself, but I’m afraid I’ve had a chip on my shoulder about this town for thirty years. It had more to do with my grandparents than Black Wolf’s Bluff, and you helped me see that.”
What had his grandparents done to make him resent Black Wolf’s Bluff? She wanted to know, even opened her mouth to ask, but it wasn’t her place, not yet. “You’re welcome.”
“And last but not least…” Claire came through the door to the office, a small platter in her hands holding what Lily swore was a miniature wedding cake. Two tiers coated in a pristine white glaze that shone in the fluorescent light. And along one side, a cascade of gorgeous white flowers, sprinkled in what looked like gold stardust, were accented with gold leaves.
“Wow.” Lily had lost count of how many times she’d said the word, but any other words escaped her. She shook her head. “That’s beautiful, Claire.”
Her friend shrugged her shoulder, but Lily knew she wasn’t indifferent to their pleasure and compliments. Claire didn’t know what to say when people told her how good she was, but she deserved the praise whether she believed it or not.
“If JD intends to offer special events like weddings, he’ll need access to a caterer. This is a small version, but it gives you an idea of what we can offer.” She set the cake on the table and took up a cake cutter. “Classic red velvet with raspberry-vanilla ganache and raspberry filling. Traditional cream cheese icing and a white chocolate mirror glaze.”
“I don’t think you’ll have any trouble impressing Linc when he comes down,” JD said, watching as Claire cut a slice of the cake.
“I seriously doubt that.”
Lily glanced up sharply at Claire’s odd tone. Almost as if she knew Linc personally.
Claire passed JD a generous slice of cake, seeming to notice that he, too, was staring intently. “Lincoln Young has a reputation,” she explained, her tone flippant.
And fake. There was something going on there, and Lily intended to find out what.
For right now she let it go and indulged in the soft, moist wedding cake her friend had prepared. JD couldn’t stop raving, and Lily felt like she was walking on cloud nine. She’d done it! They weren’t finished, not by a long shot, but she’d convinced the arrogant, know-it-all New Yorker to consider her town in a different light.
And she was considering him in a different light too. Another four days together? She couldn’t wait, but she also had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to control her reaction to this man if their time together—and close proximity—lasted beyond another few days.
Chapter Ten
Having filled up on desserts and JD, Lily chose to cover the office so Evan could spend some extra time with his girlfriend during lunch. Except the longer she spent at her desk, the more she found herself drifting into daydreams about JD and how those firm lips of his would feel if they were devouring her instead of red velvet cake. Finally, unable to stand herself any longer, she set theBack in 5 Minutessign on the office door and headed for the lobby. Maybe a walk across to the post office to grab the mail would get her mind redirected.
Outside, Lily surveyed the town square, taking in the restored shops. Wildwood Brew and Gimme Sugar were just off the square, their side entrance sharing the north end of the square with old Mr. Tradd’s pharmacy and a brand-new accountant who’d set up an office just last year after she’d graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The requisite insurance office, lawyer’s office, and Patty’s Deli, home of the best baked meatball subs Lily had ever indulged in, took up the east side. They’d been refurbished a couple of years ago, and the upper floors had been made into loft apartments, one of which Evan had bought. The local credit union had converted the corner lot to the south and added a drive-through; they shared their end of the square with Calder Harding’s pub, the Drunken Otter, which took up half the block.
Lily walked out of the front entrance of the courthouse, facing the west side of the square, and headed for the post office. The building had been located there since the town was founded over a hundred years ago and had originally been a small church, but in the 1950s, services had been moved to a sanctuary on the south side of town and the post office had taken over the entire building. Though neither businesslike nor practical, Lily had always admired the quaint front porch and spire, now bare of a cross, that remained.
It felt good to stretch her legs, to think about something—or someone—other than the man that had dominated her thoughts for the past few days. Except she couldn’t help looking around at the buildings, the people of the town she loved and wondering what changes Black Wolf Resort would bring to it, to them. She wasn’t naive—change would come, one way or another. It already did in small ways, but what JD proposed was something with far greater impact. The square had been designed, like most small Southern towns, as a sort of roundabout, with single lanes on the inside that formed a continuous loop around the courthouse, and outside lanes that led off to the north, south, east, and west. A third lane held slanted parking spaces that allowed access to the various businesses and offices.
There was no room for expansion here, not without removing historic buildings. Would they need a bypass road to alleviate traffic through town? What would that do to the businesses here that relied on traffic to support their livelihood? Would JD agree to carry some of the burden of building? This was still a small town, and the townspeople couldn’t support the total cost.
And preserving their current small-town way of life… To someone else, that hope might seem like no more than a fantasy, but she was determined to figure it out.
Which meant working even more closely with JD. She’d never tell anyone else, but she couldn’t deny to herself how much that excited her.
And here she was, thinking about him again. To distract herself, she absently hummed the Mr. Mister song that had been playing on the radio they kept in the office, and started up the front walkway to the post office. Evan used to make fun of her “old lady” music, but now that they were taking turns sharing the radio, she’d gotten him to accept her Journey and Heart, as much as she’d come to enjoy his Imagine Dragons and Mumford & Sons. She’d even caught him nodding his head to Phil Collins’s “You Can’t Hurry Love” the other day, though he’d hastily stopped when she entered the front office to ask for a form she was missing. She’d done her best not to smirk.
Speaking of music…maybe a town festival would draw some of the guests at the resort into town. Calder might have contacts in the local music scene, probably even Nashville.
Obviously, trying not to think about JD and his resort was fruitless.
Her office inevitably overfilled their official PO box, so she moved straight through the foyer and into the part of the building that used to be the sanctuary. The walls were lined with numbered boxes, and a long table in the center provided a place to address packages and sort mail. About a third of the way back, a glass wall separated the lobby from the mail counter and sorting areas. Lily could see through to the counter on the left where Lou Rutledge had held court every weekday since Lily could remember. Now in her eighties, she was a staple in Black Wolf’s Bluff, a fount of knowledge when it came to the town’s history, and the biggest gossip around. If something was worth knowing, Lou Rutledge knew it.
Lily opened the door and stepped through, taking in Lou’s hair color of the month: purple. Styled lavender curls graced the old woman’s head, bobbing in time as she chatted with Iris Daniels, who leaned against the counter with a gracious smile and avid eyes. A good gab session with Miss Lou, as she was affectionately known, was enjoyed by every woman in town at least once a week. How else would they keep up with the comings and goings around here?
“Mayor!” Lou cried as Lily approached the counter. “What do you think?” she asked, patting her hair. “Tonya outdid herself this time, didn’t she?”
Tonya certainly had. “You look beautiful, Miss Lou.”
The woman simpered. Lily fought the urge to giggle.
“How are you, Lily?” Iris asked.
