Page 13 of 40 and (Tired of) Faking It
Lily almost cringed, but then she noticed the amused arch of JD’s eyebrow. He knew exactly the kind of man standing in front of him, didn’t he?
This might actually be fun.
JD removed his strong, calloused hand from her back—much to her disappointment— and held it out to Dwayne. “John David Lane.”
“La—” Dwayne choked, but almost instantly he shifted to salivating. “Virginia Lane’s grandson, is it? Pleasure to meetcha.” He took JD’s hand. Lily wondered if she’d see Dwayne’s face turn red, his body straining as he tried to outgrip JD, but after a brief shake, the two men released their hold. Too bad—she’d have enjoyed watching Dwayne lose a pissing contest for once.
A wide smile took over Dwayne’s ruddy face. “Well, I had no idea you were in town. Welcome!”
“Thank you,” JD said, ignoring the other man’s overly familiar tone. “Mayor Easton has been kind enough to offer to show me around Black Wolf’s Bluff after so many years away.”
“Yes, yes! Lily is good at that kind of thing. We’re delighted to have her around to keep our citizens happy.”
As if she were an overglorified stewardess or nanny. Or a pet dog. After spending her whole life in public service, the past three years of those as mayor, men like Dwayne Prescott still saw her in that light, and likely always would. She couldn’t stop her smile from going tight, but she refused to show more hurt than that.
“We really must be going; we don’t want to miss our appointment,” she finally said, cutting through Dwayne’s rambling small talk.
“Oh, appointment? Where—”
JD cut the man off. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Prescott. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other at the planning commission meeting next week.”
Surprise sparked in her as JD steered her around the sputtering man and hurried them toward the door. His grip on her arm was tense, making her hesitate, but as the door closed behind them and they moved into the spring sunshine, he relaxed, and in turn, so did she.
“You’ve been doing your homework,” she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.
“Of course I did. With a project as big as Black Wolf Resort, I have to know who my opponents are.” His dimple was just visible in her peripheral vision as he grinned. “And my allies.”
When they reached her car, JD released her. Was it her imagination or did his touch linger? Was he reluctant to let her go?
Get your mind out of fairy-tale land, Lily!
JD was shaking his head as he buckled into the passenger seat of her car. When Lily shot him a questioning look, he snorted. “Maybe that dick should’ve just patted you on the head and gotten it over with. What an asshole.”
Lily chuckled, although the sound held no amusement. “Welcome to Southern politics as women get to experience it. Although really anyone who’s not part of the good-ol’-boy network gets the same treatment, to a lesser degree.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t manage to sabotage your campaign somehow. I don’t see them wanting to work with a woman. Or for a woman.”
“I ran unopposed. That happens a lot in small towns.” She shrugged. “A mayoral position in a town the size of Black Wolf’s Bluff is not a huge moneymaker. And none of the men like Dwayne wanted to give up their jobs and take a pay cut to fill it, even for the title. Thankfullytheyaren’t everyone. This town is full of good people, and those are the ones that keep me pushing forward.”
She caught a thoughtful look in his light eyes as she glanced over her shoulder before backing out of her parking space. “Is that why you ran in the first place?” he asked.
“Partly. I’ve always wanted to work in city or county politics. I have a degree in political science from Vanderbilt.”
A sharp whistle filled the car. “Impressive.”
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. Even more impressive that she’d been accepted to her alma mater on a full-ride scholarship, but she didn’t feel the need to bring that up anymore. Ten years ago she’d still been proving herself. Now that proving was done, no matter what men like Dwayne Prescott thought. “I love this town. I grew up here, and I came back here after college when a lot of our young people don’t. I want what’s best for them, and I push for that to the best of my ability.”
She sneaked a look at him, and the admiration in his eyes sent a flush up her body. “What about you?”
They talked about his stint at Columbia Business School and early career as she drove from Black Wolf’s Bluff to Gatlinburg, arguably the most popular tourist attraction in Tennessee (except maybe Graceland, the home of Elvis, in Memphis). As they entered the outskirts of the city and traffic slowed to a crawl, JD finally asked, “So where are we going?”
“To meet your general contractor.”
Instead of arguing with her, he simply grunted. Lily chose to take that as a good sign. They traveled through the main street that bisected the tourist town, then turned to climb one of the foothills on the east side. The road wound and wound around the mountain, through sparse wooded neighborhoods and occasional businesses, even shooting them directly under the aerial tramway belonging to Ober Gatlinburg Ski Area and Amusement Park, located nearby. JD seemed lost in the view of Gatlinburg in the valley below them as she navigated the winding road until it seemed it would run out. At the very end, the road exited a cluster of houses and morphed into a wide driveway leading to a secluded lot at the very top of the mountain. Lily hadn’t visited Erin at this job site before, but she knew to expect something spectacular, and that’s what they got as she rounded a curve and, spread in front of them, was a thickly forested lot embracing a cantilevered house overlooking the valley.
“Wow,” JD breathed, true appreciation in the word.
Lily agreed. “Wow indeed. Everything Erin touches is wow.” She chuckled under her breath. “But don’t be surprised if she tells you she’s not the boss, just a handywoman.”
