Page 44 of The Library of Second Chances
“I’d love to see you, and the kids would love the beach, but?—”
Carly was cut off by Aidan’s excited voice in the background.
“Yes! Are we going to the beach to visit Uncle Logan?”
“Now you have to come. Can’t disappoint the kid.” Logan smiled as he finally let himself picture his family here with him. He couldn’t wait to show Carly the buildings downtown. She loved historic structures almost as much as he did.
“I’ll talk to Nick tonight.” He could hear her relenting, and he let himself get excited about the idea.
He’d have to remember to thank Lucy later.
When Logan arrived at the council chambers, he found Lucy alone inside the small room, seated in the front row reviewing her notes. The walls were wainscoted in dark brown, a stark contrast to the colorful beauty that existed outside the doors. It was probably last decorated in the seventies and was just another example of the city’s strangled budget.
“Evening.” He approached her from behind. “You ready for this?”
“I don’t know, am I?”
The cold edge to her voice sent a warning as he walked down the center aisle.
Walking more slowly toward her, he tried to read her face as she turned to stare him down. Gone were the warm brown eyes and the smile he’d gotten used to lately; they had been replaced with the sort of disappointed look his mother had given him when he skirted his duties on the farm as a kid. He racked his brain trying to think of what he could have done to hurt her. Whatever it was, he’d fix it. He’d thought they were, if not on the same team, at least becoming friends.
“Did I miss something? You seem upset.”
“That’s because I am.” She put her notes on the chair next to her and stood to face him, crossing her arms over her pale-pink sundress.
“Are you going to make me guess why?” He took a few steps closer, but left plenty of room between them. He wanted to reachout and touch her arm, to assure her they could fix whatever it was, but she looked ready to recoil if he came any closer.
“Are you going behind Marty’s back to coerce Mildred into some sort of buyout on the café’s lease?”
Mildred. He should have known it was a bad sign she wasn’t telling Marty about their conversation yet. He understood why she wanted to wait until she had a number, but he certainly hadn’t asked her to keep Marty in the dark. But how had Lucy even heard about their conversation?
He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels as he decided how to respond.
“Those conversations are confidential. I would just say it’s not up to me to dictate how Mildred and Marty communicate about their business.”
She flung out her arms, losing her composure. “What kind of an answer is that?”
He’d never heard her raise her voice. She usually had a soft, soothing tone you’d expect out of someone who’d been a librarian. She was really upset, but she had to know it was unlikely the restaurant would survive whatever new plan they eventually agreed upon. The building was barely sound at this point, thanks to the hurricanes that had damaged the pilings underneath. If the city was going to put in money to shore it up for long-term viability, they’d need to see more of a return than the restaurant lease had been giving them.
“An honest one. Negotiations between the town and individual business owners are confidential.”
“Apparently they’re also confidential between you and Mildred because Marty told us today he had no idea the town was preparing to make an offer to end the restaurant lease. He’s not going to give up his livelihood because you wave a check in front of his face. Is that what you do? Charm women like Mildred and Missy”—her voice broke—“and even me into going alongwith your plans so you can pack up and move on to the next town?”
Logan was completely baffled. He’d been doing his job. It wasn’t his fault Mildred was keeping her true desire to retire from her husband. He was about to tell Lucy that when she brushed past him to where her bag sat on a nearby chair, her coconut scent passing over him like a wave.
Lucy grabbed a stack of papers from her bag and handed them to him. Printouts of newspaper articles.
“I’ve read all about what happened in San Diego, and suddenly it all made sense. Why you’d take a project in a place like Heron Isle and why you’d immediately cozy up to me and offer to help me buy my building. You need a quick win, and the only way you know how to win is by manipulating women with your green eyes and your dimple and your smooth talking about how much you love historic buildings.” She was gesturing more wildly now, her brown eyes fiery and her blonde curls bouncing with every movement.
He was so caught off guard by her assumptions about what happened in San Diego—about him—he could hardly formulate a response. Clearing his throat to buy himself time to respond calmly and not grow defensive, he laid the papers face down on a nearby chair. Turning back to Lucy, her brown eyes demanding answers—answers he very much wanted to give her—Logan spoke quietly.
“Do you always believe everything you read?” He searched her eyes, looking for any indication he might reach her. He hadn’t exactly done himself any favors in the press. He’d been so upset over Catherine and the project that he’d done a poor job of explaining himself to the few reporters who’d reached out for his side of the story.
A wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows as she gave him a questioning look. “You’re telling me it’s just a coincidence youdated the daughter of the biggest investor who came into the project?”
“No, it’s not a coincidence.” He continued before she could interject. “I met her because I was courting her father to come onto the project. In fact,sheboughtmeat a date auction. Do you really think I’d break up with her before the project was complete if that was all I was after?” He raised an eyebrow, asking her to do a little critical thinking before she threw more accusations his way.
Before she could respond, the chamber doors opened, and the first few people started to trickle in. Lucy’s expression softened slightly as she waved in their direction.
