Page 25 of Sunset

“Don’t mind if I do.” He says.

He and Kade set up the blankets and food.

We start talking about landscaping, and how to make each villa feel private, and the logistics of bringing food to them from The Sunset kitchen, and all the fun details it’s too early to really worry about.

The more we talk, the more I see it and want it.

“You know, I talked to Lin last night,” Jasper says, once Kade and Lin start talking amongst themselves.

“About what?” I ask.

“I apologized to her for the way I treated her. I wanted to make things right with her, and figured it would be easy to start there, because I know you won’t make things easy on me.” He smirks.

“Why should I?” I ask.

“You shouldn’t, because I screwed up. I was stupid and had this idea that you needed to come after me, when it should have been me, coming after you.” He says.

I can’t swallow the lump in my throat, so I say nothing.

“Be warned, Brynn. I’m coming after you now.” He leans in and whispers into my ear, causing my whole body to shiver, one I feel right to my core.

Just then, a car pulls up and a door slams. We all turn to find Mayor Jones, heading right to us.

We all stand up, and the guys step in front of us to stop him, before he can get to us. I look over at Lin, who just shrugs her shoulder at me.

The mayor stops short, when he sees the guys, who are taller than him at over six feet to his barely five foot-six-inch frame.

“Really, girls? Bodyguards?” The mayor huffs out.

“Not bodyguards.” Kade grits out.

“Now listen here. I just got this letter from the state saying all permits on Main Street have been frozen, because it’s under review from the state’s historical committee. You’re the only two I can think of to do something so stupid!” The man raises his voice.

Both men clench their fists, and Lin places a hand on Kade’s arms, making him relax a fraction. I do the same to Jasper, and he looks over his shoulder at me, his eyes soft for me. This is what I wanted, right? What Lin has? Looks like I’m getting it, but it’s the absolute last thing I expected.

I put that thought aside to think about later, and push my way between the two guys, so I’m face-to-face with the mayor.

“We talked to you, and Lin talked to you. We gave you the stats, and you ignored them. No one in town wants this, so why do you keep pushing it?” I tell him.

“Because it’s what’s best for the town. We have to grow and look towards the future.” He spits out.

“Are you aware that the last three towns that development was brought into over fifty percent of the year around residents have left? That means fifty percent less taxes for your town. Also, in those towns, after the initial spike of interest, the tourism has started to decline. The regulars stopped going and actually wrote nasty reviews about the development. The developer is about to pull out of one town, because they’re barely breaking even anymore. What do you think happens, when they do?” Kade says.

The mayor glares at him.

“I can tell you,” Jasper says. “The town dies, it dries up, the last people there leave, and it’s the next ghost town. Tourists visiting a decade from now wonder who the idiot was that destroyed the beautiful beach town.”

“I’ve done my research, and they have more successes than failures, mind you. But to make my point clear, as long as permits are halted on Main Street, so will yours for this project.” The major spits out.

“Maybe, you should hold a town meeting and let the town vote whether they want the villas, or if they want the development downtown. Or are you too scared you’ll be outnumbered, Mayor?”

“Do you think the people in Orlando wanted Disney? But look what it did for that town!” The mayor says.

“Yes, it became overrun with tourism and crime, killed the local flora and fauna, and destroyed historical sites. They tore them down and built over them. The people of Detroit were promised all these jobs from Ford and look where the city is now.” I tell him.

“Remember, Mayor, you’re an elected official, and only hold the position, as long as the town thinks you have their best interests at heart.” Lin reminds him.

“I ran unopposed last time.” He waves his hand.

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