Page 12 of One Unexpected Kiss

“I’m calling bullshit on that, but either way, you have a history. Talk to her nicely about the Markham resort and see what she says.”

Diplomacy… now, there’s a novel idea.Thinking about the scene at her house, I blew out a breath. “It might be too late for that.” With anyone but Claire, I would have been able to keep my shit together. Because she was representing Markham, the resort felt like a personal attack.

“You went all jackass on her, didn’t you?”

I scowled, wishing he didn’t know me so damn well. “I might have strongly stated my opinion about the resort.”

“What did Mama Annette always say? You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

I’d always hated that saying, and I hated it even more coming out of Wes’s mouth. Back in the day, he could be as short-tempered as I was, but four years in the navy had mellowed his ass out.

Larry started whining, finally growing impatient with lying on the beach when I’d promised him a walk. I said goodbye to Wes and set off in the opposite direction of the hypothermia-bound hippies.

As much as I hated to admit it, Wes might have a point. Claire had been rational and sensible when I’d known her, so maybe all she needed was some sense talked into her. And if that didn’t work, well, I’d keep my friends close and my enemies closer.

***

Claire

I ENTERED THEmayor’s office and held out my hand. “On behalf of Markham Corporation, I’d like to thank you again for meeting with me, especially on such short notice.” Judging by the quiet in city hall, though, I doubted it had been difficult to fit me into her schedule. I wouldn’t have thought the local government had an off-season, but as Bennett had reminded me, I wasn’t a local, so what did I know?

Gah!I’d vowed not to think about that troublesome man and his flannel-clad biceps anymore. He’d already taken up way too much bandwidth in my brain since yesterday. It was like a switch had been flipped, and I couldn’t reach it to turn it off.

Mayor Eleanor Stoltz looked at my hand wearily before taking it. She didn’t bother to stand, but since she didn’t invite me to sit in the worn upholstered chair across from her scarred mahogany desk, I remained on my feet.

Her eyebrows rose before she gestured to the chair. “You can sit, Ms. Holden. No need for formalities here.”

Sitting, I unbuttoned my suit jacket and smiled brightly. “Whew. In that case, call me Claire. Ms. Holden is my father’s second ex-wife.”Maybe his third, for all I know.I hadn’t seen or heard from my father in over a decade.

Mayor Stoltz chuckled, much to my relief. Half of being a good negotiator was reading your audience, and though I thought I’d pegged the older woman correctly, I hadn’t spent much time with her, so I couldn’t be sure.

“And you can call me Eleanor. While we mean business here in the Carolina Banks, we’re not big on pomp and circumstance.”

“Noted,” I said. “In that case, I’ll skip over the beginning of my spiel and get to the important part.”

“Please.” She motioned for me to continue. “Let’s not waste each other’s time.”

“Our analysts at Markham have done the research, and by our calculations—”

The mayor held up a hand to stop me. “Just tell me in plain English.”

I didn’t miss a beat. “The Carolina Banks needs this resort. It will be a financial boon to the economy that you could not achieve without it.”

She sat back in her chair. “I wouldn’t say weneedanything.”

Played that one wrong.“No, of course not.” Taking a deep breath, I reconsidered my approach. “This is a tight-knit community, and I know you only want what’s best for your residents. This resort is that. The off-season can be tough for families and businesses. What Markham proposes—”

“Wait,” she said. “How do you know about our families and businesses?”

“I was an honorary local for a summer.”

The label had been a source of pride that summer because Bennett’s circle might as well have been wrapped in a steel chain and padlocked shut. No one got in, but somehow, I had. Always in pursuit of what she considered a better life, my mother moved my sister and me around a lot, which meant I’d never had a stable group of friends. I was envious of how Bennett and his friends had known one another their entire lives. And for once, I’d belonged.

My heart clenched as I remembered Bennett calling me a traitor. I didn’t deserve that label, and it hurt that he thought of me that way.

Eleanor folded her hands neatly on the desk. “Were you, now?”

Her question snapped me back into the present.No more Bennett thoughts.“Yes, ma’am. I worked for the Surf, Sand, and Sun for one season. Before my first day, Mr. Turner made it abundantly clear that my employment would be temporary. But what if local businesses didn’t have to lay off their workforce for nine months of the year?”

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