Page 25 of Make Me Love You

Emma ignored her. “And Piedmont, that’s where all the good ski resorts are and the ritzy shopping, so people go there. Hart’s Ridge made chicken parts.”

“Gross.” Suzie wrinkled her nose. “You’re lucky I’m past the nauseous part of this pregnancy, because you’re directly in my path.”

“But it’s true. That’s what we did for the world. Now we don’t. So how is Hart’s Ridge going to survive? People have to come here. That’s the only answer. I don’t know why they don’t. The scenery is gorgeous, the food is amazing—”

“Thanks,” Cesar said.

“—and there’s a ton to do here. Hiking and kayaking and all that. People should come here. They would love it. You know, some girl with two million followers on social media posted a picture of her lunch at Dreamer’s Cafe yesterday, and today Delmy had more customers coming in from Asheville than she knows what to do with.” Emma had stopped on their way back from SuperMart to pick up a quick dinner to go, and Delmy had told her all about it.

“If this were a movie, that’s what the heroine would do, you know,” Emma continued. “She’d turn her house into a bed and breakfast, like her parents had always wanted. She’d contact that girl with the two million followers and a few more like her and invite them to test it out before she opened. She’d set it up so that their visit coincided with the Fourth of July celebration. That would be smart. They would post pictures all over social media, and more people would come. It would all be a huge success, the town would have a new industry to see them through, and her enemy would rue the day he ran for mayor against her.” Emma lifted a fist like she was making a vow. “Rue. The. Day.”

For a moment no one said anything, and then Kate broke the silence. “Oh, my God,” she whispered. “You’re going to run for mayor.”

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the epiphany hit her. “Yeah. I’m going to open a bed and breakfast, invite social media influencers, make this year’s Fourth of July celebration the best one Hart’s Ridge has ever seen, and Eli will rue the day he ran against me. Why not?”

Because it was insane, that’s why not. But in Emma’s experience, insane plans were the best kind.

Cesar cleared his throat. “Well, shit, girl. You thought of something.”

Chapter Seven

“Elias Robert Carter, you turn around and face me, you coward.”

He couldn’t stop the shit-eating grin from spreading across his face at her use of his full name. Lord, she was pissed. The fun kind of pissed. The kind where she was about to give him a good dressing down instead of ignoring him for another eight years. He wasn’t stupid enough to say it to her face, but he had always...enjoyed...Emma’s temper in a way he wasn’t sure she would appreciate. It made his dick hard.

He turned slowly, careful not to slosh the coffees he was carrying. They had agreed to meet here, at the fairgrounds, at the ungodly hour of seven a.m., which meant coffee and pastries were required. “Good morning, ma’am,” he said, schooling his features into wide-eyed innocence.

Her hands went to her hips and her expression reminded him of a thunderstorm. “Don’t you ma’am me, Eli. I know what you did. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I brought you coffee. And a donut.”

Her gaze flicked to his hands, taking in the tray he balanced with one and the white paper bag he gripped in the other. Her expression softened just a little. “From Hot and Wired?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course.” He pulled out a Boston cream for himself and handed her the bag. “I didn’t know if you still liked lemon jelly.”

He didn’t want to admit how long he had stood at the counter in Hot and Wired, contemplating the choices like it was life or death. Maybe Emma would have preferred an iced coffee, since it was supposed to get pretty hot today. Then again, it was still early enough that the fog hadn’t burned off, and it was barely fifty-five degrees. He’d finally decided on hot coffee with skim milk, no sugar, which was how she drank it eight years ago. Had her tastes changed? He hated that he didn’t know. He hated that what should have been a simple task was fraught with booby traps.

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