Page 102 of The Billionaire Is Back

The inspector is so busy scribbling notes and aggressively makingXs on his clipboard, he doesn’t seem to need an explanation or to inspect anything further.

“What happened? Did Mark get in here?” Crabby says from behind me. “Outta my way, Suit.” Crabby pushes past me, taking charge. “How’d you get in here, you little son of a gun?” he says to the raccoon in the corner. “Come on, buddy. Out ya get.” He gestures for the raccoon to follow him, which it does, and leads him out the back door, pulling the screen door shut behind him. “Well, here’s your problem right here,” Crabby tells Claire. “The screen door doesn’t automatically latch shut.”

“Isthatthe problem?” I ask.

Ignoring me, Crabby continues. “Yeah, I can grab what you need from the hardware store in ten minutes and fix this for ya.” He sniffs. “No bigdeal. I got this.”

One look at Claire’s watery eyes and I’m ready to throw the old man into the alley too. “Crabby. How did this happen?”

“Aw, that’s just Mark,” he explains with a dismissive wave. “I’ve been leaving one of Claire’s cookies out for him on my back porch for the past few years, every evening. We both want the best. Nothin’ wrong with that. But when the bakery was closed and you were both off gallivantin’ around New York City, we had to make do without the best. So I tried leaving out store-bought snacks, but Mark wasn’t havin’ it.” He rests his bony fingers on his bony hips, shaking his head. “So, he followed me here this morning, and I tossed him a few cookies earlier. He’s just lonely and hungry—you know how it is. Yep. Guess the screen door didn’t shut all the way. Or this other door. So…I can fix that. No worries.”

Claire is holding her head in her hands, speechless.

“I’d just like to point out that this was not my fault,” Vera mumbles. I didn’t even notice her come in.

I shoot her a look that sends her back out front, tell Crabby to follow Mark out the back door, and then stay by Claire’s side while the inspector lists off the series of violations and forms that need to be filled out before her bakery can reopen.

When Claire and I are left alone in her kitchen, she is still holding her head in her hands, still unable to speak.

“Babe, I’m going to take care of this. Okay?”

She just looks at me, shaking her head.

I take her in my arms. “Claire, I am going to take care of this. You are going to reopen in a week. Do you trust me?”

She sniffles and nods.

“Good.” I kiss the top of her head and go back out front to pull Mayor Stacy aside. We both cross our arms in front of our chests and lean in. “Mayor,” I say in a hushed voice, “let’s say that inspection didn’t go the way we’d hoped it would.”

“Okay.”

“And let’s say that I’ll say that everything will be fixed. Everytcrossed, everyidotted. Before the end of day, no matter the cost.”

“Yes, let’s say that.” She nods, stroking her chin.

“Let’s also say that in order to get Preston Bellwether back here tomorrow for a follow-up inspection, I’d be happy to make a sizable donation to the library to make sure that happens. Double what you’ve been asking for. Can we say those things?”

She shifts her weight back and forth from one restless foot to another. “We can definitely say those things.”

“Good. Then let us say those things.” I sound vaguely like a priest saying a prayer, but I suppose I am answering two prayers at once—Claire’s silent one and the mayor’s very persistent one that she’s been emailing me about for a month.

After sending Stacy off to finish her jog and do my bidding, I thank everyone for coming and ask them to leave. Including Vera, whose job is now to help Damien carry the lobsters back to my mom’s car. I don’t let anyone say goodbye to Claire because I don’t want them to see how distraught she is. I would make everyone sign nondisclosure agreements, but these are our friends and family, so I just have to trust that they know not tomention anything other than how delicious Claire’s treats tasted and how perfect the new decor is.

I fire off some texts to Alice, telling her to send a licensed plumber, a handyman, and a cleaning crew over here as soon as possible, no matter the cost. Then I roll my sleeves up as I enter the kitchen because I know how much Claire likes to see my veiny forearms. Also because I need to help her clean up this mess, which she has already started doing on her own.

“I guess there’s no point in trying to get a plumber or a handyman here this week if the only health inspector in town is going to be out of town” is all she says, tossing muffins and cupcakes into a garbage bag because they might have raccoon germs on them. She pauses for a second, rubbing her temples. “And I can’t push the reopening day either. Vera has been promoting it all over social media—it would just confuse people.”

“Then there is a point, and he will be back to reinspect tomorrow,” I inform her as I pick up a broom. “And you will reopen in a week. I am taking care of it. And so is Alice.”

She slouches. “Grady…how much is that going to cost you?”

“A fortune,” I say with a grin.

“I’m so sorry.”

I lean the broom against a counter and take her into my arms again. “Don’t be. That’s what money is for, Claire. It’s always been a number for me, sort of keeping score for something I wanted to accomplish. Now I get to use it to make sure you get to accomplish what you want too. What you made today was amazing. People love thenew menu. So we had a few minor violations. And one major raccoon.” I shrug, but it gets a little laugh out of her.

She sighs. “I can’t believe I just froze like that today. That’s so unlike me.” She looks up at me as she steps away. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here.”

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