“Will you give me a chance?” I swallowed, hating how it felt to press him any further. “Just show up tonight. You don’t have to make any commitments, okay?”
He pursed his lips and read the sign again. “Alright, Miss Wheeler. You can try your best to convince me.”
When I opened my mouth with a grateful speech, he had already turned back to his velvet curtain.
Later, I reached the diner, a thin layer of sweat plastering curls to my temples. Easton appeared ready for a break.
That’s when Claire materialized.
Her heels clicked against the cobblestone as the door to Captain’s swung open, her black trench coat looking as though it had never known a raindrop or a fleck of dust. She carried an unbelievably thin laptop under her arm, hair swept into a sleek ponytail and clear-framed glasses perched on her nose.
“Georgie,” she greeted, her tone cool. “What exactly are you up to?”
I froze. Easton sat. The sign in my hands floated in the breeze like a flag.
“Community outreach,” I said brightly.
Her gaze flicked to the sign, and her brows knitted together. “You’re advertising… another meeting?”
“Yes—tonight. At Marigold’s.”
Claire’s laugh was soft and veered dangerously close to pitying. “Oh, Georgie. That’s not how these things work. We already had theofficialplanning session. Things have been set in motion. You’ll only confuse people.”
“We’re not simple,” I shot back before I could stop myself. “I just think we deserve to have a voice about our own festival.”
Something sharp flickered in her eyes as she peered down her nose at me. “You’re passionate, I’ll give you that.” A glossy-lipped smile. “But you need more than passion. The logistics, finances, reputation—that’s what I’mtrainedto handle. That’s why I’m here, remember?”
I met her gaze, heart pounding. “I never agreed to having it all taken away.”
For a split second, I thought she might snap. But Claire simply tilted her head and studied me like a curious nuisance. “I thought you said that the town deserves a voice in the festival? Well, they had their chance. If you don’t like it…” She tapered off with a demure grin. “Good luck tonight, Georgie. I hope people show up.”
With that, she swept past me, leaving a trail of lingering perfume in her wake. Well, I went toe-to-toe with Claire and survived. It was only a matter of convincing the rest of the town that my harebrained plan would actually save us.
I watched until she slipped into her car and drove away. Then I let out a long, shaking breath, and taped one of my last few signs to the window at Captain’s.
Slowly, and with more dread than I cared to admit, I glanced across the street. Before I knew it, my feet were already moving.
Chapter Nineteen
Ignoring the man fixing my shop was not the most mature thing I’d done. For all I knew, Marigold’s could’ve been in shambles. He could have sold everything inside and taken whatever cash was left in the register. But, although I would’ve never admitted it, I knew Rhett Briggs better than that.
I moved to knock on the door, then shook my head at my silliness and wrenched it open.
It didn’t put up a fight—instead, it swung without a single creak or groan. I was so distracted by the door that Easton whined and lurched right out of my grasp.
By the time he was barreling into the back of Rhett’s legs, it was too late. Slamming the door shut, I ran after him and clapped my hand over my mouth as they went toppling to the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” I was muttering, watching in mildly amused horror as Easton writhed in his arms and licked his cheek.
“This feels oddly familiar,” Rhett replied, a boyish grin on his face as he sat upright and cradled my sixty pound dog.
A flush of embarrassment crept up my neck. “You’re not very safe with us, are you?”
“No.” He peered up at me, his baseball hat having been knocked and a lock of dark hair dangling across his forehead. “It does seem that I’m always in danger of falling around you.”
I gripped the edge of the counter, acutely aware of how little air there seemed to be in the room. Rhett returned to petting Easton as if nothing happened.
While he wasn’t looking, I fanned my face and turned around.Thiswas why I was avoiding him, I remembered. Whatever this tension was, and whatever he meant by his insinuations and his soft looks—it would all be gone in a little over a week. He was going to vanish to California as soon as he could, and I’d be left to daydream about all the things that could’ve been.
