“Ha!” He reached out and clinked his glass against mine. “It’s not me you have to worry about. Lena’s the one who’ll sic Bonnie on you.”
13
ISLA
“Are you ready for this?” I asked as Locke and I walked up to the meeting hall, hand in hand. It was a squat stone building in the middle of the high street. The doors were already open, a mix of voices spilling out, and I couldn’t deny that a flutter of nerves whispered through me. “Did you go over your speech?”
He paused on the sidewalk, tugging me close. It felt so easy now, standing by his side like this, smiling up at him without a second thought. “I’ve been mulling over a couple things I want to say,” he said. “Mostly, I’m planning to read the room.”
“Get a sense of the vibe before you say anything specific?” I said.
He nodded, smoothing his hand down his jacket. He’d worn a navy suit, sans tie. He looked polished and serious without seeming unapproachable. “I don’t want to come off as some robot, spouting facts at the town council.”
Jo would definitely tell him to stop blathering if he did that. Today’s meeting included the vote between the competing distillery proposals. Both Locke and the industrialist had beeninvited to make their cases. Now was the chance to see if all that time we’d invested into chatting up council members, sweet-talking Dad, and parading our relationship up and down the high street was finally going to pay off. Had we done enough to sell Locke’s proposal? A lump wedged in my throat. We were about to find out.
“You look beautiful. Did I tell you that?” Locke said, guiding me up the concrete steps.
I grinned down at myself. I’d worn a pale blue summer dress with tiny flowers. It matched his dress shirt in a subtle show of support. “Figured I should get the most out of my closet before I no longer fit into my clothes.”
“You’d be beautiful in anything,” he insisted.
Heat swept through my veins. “Remember that when my belly pops and I’m waddling through the inn, unable to fit into anything but a housecoat and Crocs.”
Locke waggled his eyebrows as we stepped through the doors. “The definition of sexy.”
I snorted, turning away before a blush could leak into my cheeks. It had been days since that kiss in his Bentley, and I still couldn’t stop thinking about it. About the butterflies that erupted in my gut whenever he caught my eye. About how right his lips felt pressed against mine. This relationship was supposed to be a means to an end as far as the property was concerned. But there wererealfeelings now. I swallowed down the flash of desire and confusion that pulsed through me, unsure of where things would stand between us after the vote had come and gone.
He squeezed my hand. “Don’t be nervous,” he whispered.
“I’m not.”
“Then why is your hand shaking?” He pulled it close and kissed my knuckles. The truth was, Iwasnervous. If the council voted against Locke, Dad would side with the industrialist, and I could kiss my childhood home and those gorgeous trails goodbye. I’d never get the chance to show our baby where I grew up or the space that had inspired their grandmother. It was still the place I felt closest to her in Braeburn.
More than that, a no from the council would mean the end of me and Locke. Right? I glanced over at him and his reassuring smile, forcing one of my own even as my heart thumped unevenly. If we lost the property, there’d be no more need to pretend. It would be time to stage that breakup.
But were we really even pretending anymore?
I deliberately reached out, smoothing the hair from his forehead as a few community members rushed past us to take their seats. “We’ve got this,” I said, trying to project confidence. Whatever happened today, whatever became ofusafter, as long as this baby was loved and cared for, that’s all that mattered.
We stepped into the main part of the meeting hall, past the bulletin boards with various posters promoting local events. At the back of the room was a refreshment table, and my stomach grumbled as I spotted a tray of Agnes’s scones.
Locke chuckled. “I thought you said you weren’t hungry?”
“It’s not me, it’s the baby,” I insisted. “It’s demanding fluffy cheddar biscuits.”
“Hey,” Weston said, walking over. He clapped Locke on the shoulder.
“Is Lena here?” I asked, looking around for her.
He shook his head. “Only one of us could sneak away from work. She thought I might have more sway as the CEO of Kincaid Energy.”
She was probably right. He was a prominent member of the communityandhad already brought a lot of opportunity to the area by building the wind farm along the coast.
I spotted my dad near the front of the room and slipped my hand from Locke’s. “I’m going to go say hi.”
He nodded. “I’ll go snag you a scone and meet you over there, huh?”
“I’ve never heard you say anything sexier,” I teased before cutting through the crowd to reach Dad.
