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“Good morning, Agnes. I’d love to chat, but I have to get to the inn.” Her legs kept moving.
“So, the contest is over for you two.”
That made Josie stop and turn. “You mean Lane and I competing in the decorating contest?” When Agnes nodded, Josie said, “Well, we were never intending to win. We were just having some fun.”
“I’m talking about the side bet that you two had going on.”
She knows? How did she find out?It was supposed to be a private arrangement between her and Lane. She hadn’t even told her family.
Still in disbelief that Agnes knew about the deal, she said, “Side bet?”
Agnes sent her an I’m-on-to-you smile. “Yes, the bet about the room that gets the most votes wins. Either the inn is sold or it isn’t.”
Josie struggled to keep her jaw from dropping. “How do you know about it?”
“I have my ways.” She wasn’t about to give away her source. “You have to win.”
Obviously, someone had overheard them talking. Not that any of it mattered. Lane loved the island. She was certain he was going to change his mind about keeping the inn.
“Don’t worry.” She sent the woman a reassuring smile. “It’s all going to work out.”
“What sort of help do you need?”
“Excuse me.”
“You know if you tell us, we’ll help out. This town will do anything to keep the inn.”
Josie surely misunderstood the woman. That was the only explanation. “Are you talking about cheating?”
“It’s not cheating if it’s for a good cause. And saving the inn is the best cause I can think of.”
“I have to get to work.” Josie skirted around the woman and continued on her way.
“Just remember the offer if you change your mind. We’ll be there to help. You have to win.”
Josie didn’t even acknowledge that she’d heard Agnes’s parting comment. It angered her that Agnes thought she would stoop to cheating—even to save the inn. There were lines you didn’t cross, and that was one of them.
She would talk to Lane about it later. She was certain he would agree with her that they needed to step away from the contest. It was getting too complicated now with some of the townspeople sticking their noses into the contest.
It was all she could do not to head straight to Lane’s place with the excuse of telling him what Agnes had said, but in reality she just wanted to see him—wanted to make sure he was really all right. She checked the time: ten minutes to eight. It was too early to stop by the bungalow. She didn’t expect to see Lane until noonish.
She visited Sara at the front desk and was pleased to find that other than her episode on the beach with Lane that everything at the inn had remained calm and uneventful. Next, she stopped in her office to check her email and voicemail.
Fifteen minutes later, she was out the door, headed to the back patio where they were holding today’s challenge. And if she remembered correctly, it was a competition to find the largest seashell along the beach. They had a half hour to scour the shoreline.
When she reached the patio, she found a small group of spectators awaiting the competitors to return with their beach finds.
Mayor Banks spotted her and started in her direction. She really didn’t want to talk about last night, but she figured it was best just to get it over as quickly as possible.
“Good morning, Josie.” The mayor sent her a worried look. “I was sorry to hear about last night. But I don’t understand. What were you two doing that far north at night and on the boulders with the tide coming in?”
With his gaze boring into her, she resisted the urge to worry her bottom lip. What was she supposed to tell him? That they weren’t thinking clearly? That they were living in the moment?
“It was just one of those things. We were trying to see if we could walk to the northern tip of the island.”
The mayor nodded his head. “Best to do that during the daylight.”
“Agreed. But you know how it can be. Sometimes you act spontaneously.” She wasn’t sure if he’d ever done anything spontaneously in his life. He was always so serious.
