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24
Will
I opened the frontdoor to the Valentine Bay Council Chambers and moved aside so Emily could step out onto the street before me. I’d just wrapped up a one-hour grilling with the tourism committee—Emily had been there in an official capacity as the Bay’s tourism photographer and social media consultant, as well as The Stop’s marketing manager—and we walked in tense silence until we’d cleared the next corner.
As soon as the council building was out of sight, I drew to a stop and faced Em. She stared up at me with wide green eyes before a smile broke across her face.
I burst into relieved chuckles, then scooped her up and spun her around as her laughter sounded in my ears. Even better, my back barely twinged when I did it, and my shoulder was almost as good as new. I hadn’t spent another minute cramped on my crappy sofa since the night Abbie invited me to sleep beside her wall of pillows, which meant I’d had four nights of comfortablerest—and four nights of Abbie sleeping close enough to touch if only I was brave enough to try.
I set Emily down on the pavement and ran a hand through my hair. “Holy shit. That was the most painful hour of my freaking life.”
Emily grinned. “You nailed it. I don’t think anyone in that room was expecting you to be so prepared.”
I shook my head and released a shaky breath. “I wasn’t. I came up with half of that stuff on the spot.”
“Well, you wouldn’t know it. The committee is thrilled with the work you’ve done, and your commitment to this project has earned their confidence. I’m not just saying that, Will. You were impressive today.”
“So were you.” Emily waved away the compliment, but I wasn’t having it. “Seriously, Jones. You had my back in there and I appreciate it. Thank you.”
Her cheeks glowed, and her smile widened. “You’re welcome, Kidd.”
I checked my watch. Abbie was teaching her first baby yoga class at the church hall, and it was due to finish in half an hour. There was work for me to do at the bar, but I could spare the time it would take to walk the long way back to Main Street, picking up Abbie and Seb on the way.
“Can I walk you home?” I asked Emily, knowing her place was on the route to the hall.
“That’s very chivalrous of you,” she teased.
I graced her with the smile that set off my dimple, and her lips twitched. “I have an ulterior motive. I’d like to go over a few things from the meeting if you can put up with me for another few minutes.”
“Of course. What do you want to talk about?”
“Some of the social media stuff. You know I’ve always been comfortable leaving The Stop’s account in your hands, but Idon’t quite understand how the poker tournament factors into things.”
“Right.” Emily shifted her bag on her shoulder as we set off up the street. “The Salty Stop has a much larger following than the official Valentine Bay account, so I intend to schedule a few collaborative posts between the bar and the tourism committee. Does that sound okay?”
“Sure.”
She cast me a sideways look. “Some of them will need to be themed around the Valentine’s Day Festival.” I winced, and she rushed to add, “I’ll keep it classy and on-brand for the bar. I promise.”
“I suppose it’s unavoidable, and I trust you.”
Em beamed. “Thank you. I also want to increase the volume of content we’re posting on your pages from now until the poker tournament. I’ll be at the event taking pictures and managing the live feeds, and I’ll do my best to include branding for The Stop and the new brewery in all the content, but you’re still the draw card for The Stop, so I’ll have a camera in your face more often until this whole thing is over.”
My stomach lurched as Emily unwittingly broached the subject I needed to address. Her observations were an almost exact echo of Josh’s comment earlier in the week about how half my business came from women wanting to get into my bed, and I’d snapped at him at the time, but he was right. It had played on my mind for days until I’d made a decision that I knew was right for my personal life but might not be best for my business.
“How do you think my marketing would adapt if I wasn’t front and centre on social media anymore?” I asked.
A line popped up between Emily’s eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
I grimaced as I tried to articulate my thoughts in a way that made sense. “I mean, I’m not comfortable being the playboybartender anymore, and I want to take The Stop’s social media in a new direction.”
Emily pressed her lips together and folded her arms over her chest, frowning at the path as it disappeared under her footsteps. “Did I do something wrong?”
“What? No! God, no. Em, you’ve made magic on socials, and my business wouldn’t be nearly as successful as it is without your genius. I’m so grateful for all your work, but… things change, right? I don’t want to be that guy forever. I’ve been given a chance to make this town see I’ve got what it takes to be a success. I’ve got Seb now, and I want him to be proud of his dad. Then there’s Abbie—”
“Abbie?” Emily looked stunned. “What about Abbie?”
“Nothing.” She looked at me askance and I rolled my lips to stop a grin. “Let’s just say living with Abbie has helped me see what kind of man I want to be.”
