Chapter 6
“Are you truly considering this bid?” Jenny presses.
She’s standing in the center aisle between the rows of folding chairs, her hands on her hips as she addresses the members of the village trustees at the front of the room.
They’re seated behind a faux wood folding table, taking on the full force of their friends and neighbors.
“We have a responsibility to this town to consider every bid submitted,” Mitchell, a member of the board and owner of our local hardware store, replies.
He uses his pointer finger to press the wire nose bridge of his glasses up into place.
They only remain there for a second before slipping once more.
“You have a responsibility to protect this town from becoming a commercially run tourist trap,” someone in the crowd snaps back.
“The bulk of our business is already from tourists,” Garrison, another board member, says with a sigh. He was my high school principal and in those four years, I heard him use that sigh on classmates plenty.
I lean over in my chair, a faint creak coming from below me, and whisper to Claire, “But all of the tourists come expecting an authentic, quaint ski town. They don’t want it to feel like the city they’re escaping. Someone should point that out.”
She tips her head at me with a smirk. “Yeah, someone should.”
“Just go up for me.” I nudge her and nod towards the line formed behind Jenny.
“And what happens when they need a follow up to my thought?”
I bite my lip and shrug. “Answer however you feel.”
“If you’re going to consider this, we demand the proper studies are done before you start the re-zoning process.
” That voice is Parker’s. I look up to find Jenny vacated her spot at the microphone and he’s stepped forward next.
“I’m talking traffic studies, water and sewage, infrastructure, and environmental impact. The whole gambit.”
“Wow, Parker came to play,” Levi murmurs with respect from his seat on the other side of Claire.
Garrison straightens his shoulders proudly and announces, “We have already started the process for each study with the full cooperation from the Carpenter Collection’s representative.”
A murmur rustles through the crowd, the word representative repeated on a wave of chatter.
“Do you think this representative is here right now?” Claire asks, her eyebrows raising with curiosity.
I consider her question, turning and looking over my shoulder to scan the room for any unfamiliar faces. “They should be here, right? I mean if nothing else, they’d want to know any problems that could be coming up.”
“Do you see anyone that looks like they could be from the hotel?” She turns around as well.
“Like is there anyone in a super fancy suit with slick backed hair and talking on a mobile phone?”
“Yeah.”
I start to laugh, but the noise quickly catches in my throat. Five rows back, seated on the aisle, is Jake. And he has already noticed me.
A smile lifts the corner of his mouth as we make eye contact, his hand giving me a subtle wave.
“Excuse me,” Claire hisses. “Who is that sexy man looking at you like he wants to see you naked. Or has already seen you naked?” she asks with a mock gasp.
I flush, turning back to the front of the room and slinking down in my chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Lucy, we do not keep secrets!”
Glancing around to make sure no one else is listening in on our conversation, I loosen a sigh. “Okay, okay but it’s really nothing so just remember we’re in public right now.”
“Sure, now spill,” she says hurriedly.
“Walking home from work last week, I wasn’t paying attention. I had my headphones on, so I didn’t hear the motorcycle that was flying around the corner. And—”
“Ooh, he has a motorcycle?”
“No. The motorcycle nearly hit me when he pulled me out of the way and probably saved my life.”
She gasps, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. “Oh, Lucy, that is terrifying. I am so glad you’re safe.”
“Yeah, and instead of stopping to thank him, I proceeded to run away.”
“So you don’t even know his name?”
I steal a quick glance over my shoulder again. This time, he’s rubbing his jaw, deep in thought and focused on the meeting.
“Well… I ran into him again at Jitters yesterday and he introduced himself, kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“I know his name is Jake, but that’s really it.”
She tilts her head. “Do you know how long he’s lived around here or why he cares enough to be at this forum?”
“I know he also likes Gin Blossoms.”
This time she’s the one nudging me. “Go talk to that fine piece of man right now.”
“But the forum…”
“Is over.”
I look around to find people starting to rise from their seats and filter out. When did it end? There had been a whole line of villagers ready to wave their proverbial pitch forks.
“Or he’s going to come talk to you,” she says with a terrifyingly wide smile. “Even better.”
Jake is in fact approaching the front of the room instead of heading out, and he looks as if he is coming my way. I hope he’s coming my way, at least. But if he is, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle Claire’s attempts at being my wing woman. She’s practically radiating excitement beside me.
“Don’t even think about it.”
Her eyes widen innocently. “About what?”
“On second thought, I think I will go to him.” I shimmy past her and Levi to slip from our row and start down the aisle.
We meet in the middle of the room, coming to a stop as the crowd mills out around us.
“Hi, Lucy,” he says through that stunning smile of his.
“Hi.” I manage a nervous smile in return.
“Not to press my luck, but would you happen to have any free time now that this meeting is over?”
“I guess that depends,” I reply, aiming for breezy. Flirting isn’t something I do often or am any good at. But I hope I don’t sound as rusty as I feel.
When his smile doesn’t dim, I wonder if I’m doing alright. “Name your conditions.”
“Well—”
“Ah, Mr. Carpenter, glad you were able to join us and learn about the town’s concerns,” I hear Garrison say from somewhere behind me. But then I notice Jake is lifting his attention to follow the conversation as well.
And to my surprise, he’s replying.
“I don’t take these opportunities lightly,” he says back to the village trustee.
A shiver skates across my skin, and my legs itch to flee as I look at the stranger before me with fresh eyes. “You’re… you’re from the Carpenter Collection.”
His expression seems pained when he drops his dark gaze back to me and says, “Please don’t run away again. Just give me a chance.”
“Why should I?”
Jake flinches at my question, but he doesn’t sour. “One drink. If I can’t convince you to keep talking to me after one drink, I’ll leave you be—no matter how many times the universe seems to throw us together.”
“I’m not going to get a drink with you,” I say, noticing the way Garrison is still hovering on the edge of our conversation. I don’t necessarily want to have a dramatic moment around my old principal. What I want is to get the hell out of here.
“It’s nothing personal,” I say weakly, avoiding his eyes. “But it’s just not a good idea to go out with…”
I don’t finish the thought in case the remnants of the town crowd hear. Instead, I glance around the room and slowly take a step towards the door.
Jake takes a cautious step with me, as if testing the waters. “The enemy?” he guesses at the end of my sentence.
“You said it, not me.”
I take another few steps and he follows until we reach the front doors. They’re propped open, revealing a crisp, starry evening. Suddenly, I want nothing more than to disappear into it. To run away from this confusing jumble in my chest.
“Is this going to be it then?” he asks, looking a little more than forlorn. For some reason it sends a fresh pang through that jumble.
“Maybe. I guess it depends on how much you really trust your own serendipity theory.”
Before I hurry down the stairs and away from Ellicottville’s biggest enemy, I swear I catch his mouth turn up into a smile.