CHAPTER FOURTEEN #2
Ethan sat opposite April, a confident gleam in his eyes. “OK, so, after making some calls, I may have found something. I have a friend a couple towns over who actually dealt with something similar last year. Guess who the artist turned out to be?”
April bit her lip. “Conti?”
“Conti.” Ethan nodded, grinning. “I sent him some photos of your store and a few other buildings outside and he’s about ninety per cent sure they’re also Conti’s.”
“So …”
“It’ll take a few months for them to be professionally evaluated, but for now I think there’s enough of an indicator to halt construction indefinitely.”
April’s heart leapt. “Thank you so much.”
“Now you just have to convince the mayor,” Noah said and stuffed half a sandwich in his face immediately after speaking. “Whah? Isst mah lunch break.”
April watched with her nose wrinkled. Pig.
“They’ll send a team out to assess the building. You might be able to get it expedited given the urgency of the case. I’ll make some calls for you.” Ethan smiled, eyes flying wide when April practically tackled him with a hug.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Hey, I’m the one who found out who the artist was,” Noah protested and April smacked a loud kiss on her brother’s cheek.
“And I’m grateful for you too. But you’re my brother, and part-owner of the store. You had to help.”
“So for now, maybe Walston will accept Ethan’s testimony? Like an expert opinion? They do it all the time in court,” Penny added like she was an expert and Ethan rolled his eyes.
“Courtroom dramas aren’t the same as court.” Ethan kissed his fiancée’s forehead. “But I can talk to the mayor—it might be enough.”
April nodded, relieved. “OK. Make sure to mention the duty-of-care stuff. If it is a Conti design and we let Luke’s team bulldoze it, there could be …
consequences?” In truth, she wasn’t sure, but at the very least it wouldn’t look good for the mayor if the town found out he could have stopped the demolition. “I’ll ask Izzy to arrange the meeting.”
“So what do we do now?” Noah asked, glancing around the group.
“Now I think we just hope that Walston hears us out,” April said, unconvinced. “And in the meantime, I’ve got painting to finish off if I want the store to open on time.”
Walston sighed heavily as he reread the documents April had handed to him.
It was late on Friday morning, the earliest Izzy had been able to secure a meeting, but April didn’t mind; it had given her enough time to pull together a document outlining her case for halting the development work.
Sat opposite the mayor, separated from him by his large mahogany desk, her knee was bouncing with anxiety as she waited for his verdict.
Luke, who was sitting in the chair beside April, seemed to notice the nerves radiating from her, and she thought she saw his hand twitch, as though longing to reach out and still her leg.
He seemed to catch himself, though, refocusing his eyes on Walston’s face, and April forced herself to do the same.
“Well, it isn’t ideal, of course, but it looks like you might be right, Miss Jones. At the very least, until the buildings have been authenticated, we can’t allow the demolition to continue.”
“Oh my goodness.” April could barely contain her excitement at the mayor’s words, but she forced herself to retain her calm, professional facade. “Thank you so much, Mr. Walston.”
He nodded his acknowledgment before turning to Luke.
“Mr. Pointer, I assume you’ll be OK to call your team off?
And now I come to think of it, I’d quite like to know how your client’s initial survey didn’t flag the possible protected status of the buildings,” Walston mused, fixing Luke with a hard stare.
Luke seemed unruffled by this. “They carried out a private survey rather than using my company’s surveyor, Mr. Walston. I will of course be happy to ask for a review of the survey when I let them know why we’re ceasing construction.”
“Very good, thank you, Mr. Pointer.” Walston smoothed his thinning hair back from his forehead, frustration evident in his pinched expression.
“Uh, Mr. Walston.” April didn’t want to add to the mayor’s concerns, but they had made a deal, and there was no way she was going to let him back out of it now.
Walston looked up at her, his eyes softening a little as she went on, “Does this also mean that you’ll approve the Spring Flower Festival? ”
“Hm? Oh, yes, of course!” The mayor’s face split into a smile.
“Truth be told, I’d forgotten that was part of the deal, but with the loss of the construction revenue, the festival might be exactly what we need to breathe some new life into Main Street!
I think Izzy will be best placed to coordinate the festival’s organization, don’t you? ”
“I bet she’d love to help.” April grinned, standing and shaking the mayor’s outstretched hand as she did so. “Thank you again, Mr. Walston.”
As she left the office, she felt a bubble of joy swelling in her chest, making her feel as though she might float a few inches off the ground. At the sound of heavy footsteps following her down the hall, though, she felt the bubble shrink ever so slightly.
Luke wasn’t scowling as he entered the elevator behind April, but he didn’t look exactly pleased, either.
She breathed in deeply, the smell of his aftershave making her feel vaguely light-headed as the doors slid closed.
He stood beside her, eyes studying her face, and she felt a blush slowly rising in her cheeks.
“Congratulations, Jones. You win this time.” There was a tightness to his voice which surprised her a little.
“Yeah, I did.” April wanted to gloat, to rub it in Luke’s face as she’d always done at high school when she’d beaten him at, well, anything.
But at the same time, she couldn’t ignore the little voice in the back of her head telling her that it was only thanks to Luke that she’d succeeded.
“I mean, I guess I should also be saying thanks to you, Pointer. You really didn’t have to put me in contact with Adam. I’d have figured something out.”
Luke said nothing in response, just hummed slightly to signal he’d heard her as the elevator reached the first floor, and the doors slid open.
He stepped out and April quickly followed him as he headed for the exit.
Once they were back out in the fresh air, they seemed to fall into step alongside each other.
“You know, it’s usually polite to acknowledge someone when they thank you, Pointer.” April couldn’t resist the little jab.
“Sorry, Jones.” April had expected his voice to be defiant, but there was a softness as he spoke which caused her to glance up at his face.
She saw a fleeting but unmistakable look of worry pass across his features, and she stopped abruptly.
He came to a halt a few paces later, turning round to face her.
“Luke, are you OK?” The question was out before she could stop herself. She didn’t know why she cared, exactly, but she couldn’t just let him walk off looking so unsettled.
“Of course I am, Jones.” His voice was resolute, as if he didn’t want April to probe any farther, but she wasn’t going to let it go that easily.
“Really?” She stepped toward him, half expecting him to step back, but he stayed rooted to the spot, eyes scanning her face quizzically.
“Look, I know I just beat you in there but it’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened.
I’ve never seen you so …” She cast around for the right word. “So bothered by me winning before.”
Luke heaved a sigh, his eyes wandering up to the sky for a second as he put one hand into his pocket.
“Honestly, April, it’s nothing to do with you winning, really.
I’m just not looking forward to having to call my client and tell them that we can’t carry on with their project, even if it’s only a temporary pause in construction for now.
The guy’s a real asshole to deal with and it’s not exactly going to be a comfortable conversation.
” Luke shrugged as he finished talking, his eyes now fixed on April’s once more.
April’s mouth opened slightly, but she found herself at a momentary loss for words.
“Luke, I … I hadn’t even thought …” She realized that she’d been so fixated on winning, on saving her store, that she hadn’t spared a thought for what this meant for Luke and his business. “I’m sorry,” she finished weakly.
“It isn’t your fault, April. I had a feeling there was something shady going on with the survey they did—I’d never even heard of the guy they got to come and complete the site inspection, which is rare around here.
I know everyone in the business who works in this area, so there were already some alarm bells.
To be honest, I’m kind of mad at myself for not digging into it some more.
That could’ve done some serious damage to my reputation …
” His voice trailed off, and he rubbed a hand across his face in frustration.
“Hey, don’t worry about that now.” April grabbed his hand as it dropped, and she felt that small spark fizz up her arm.
Her voice was gentle as she went on. “I reckon you helping me out was your way of trying to right the situation. There’s no other reason you’d have helped me win, right, Pointer?
” She squeezed his hand, and he smiled a little at her feeble attempt at a joke.
“And now you’ll know to be extra cautious in the future, too. So it’s all good.”
Luke met her eyes with a curious look in his own, and April felt her heartbeat pick up speed in her chest. She needed to get back to the store, but for some inexplicable reason she wanted to make sure Luke was OK before she left him.
“I guess you’ve got a point,” Luke said, a small smirk now playing around his lips. “I’d never have let you beat me without a very good reason.”
“That’s more like it,” April said, half rolling her eyes in exasperation at how quickly Luke managed to snap back into his old, cocky self. “Right, I’ve got a store to clean up and it sounds like you have a pretty nasty conversation to get out the way.”
April turned to leave, but Luke didn’t let go of her hand, instead pulling her back around to face him.
They were now standing inches apart, and as she breathed in his woodsy aftershave again she felt her pulse quicken.
Snippets of their stolen moments together from the last few weeks raced through her mind as he held her gaze: the feeling of his lips, firm and soft as they’d kissed in his car for the first time; the afternoon in her mom’s kitchen, his breath against her thighs as his hands wandered over her; the night under the streetlamp as he’d pressed kisses along her jaw, his eyes burning with want as he’d taken in her face.
Looking at him now, she saw a flash of that same desire in his eyes, and she fought to keep her breathing steady.
He leaned down until his mouth was inches from her ear and whispered huskily, “Thank you, Jones. I’m not sure what I did to deserve your kindness, but I really appreciate it.
” He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, before dropping her hand and walking off without another word, leaving April feeling ever so slightly dazed and incredibly confused.