Chapter 1 #3
“A thinly veiled attempt by your aunt to set up those of us who are unattached.” Not only was Maya’s aunt Clem the owner of the Misty Meadow Inn, she also suffered from the same malady as Gwen—the belief that everyone should fall in love.
Which, Liz had to acknowledge, did happen to work quite well with their business model.
After all, not everyone ran an inn that came complete with a matchmaking ghost.
Not that Liz believed in such things. But she knew a good business plan when she saw one, and the story made for good publicity.
Maya raised her hands as if surrendering. “As far as I know it’s just a fundraiser.”
Thank goodness. Liz didn’t know how many times she’d explained to Clem that she wasn’t in the market for love.
Or how many more times she’d be able to dodge the woman’s sneaky attempts at matchmaking.
Why she didn’t give up and focus all her efforts on Gwen was beyond Liz.
Although it was probably the thrill of the chase—her own personal white whale.
Liz supposed she could give the older woman some sort of begrudging admiration if that were the case.
Not that it would ever make her succumb.
“Oh!” Gwen cried, pulling Liz’s thoughts back to the table. Gwen sat upright, her eyes ping-ponging around the bar before she slouched and dropped her voice. “You will never believe what I heard today.”
“Etta May got trapped in her sasquatch suit again,” Liz guessed, causing Maya to snort.
“Mabel’s attack chickens got loose and are forming their own vigilante gang.
Florence and Roscoe got arrested for arguing-while-naked again.
” Sadly, none of that was news. More like an every-other-day occurrence in Cloverfield.
Gwen sent her a look of disgust before shaking her head. “No. And now I’m not sure you deserve to hear it.”
“Right. Like you could keep it to yourself if you tried.” Liz knew her friend’s strong suits. Keeping things to herself was not one of them.
“Ugh. Fine. If you’re gonna pry it out of me anyway,” Gwen said, leaning forward again, “I heard Crawford’s might be in trouble.”
Maya’s eyebrows drew together. “Is that the place that makes those silicone finger protectors thingies that teachers use?”
“Yep. Digit Defenders” Gwen stared directly into Liz’s soul. “Have you heard anything about that?”
Liz did her best not to squirm. Tried to hold her professional businesswoman’s shield up against the truth-finding beam that was Gwen. Fought valiantly to keep her expression neutral.
She failed.
Gwen’s eyes widened. “You did, didn’t you? What? When? Will they be okay?”
Liz narrowed her eyes, deciding to fight fire with misdirection. “How would I know?”
Gwen gave her the look that said, are you kidding me?
Liz returned the look with her own I don’t know what you mean shrug.
“Ummm…” Maya’s eyes danced between the antics of her two friends. “What am I missing?”
Liz donned her don’t you dare face but got Gwen’s triumphant eye twinkle in return.
Crap.
“Well,” said Gwen, “I don’t if you know this, but our friend Liz, here, is the hottest business consultant in the region right now.”
“Soon to be the world.” Maya clinked her glass with Liz’s. “Keep it up, hot stuff.”
“But she’s also really close with Mr. Crawford. Of Crawford’s Manufacturing.”
“Oh.” Maya nodded before her forehead wrinkled again. “Are you working for them?”
Liz gave her a level look. “Confidentiality,” she sang.
Maya winced. “Oh. Right. Sorry.”
“Not sorry.” Gwen jumped back in. “And don’t think that I’m going to leave this alone, because I’m not. The public deserves to know. But we all know the real question here.”
“We do?” The confusion on Maya’s face matched her tone.
While most people didn’t think there was an evil bone in Gwen’s body, Liz knew otherwise. She was pulling it out now.
“We do.”
Her friend’s evil smile sent a shockwave of ire shooting through Liz. Not directed at her friend, but at the reason behind it. The person behind it. Or rather, the degenerate sleazebag behind it.
And the answer to her friend’s unspoken question better be a resounding not a chance in hell.
Because if the degenerate sleazebag did decide to show his face again in the town of Cloverfield after all these years, Liz wasn’t sure exactly what she’d do, but she knew it would probably result in her sitting in a prison cell.
She didn’t have time for that.
“The real question,” Gwen continued, “is—”
“Don’t you dare say his name,” Liz growled.
“—whether someone whose name starts with a C and ends with -arson will come back to town,” Gwen plowed on, giving Liz a wide-eyed look of innocence. The look of innocence turned to one of pain when Liz kicked her shin under the table. “Ow.”
Liz shrugged. “Well, that’s what you get.”
“But I didn’t actually say his name,” Gwen muttered, her voice muffled as she bent over, presumably to rub her shin.
“Carson?” Maya’s eyes rounded. “The Carson?”
Gwen jabbed a finger at Maya. “She said it. Kick her!”
“Can’t,” Liz replied. “Not with her sitting next to me.”
“Thanks?” Maya said, angling her legs away from Liz.
Besides, the one who deserved the kick was the degenerate sleazebag himself. A good shin kick would be the least of his problems if he showed up. Thank God he was nowhere near Cloverfield these days.
And thank God Arnold had the wisdom to hire her and not his nephew.
The alternative was more horrible than Liz could imagine.