Page 50 of Booked for Summer

Why the hell had he started this conversation? Spending time with Jade had made him soft in the head. ‘I doubt my life story is relevant to this meeting. What did you want?’ he asked brusquely, putting a line under his temporary lapse in judgement.

‘Oh, I just wanted to find out how you’d got on with Jade.’

‘Is this the same Jade who, thanks to you, has joined forces with the likes of Adam and Henry to campaign against me? Against the expansion of the resort that employs both you and your fiancé?’

‘Ah.’ For once, Jeremy looked uncomfortable. ‘To be fair, she set up the group to persuade you to give her a chance to manage the bookstore. That’s all she’s interested in, not island politics. Which is why I agreed to help.’

Despite the fact you’re planning to put an end to my adventure and knock down this shop, I’m beginning to not hate you.Liam pressed a hand against his shirt, surprised to find it wasn’t the thing constraining him, making his chest feel tight and achy. She was standingupto him, not standingagainsthim. And he’d just told her he was going to close her down in a week.

She was right. He was turning into the very people he despised. They’d used their money to make him feel small, to bully and intimidate him. And now he was doing the same to a woman who’d only ever been sweet and funny and sexy and good to him.

‘I’m going out this afternoon.’ He shot Jeremy a look. ‘Try not to do too much damage until I get back.’

‘I think I can manage without your superior wisdom for a few hours. Can I ask where you’re going?’

‘No.’

‘Fair enough.’ He eased up from the chair. ‘Jade said she was off to see Sankaty Head Lighthouse after the meeting.’ He winked at Liam. ‘You know, just in case you were interested.’

As he watched the man saunter out of his office, Liam wondered how he’d gone from the boss who nobody dared talk to, to one Jeremy felt comfortable enough to wink at.

And why he was trying to fight a fuckingsmile.

ChapterEighteen

Meetings were infinitely better without Henry. It was the third time the SOB group had met, and without his dominating presence it had been much more productive. Of course it could have been down to the fact they were in one of the local cafés, gorging on lattes and pastries. Or to the fact Claire had joined the group, too, and brought with her a much more positive energy– someone else who wanted to make saving the bookstore the focus of the meeting instead of hating Liam Haven. Although when Jade thought of the version who’d trounced out of the shop an hour ago, she was tempted to jump into the other camp.

‘I totally agree with Emma,’ Mary stated. ‘What better way to spend an evening than knocking back wine, munching nibbles and talking about books? I’m sure the library would be on board with supporting that. In fact we should hold it at the library because there’s more room there.’

‘We could promote it as a social event,’ Claire added. ‘A great way for islanders and tourists to mingle over a common interest.’

Jade nodded, excitement building. ‘We could run it like one of those speed-dating sessions.’

‘Pardon?’ Philip looked at her aghast.

‘I just meant it can be a way of mixing people up, but instead of looking for a date, you’re asking about books,’ she explained, curbing the desire to shake him out of his judgemental box. ‘We can pair up people who love crime, romance, literary fiction and so on. Give them a set time to ask quickfire questions.’

‘I like that.’ Emma again, who seemed to have found her voice now that Henry wasn’t there to talk over her.

‘It sounds tacky. I can’t see many people buying into it,’ Philip argued.

As Jade felt her face heat, Mary elbowed him in the ribs. ‘Don’t be such a snob. You won’t be forced to date anyone, heaven forbid you’d want to do that. It will be fun, and goodness knows we could do with a bit of fun around here.’

There was a bite to Mary’s words that made Jade wonder if the older woman had an ulterior motive in trying to shove Philip out of his comfort zone.

‘I thought this was meant to be about selling books,’ he grumbled.

‘Actually, about that.’ Jade cleared her throat. ‘I don’t think increasing book sales should be our focus anymore. Liam’s made it quite plain the bookstore will never be able to compete financially with his other plan.’

‘You mean the one that will rip the heart out of this part of the waterfront?’ Adam interjected sourly.

‘That’s one viewpoint.’ Was she really going to defend the man who, less than an hour ago, had coldly given her a week to leave the shop? But she couldn’t stop seeing his face just before he’d left, the hurt in his eyes when he’d concluded she’d taken sides against him. He was stubborn and hard-headed, yet if a barb snuck through his armour, he hurt like anyone else. ‘Another view would be he’s doing what he wants with his property.’ She looked pointedly at Adam. ‘Something I know you can understand.’

Adam flushed. ‘I was a kid when we did that.’

‘Did what?’ Mary interrupted, clearly sensing gossip. ‘Oh, are you talking about the infamous boat incident? I never did understand what really happened.’

‘That boat would never have sailed anywhere,’ Adam fired back, body language defensive.

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