Page 30 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

“What doesthatmean?” She glanced up at him.

“Nothing.” His gaze searched her face. He looked so earnest. “Come on. You’re overwhelmed, and rightly so. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time. I’d love to share the load.” Cody held up his hands. “It’s not because I don’t think you’re capable. It’s just what friends do. And we’re friends, right?”

She blinked against a sudden wetness in her eyes. Sweet man. “Yes, of course we’re friends.” Surely it wasn’t giving up if she let him help her for an hour. Just until she could get a handle on things. She nodded once. “All right, come on.” Then she led the way into the room.

Mia pointed at the stack of papers. “I think if we weed out the last of the ones that are just looking for love, we’ll have around sixty to go through.”

“Do you want to sort them by business type?”

“Good idea. We want a mixture of dining, service-related businesses, and gift shops.”

They sifted through the papers in silence a few minutes, Finn’s program punctuating the air between them. Cody let out a grunt and tossed a paper on the floor. Must have been another application listing him as the reason to do business on Jonathon Island.

Soon, the papers were in a better order. “I think that’s the last one.” Mia laid an application for another souvenir shop on top of the stack.

Cody leaned his elbow onto the table. “Not bad. There are some great candidates here.”

She surveyed the piles. “I think I might have another problem though.”

“Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”

“Count the piles. We only have five unique categories. I don’t think the council is going to be happy with me if I present them with six pottery shops. They will want variety, not competing pizza parlors or whatever.”

They’d rejected a few things outright, like the gun shop with a racial slur in its tagline, a boutique that only sold mountain-themed tchotchke, and of course any that were only applying as an excuse to meet Cody. They were left with the six pottery shops, eleven pizzeria and pizza-related restaurants, seven art galleries, four bike rental possibilities, and twenty-five applicants who wanted to open some sort of a souvenir shop.

“Okay. So, why don’t you make another video? The last one was so popular. This time you could pitch exactly what we would need to fill out the businesses with a better variety. I’m sure there are others out there who would be interested in the opportunity. They just don’t know it yet.”

It all seemed so overwhelming. But then she looked at Cody. His open and earnest face gave her a boost of confidence. “I guess you’re right. In the meantime, I need to organize these into some sort of list, so I know who to contact first.”

She glanced over at Cody. His brow creased as he sorted through the stack of pizzeria candidates. A warmth spread through her chest. With Cody on her side, maybe she could pull this off after all.

She was going to get all the applicants she needed. She simply didn’t have any other options.

Cody was Mia’s friend.

Justher friend. He could convince his head, but his heart stubbornly refused to follow.

Walking this path to town was beginning to feel as natural as breathing. Cody walked alongside Mia, Maggie on his shoulders, Finn’s hand tucked into his. Maggie had woken from her nap shortly after he and Mia finished sorting the applications, whittling down the number to a more manageable size. He’d once again coaxed Mia out of the house and toward town for a walk. Nothing like a little evening sunshine to boost your mood. When Mia had cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders for the seventh time, he knew she needed some fresh air.

And he definitely did. His fingers twitched to rub the obvious tension out of her shoulders.

Fresh air. Put some space between them.

At least she’d allowed him to help her. Progress.

“C’mon. It’s almost golden hour. A perfect time to shoot some more video and grab some still shots for your social media.” Hopefully she hadn’t noticed the pleading in his voice. Spending time with Mia had become a lifeline. He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been since Troy died and their friend group splintered.

“What do you know about golden hour?” She’d put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

“I had to take a few charters out last summer on my speedboat to make ends meet. Those groups cared more about mugging for the camera than catching any trout.” They’d stiffed him on tips too.

“I really should get started on filling Dani in about our top picks from this afternoon.”

She’d hesitated and he jumped in. “You need a break, and the kids need some fresh air. It’s a beautiful afternoon.”

Soon, they were easing the kids into their shoes, and debating whether everyone needed a light jacket.

Except the fresh air wasn’t exactly working. Every step they took, the heat of Mia’s hand near his own nearly scorched him.

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