Page 48 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

But then, when she’d called and asked him to come to her house to help with something, he’d had lightning in his sneakers.

And now, he was sitting at her dining room table and supposed to concentrate on helping her with some incredibly boring paperwork.

So. Yeah. Whiplash.

“Are you okay?” Mia’s eyes were unreadable.

“Sure am.” Keep it light. “Why?”

“You keep rubbing your neck. I thought maybe you’d gotten hurt.”

He willed his hands to stay where they were. One rested on the table, and one clutched an application. Mia had asked if they could review them one more time. “I’m fine.”

“So, I think we should definitely go with the fifteen there to replace all the ones that dropped out when I started scheduling video interviews. But I’d like to pick one more.” Mia fanned out the final applications on the table. “These are our choices. What do you think? I just really need a second opinion. I don’t want to present the wrong candidates to the council and look foolish.”

Cody held out the application in his hand. “This is the one I would choose. Mrs. Harper. Solid background in sales, she’s lived in the same place for a long time, which shows loyalty, but now wants some adventure, which shows she’s ready to tackle the challenge of living and working over here. Plus, she sells cheesecake. Win-win.”

Mia smiled at him. A tight line of a smile that didn’t reach much higher than her lips. Not that he should be looking at her lips. They moved. Shoot. He’d missed her response. “I’m sorry, what?”

She bristled. “You don’t like Matt Goldfinch as a candidate?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. ‘I’m sorry, what?’” She added a slight sarcasm to his response.

“That’s not what I?—”

“I think we should give him a chance. I’d love to see a real art studio here. Who knows, maybe one day Maggie will work there and be inspired.” She glanced away, blinking rapidly.

Aw. Sure, he had a raging, green-eyed monster in his belly every time he saw or thought about Matt Goldfinch, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Mia. He certainly wasn’t about to let himself and his dumb emotions get in the way of her happiness.

“Mia, look at me.” She met his eyes and a heat zinged through him. “If you want Matt for this last slot, and you think he’s a good fit, I’m not going to fight you on it. I’m on your team.”

Her expression softened. “Thanks. I appreciate that. And I appreciate you thinking through these applications with me. It means a lot.”

“Anytime.”

Mia tapped the table once. “Okay. I think I’m ready to head over and finalize some of these details with Dani.” She gathered her papers together. They shook in her hands. “Kids! Get your shoes.” She tucked the papers in a folder then ran her palms down the sides of her pants.

“Hey.” He stood and took two steps around the table. “Nervous?”

Her smile wobbled. “A little.”

“You have nothing to worry about.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Nothing to worry about? Cody, if this goes sideways, I could lose my house. My kids could be homeless.” A fire he’d never seen before shot from her eyes. “This is theonlything I should be worrying about.”

“No, I didn’t mean?—”

“If I don’t nail every single part of this. It’s not just my life on the line, it’s the town’s reputation. It’s Dani’s job.” She flung her arms out. “It’s the whole island.”

“Okay. You have a lot to worry about. But what I meant was, you’re smart. You’re prepared. Dani is your best friend. Whatever happens in the next hour or so will be fine. You’ll figure it out.”

She blew out a breath and smoothed back a section of her hair. “Sorry. I freaked out a little there.”

“Just a little.” He softened his words with a smile. “Hey, here’s a great idea. Why don’t you let me take care of the kids while you’re gone.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

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