Page 61 of Meet Me on Lilac Lane

“No. I wanted it too.” Mia touched her lips. “But maybe we should slow down. I’m sorry. I just need more time.”

“I’m okay with that. I don’t want to push you. I’m not going anywhere.” He started putting away his tools.

She stretched out a hand to him. “I thought we had more shelves to hang up.”

“I’ll finish it later.” He had to get away. Had to put some space between them before he did something crazy like taking her back into his arms and kissing her until they both forgot Troy ever existed.

“Oh. Um. Okay. I should probably pick up the kids anyway.” Mia brushed a hair away from her face. She turned to go through the door. The next few minutes flashed in front of his eyes. She would leave, and he would have screwed up their whole relationship.

“Wait.” He reached for her but dropped his hand before it connected with her shoulder. Too much temptation if he made contact. Her gaze pierced him. “Are we okay?”

“Yeah, we’re okay.” She left without another word.

He meant what he said. He wasn’t going anywhere. He just needed to give her time to see that he was the right guy for her.

Chapter Eleven

At least it looked like the weather was going to cooperate. The past few days had gone by in a blur of preparations and last-minute arrangements for the in-person meeting with the possible new business owners today.

She didn’t have the luxury to think about the kiss with Cody or what it meant. He’d reached out a few times, but she hadn’t had much time to do more than send a quick text response. He stood near her on the dock. His navy Jonathon Island T-shirt highlighting his eyes. Her gaze drifted to him again. That shirt was working for his muscles too.

Stop it! Focus!

Mia tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. No reason to let anyone see them trembling.

Lord, help me today!

The ferry pulled up to the dock a few feet from where she stood with her dad, Dani, Cody, and Tara Chamberlain, a “welcome to Jonathon Island committee” of sorts. Mia had dropped off Finn and Maggie with her mom earlier, grateful that she didn’t have to keep track of them while also doing this part of her job. The stakes of impressing everyone were high enough without Maggie wandering off or Finn falling into the water.

Earlier, her dad had greeted her with an awkward hug. All these years later and she still didn’t know how to behave around him. Maybe Evie was right, and she needed to sit down and talk things through.

Too bad there wouldn’t be time for that anytime soon. But once her mortgage was paid off…maybe then she could figure out the rest of her life.

Cody included.

Focus, girl.

She and Dani had haggled about how many to invite to this meet and greet. They’d only wanted finalists from the interviews. She’d argued that inviting more guests than they needed to fill the spaces made the most sense. After some pushback, Dani had agreed. Already two had canceled, citing arrangements to bring their businesses elsewhere. The remaining thirteen meant they had an extra, which felt tight to Mia, but doable.

The ferry boat captain laid on his horn as the boat pulled into its slip. A few moments later, passengers began filing down the gangway. She recognized a few of them from the video chats they’d held over the past week. There was Mr. and Mrs. Olson, dressed in a fedora and a cloche hat respectively. Mr. Olson even sported a bow tie, and were those spats? With Mrs. Olson’s red wool jacket, they looked more like a couple who wanted to start an antique shop than a pizzeria. But she knew the next couple off the boat, the Millers, were the antiques dealers. She’d pegged them at around mid-fifties, both dressed casually in jeans and sweatshirts. A man in a kilt walked down next.

Huh. She’d seen this guy’s social media profile. He was another artist, and he’d been in a kilt in some of his photos. Who knew that it would be an everyday type of outfit?

Matt came next. The sight of someone she could rely on unknotted one of the ropes currently restricting her breathing.

One woman shoved her way forward before leaning over the guard rail and retching into the bay. Mia ran to her side to assist her. She recognized her as Ms. DeVoe, a woman who sold specialty clothing.

“I’m sorry.” The woman wiped her mouth with the tissue Mia tucked into her hand. “I’ve never traveled by boat before. Is it always that choppy? I thought I was on a roller coaster.”

“Ms. De Voe, right?” Ms. De Voe nodded, lips tight. Mia looked out over the water. Today it lay smooth and calm. The sun beamed down on them from its place in the noon sky. “I’m sorry it didn’t agree with you. Can I get you something to calm your stomach? We will be walking to the Tourist Bureau in a moment, and there will be refreshments there.”

Ms. De Voe waved her off. “I’ll just get some water when we arrive. Standing on solid ground is helping.” She moved a few paces off and bent at the waist, putting her hands on her knees.

Mia shrugged. Not much else she could do right now. One situation at a time. She greeted the rest of the guests as best she could before stepping onto a bench and clapping her hands three times like a tour guide.

“Welcome to Jonathon Island, everyone. I’m so glad you could make it.” She glanced around the group as they all quieted down. Cody caught her eye and gave her a thumbs up. A flush stole across her back. Biting her cheek to hold back her smile, she continued. “We’ll be starting our day off by taking a short walk to the Tourism Bureau, where we can get some refreshments and get to know one another better. We’ll also have a question and answer session. Then we’ll move on to a tour of town. Anyone interested in taking a look at some of the houses will have an opportunity to do that as well. Any questions?”

When there were none, Mia climbed off the bench and began walking toward the Tourism Bureau, the group falling in behind and around her.

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