Page 120 of Banter & Blushes

Of course she was.

Caroline sat behind her desk, her legendary binder open like a sacred text, tabs fluttering as she flipped pages with alarming speed.

“You’re half an hour early,” she said without looking up.

He peered over the desk at the open binder. “And you’re only on page twelve. Should I be worried?”

“Only if you thought this was going to be easy.”

He set a paper to-go cup on the edge of her desk. She glanced at it and returned to studying the paper in front of her. “That for me?”

““Light cream, no sugar. Sandy said it’s how you drank it.”

“You stopped by the diner?” Manicured nails wrapped around the paper cup, pulling it closer.

“I stopped and grabbed lunch. Do you want anything? I can always call.”

Beck watched her hair bounce around her shoulders as she shook her head.

“No. I grabbed a sandwich from home.”

“I believe in starting strong.”

“I believe in follow-through.”

“AndI believe you’re already bossing me around.”

“Excellent. We’re aligned.” She finally looked up, and something about the way she smiled made him forget for a second he was supposed to be retired. “Thanks for the coffee.”

He watched her for a minute and then moved to the windowsill, leaning against it so she couldn’t read every thought on his face. “What’s the plan, Hollis? You’re the one with the grandma army and the strategic initiative.”

Caroline twirled her highlighter between nimble fingers. “We know whatwe’re up against. Empty town, empty pockets, empty promises from my father,the traitor. We need to lure tourists back and keep them coming through Labor Day.” Beck nodded, although she couldn’t see it. “How do we make Bluebell Bay the place to be? Coastal nostalgia with a modern twist? Lower the median age of our visitors from sixty-five to twenty-five.”

“You need to do it without scaring away everyone else.”

She swiveled her chair and scrutinized him closely, as if determining whether he was genuine or merely humoring her. “You in, Beckett?”

Beck rubbed his chin and felt the familiar buzz of adrenaline from a marketing campaign. He was supposed to be done with the lure and high from out-thinking the competition.

“It’s never going to work,” he said lightly. “Those clip art dolphins might make it to senior center tote bags, but not a movie star’s Instagram.”

All Caroline heard was he accepted the challenge. “So, I’ll need someone who can do better.”

Her confidence startled him, how she assumed he’d already said yes.

“This is a one-time deal, Hollis.”

“You sure? It sounds like it might be more.”

“One condition,” he said, liking the way she focused, the flicker of determination in those green eyes. “You don’t get to boss me around this summer.”

“Two conditions,” she replied, a stubborn tilt to her chin. “You actually show up.”

“Deal,” he replied.

“Have a seat.” She motioned to the chair in front of her desk.

He watched her for a minute before sinking into a chair on the opposite side of the desk and took a sip from his coffee cup.

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