Page 114 of Summer Tease
I geta text from Beau when I’m on my way to the city offices. I can barely read it through the golf cart’s vibrations.
Beau
The presentation looks amazing, and I couldn’t have done it without you. Wish me luck!
I don’t bother responding because I’m running late and I’m almost there.
My heart is pounding by the time I reach the parking lot at the city offices. I’ve done a lot of presentations in my time, but today feels different. For a lot of reasons.
I’m wearing black slacks, the same heels I wore when Beau pulled me over on my first night, and a white button-up shirt, all of which at least make mefeellike I’m capable. I can stand in front of a table of meanies wearing this and keep my cool.
The meeting is already going when I open the door enough to look inside.
The council members are all seated in their places, looking a whole lot like they did a few days ago. I still can’t believe they called an emergency meeting when their regular meeting was going to be so soon.
But I can’t think about that right now. This is about Beau.
Once the agenda for the meeting is read, I slip inside the door, which creaks until every single head turns to look at me. I ignore everyone but Beau, who couldn’t look more surprised if I’d swung in on a jungle vine, yelling like Tarzan.
I try to close the door as softly as possible, but it creaks as much as it did while being opened, then I make my way to sit beside him. It’s almost as crowded as it was last week. I’m impressed by the sense of civic duty that permeates this island. City council meetings aren’t generally on my list of ways to spend my free time.
I take the seat next to Beau, who stares at me like he’sworried he’s seeing things. I grab his hand but don’t say anything, since the first item on the agenda is already being discussed: renewing the software license for the city’s computer system.
Beau looks down at our hands and squeezes mine gratefully.
After the software discussion, there’s a report about waste management, then discussion of the community pool fundraiser.
Beau leans over to me midway through a zoning discussion. “Thank you. For being here.”
I nod, so glad I didn’t stay home.
Finally, it’s time for the last item: the city budget.
“Officer Palmer,” says Mayor Barnes. “I understand you have something you’d like to present.”
Beau clears his throat and stands, but I tug down on his hand and get to my feet next to him.
“I’ll actually be the one presenting, Mayor Barnes,” I say. “If that’s okay with Officer Palmer.” I look over at him.
Whatever happens while I’m up in front of the council, it’s more than worth the way he’s looking at me. It’s the purest mix of gratitude, awe, and a hint of bedroom eyes that make my pulse extra speedy.
“You sure?” he asks in an undertone.
“Positive,” I say with a smile, then I head for the front of the room. It takes a couple of minutes to get the tech going and the presentation pulled up, but once that’s done, I face the table of city council members.
This is for Beau.
“Councilwomen and men,” I say. “Thank you for having me here today. You may or may not be aware that I’ve been shadowing Officer Palmer for the past few weeks, documenting some of what he does as Sunset Harbor’s only law enforcement officer.”
Their heads nod.
“This may come as a shock to you, but I came to this island with a deep-seated dislike of Beau Palmer.”
Chuckles ripple throughout the room, and it acts like an IV, filling my veins with more confidence. Beau smiles at me, and with the way my heart flutters, I realize it’s a miracle my hatred of him lasted more than a few seconds. I’m not actually sure that it did, but I sure made a valiant effort to pretend.
“When I agreed to help him with this project, it was with a promise to help convince you that he deserves a full-time position in Sunset Harbor. No one could have been more skeptical of that fact than I was. I was sure Officer Palmer spent his days dillydallying, as Grams calls it, or abusing his position, even.”
The eyes of the council members have started looking slightly wary, as if I came here to smear Beau instead of help him.
