by Debbie Mason
“My son John wanted to speak, my grandson too, but I told them Sean specifically requested the good-looking O’Malley with all the charm.” He snapped his suspenders, rocking on his heels as he soaked up the crowd’s laughter. “All right, now, that’ll be the last joke you’re getting from me. This is serious business, my friends. I’ll not say anything negative about Arianna’s opponent—that’s not how we do things around here—but if he has his way, Main Street will never be the same. We’re the heart of this town, and don’t any of you ever forget it. That’s why I’m voting for Arianna. I’ve known her since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. Always said she’d go places, didn’t I, John?” He directed his question at a handsome man sitting on a barrel at one of the tables.
“Yes, you did, Dad. And when she got older, you used to say you wished you were forty years younger.”
That got some laughter, hoots and hollers, and a round of applause.
“Listen to him, thinking he’s as funny as his old man,” Mr. O’Malley said, but anyone could see he was busting with pride. John O’Malley wasn’t known for speaking up or out. “But I must confess, what he said is true. Arianna is as beautiful as her mother and her grandmother. Now that I think about it, I’ve been admiring the Fairchild women from afar for years. I should probably do something about that, shouldn’t I?” He turned, waggling his bushy eyebrows at her grandmother. “Helen, I’m free after I’m done here.”
Her grandmother waved her hand in a go on with you gesture. “Silly old man,” she said with a smile.
“Did that sound like a yes to you, folks?” he asked. Everyone cheered. “Even if it wasn’t, I’d still vote for Arianna, and you know why?”
“Why?” several people yelled.
“I’m glad you asked. Now pay attention. I’m voting for her because she’s one of us. If she wins, we all win. Out of all of us, out of all of the businesses on Main Street, no one worked as hard as she did to make a success of Tie the Knot. I’d see her in the little room above her shop—” There were some guffaws. “Now, stop that. I’m no Peeping Tom. She did her sewing in that room, and she burned the midnight oil for as long as I can remember. You know what else she did?”
“What?”
“Thanks for asking.” He hooked his fingers in his suspenders and rocked on his heels. “She made a name for herself. She was going to be big. We all knew it and were pleased as punch to see her name in the papers and in all those fancy bridal magazines. But as big as she was getting to be, she stayed true to her small-town values and to Harmony Harbor. She was given an opportunity to set up shop in Boston, and she refused. Made the trek out here almost every day when she was married. She’s gone through her trials and tribulations, but did she let them beat her?”
“No!”
“And do you know why?” He cupped his hand behind his ear.
“She’s a fighter!” the audience yelled.
It took everything Arianna had not to run off the stage. She wasn’t a fighter. She was a fraud.
“That she is. And we’re going to fight to help her win, aren’t we?”
“Yes!”
“And we’re going to save Main Street, aren’t we?”
“Yes!”
“And when she’s ready, we’re going to help rebuild Tie the Knot!”
Everybody jumped to their feet and cheered, waving their placards.
“And here she is, the heart of Harmony Harbor, our own Arianna Bell!” Julia Gallagher, who’d volunteered to be MC for the event, shouted her introduction, clapping as wildly as the rest of the crowd. Dark-haired and adorable, Julia owned Books and Beans and was married to Connor’s cousin Aidan. She must have come straight from children’s story hour because she was dressed as a witch, her pointy black hat adorned with Arianna’s campaign buttons.
“Heart of Harmony Harbor, why didn’t we think of that?” Sean murmured as he rose from his seat on the stage to join in the clapping.
Because Arianna would have vetoed the slogan if they had. She had never been the heart of this town, not like Julia or Mr. O’Malley. And how was she supposed to follow Mr. O’Malley? Her emotions were bubbling inside her, and she was afraid they were going to bubble over.
She thanked Julia and Mr. O’Malley, kissing the older man’s cheek before taking her place behind the podium. She decided the only way to get through this was to be honest. “Wow. You’re a hard act to follow, Mr. O’Malley.”
“My boys tell me that all the time.”
Arianna smiled, waiting until the laughter died down. “I can’t tell you how much your support and kind words mean to me. Without all of you, the business community of Harmony Harbor, I wouldn’t be here. And I definitely wouldn’t be here without my amazing campaign managers, my grandmother Helen, and His Excellency, Sean Gallagher.”
“Oh now, none of that ‘excellency’ business, darlin’.”
“You don’t fool us. You love it, Gallagher,” one of the older men yelled from the bar.
“You’re right, I do.” Sean grinned, his blue eyes twinkling.
He was a handsome man and as charming as his son. She’d grown fond of the older man. She wished he’d keep talking. He was so much better at this than her. For that matter, so were her grandmother and Connor.
Sean gave her a subtle, encouraging nod. It was all she could do to hold back her sigh. She didn’t think any of them realized how hard this was for her. Be honest, she reminded herself. “My grandmother has passed the torch to me twice in my life, once with Tie the Knot.” Don’t cry; don’t cry. She blinked her eyes and cleared the emotion from her voice. “And now as the representative of her vision for Harmony Harbor’s future. I believe in what my grandmother believes in. I believe in Harmony Harbor. I believe in all of you. And I believe that if we work together we can find ways to create more jobs without compromising our small-town values and charm.”
As though he sensed that was all she had—and he’d be right—Sean stood and walked to the podium, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Connor would be proud of you tonight,” he said, and then to their audience, “Thanks so much for coming out. Don’t forget, every vote counts, and we’d appreciate yours. Beer’s on the house.”
A chorus of All in for Arianna started through the bar, with signs waving.
“Now, isn’t that a beautiful sight,” her grandmother said, coming to join them. She patted Arianna’s cheek. “You made me proud tonight.”
“Thanks, Glamma,” she said, her voice still husky with emotion, her stomach jittery with nerves.
“Your grandmother and I are going to call it a night,” Sean said, acknowledging old friends with a smile and a wave. He turned back to them and held up his cell phone, as though he’d just heard from someone. “Connor’s dinner meeting is wrapping up. He’ll pick you up here or see you back at the house.”
A warm glow of anticipation filled her. Which was ridiculous. She saw the man practically every day. Though things had changed over the past few weeks. Before he used to drop in at any time of the day. Now she mostly saw him after work and on the weekends.
Up until two weeks ago she’d had no idea he’d left his firm to work with Michael and Shay. She’d been surprised he’d left the Three Bs: Barnes, Brooks, and Baker. It was the most prestigious law firm in Boston. It would have to be since the Summers family was a client, and they didn’t settle for anything less than the best, as Gary used to like to remind Arianna.
Connor had been a bit evasive as to why he’d left, but he seemed happy enough. No doubt his old firm wasn’t. Over the past two weeks, he’d been actively wining and dining his former clients to bring them over to Gallagher and Gallagher. And Arianna knew better than anyone that when Connor set his mind to winning someone over, he went all out.
She smiled, remembering his reaction upon discovering the golf game and client dinner he’d scheduled for today overlapped with the rally at the Salty Dog. He’d wanted to cancel, but she’d insisted he keep his plans. She, out of anyone,
understood the sacrifices you sometimes had to make to get a business off the ground. Besides, he’d rarely missed a single event and, with his father in charge, there had been many of them.
Arianna kissed her grandmother’s cheek and gave Sean a one-armed hug. “Thanks for organizing this. It was fun. I think I’ll stay a while longer.”
Helen and Sean shared a shocked look and then beamed at her. She held back a wry laugh. She hadn’t made things easy for them. Well, she wasn’t going to burst their bubbles by sharing that she didn’t plan to do any more campaigning or schmoozing, no matter how much she loved her friends and appreciated their support. As tonight had proven, time and the campaign were getting away from her. She needed to sort things out before it was too late. And she needed to do that alone.
It turned out it wasn’t as easy to get away as she’d anticipated. Now that her friends and her sister had her out on the town, they didn’t seem prepared to let her go. “Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll have one more drink with you.”
“Great. I want you guys to try one of the cocktails we’ll be serving at Shay and Michael’s wedding reception,” her sister said. “Six sweet poisons, Cherry. No, wait, make that seven. Eight if you can sit with us, nine if Shay can.” Jenna waved to a woman on the other side of the bar while smiling up at Cherry, the manager of the pub and one of her sister’s best friends. Shay was Jenna’s childhood best friend and was working behind the bar tonight. She co-owned the pub with her uncle Charlie.
Neither of her sister’s BFFs were Arianna’s biggest fans, so she was a little surprised when Cherry leaned over and pulled her in for a hug, smothering her in her voluptuous chest and the scent of cotton candy. “It’s really good to see you. We were all worried about you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I got your card.” Helen had nearly fallen off the bed when she’d opened the envelope.
“Shay thought it was a little inappropriate, but nothing like a hot, naked man to make you feel better, I always say.”
“Cherry, you didn’t.” Jenna groaned.
“Oh please, I basically gave you the same advice. If you hadn’t followed it, you wouldn’t be with your hot secret agent man, now, would you?”
“I think the sex on the beach had more to do with—”
They cut off her sister with a group groan. “TMI,” Lily, the owner of In Bloom, said.
Jenna rolled her eyes. “The drink, ladies. Get your minds out of the gutter.”
“I never did understand that expression. What do hot men and sweaty sex have to do with a gutter?” Cherry shrugged, her burgundy wench’s costume sliding off her shoulder. She glanced at it, smiled, and tugged it a little lower. Jutting out her hip, she rested her serving tray on it as if she intended to stay awhile. “Now, listen, I know you’ve got your girls here, but once Jellybean is gone and you need another sister-friend, you just give me a call,” she said.
“Cherry, stop talking and start serving,” Shay called from the bar.
“Shaybae, you’re sounding a little cranky. Do I need to talk to that man of yours?” Cherry chuckled when Shay flipped her off. “She’s been so busy lately, she’s probably not getting herself some somethin’ somethin’. You know what I mean?”
Arianna was afraid she did, and even more afraid she knew where the conversation was headed when Cherry cocked her head to look at her more closely and said, “So, you and Connor—”
Arianna pretended not to hear her and responded to her sister-friend offer instead. “I’ll definitely give you a call when Jenna’s gone. Thanks. I really appreciate the offer.” She did, even though it was slightly terrifying.
Her sister and her friends, who’d clearly picked up on Arianna’s panic, were having a difficult time keeping straight faces.
“Okay. Great. And we’re a hundred percent behind your bid for mayor, so just let me know what we can do to help. Hey, has anyone thought of T-shirts? We could wear them here.”
“No, but that’s a really good idea,” Arianna said, a visual of her face spread across Cherry’s boobs popping into her head. “I’ll let Sean know.”
“Cherry,” Shay called again from behind the bar.
“I better get your drinks before she fires me again.” Cherry huffed, walking off with her hips swaying.
Arianna looked at her sister. “I know I told you to go, but I really think you should stay.” She said it as a joke, but deep down she meant it. The night Glamma had gone missing, it had sounded like Jenna might stay in town. Arianna had thought it had to do with her job, only to discover Jenna had been worried about her.
Her friends laughed as she had meant them to, but Jenna looked at her more closely. She leaned into her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “It’s just been a busy few weeks.” She looked up as the woman Jenna had been waving to earlier approached the table.
“Hey, Evie, come sit down. I ordered you a drink. Guys, Evangeline just took over Holiday House from her aunt.” She introduced the woman around the table. Despite a warm smile that showed off dimples in her cheeks, there was something wary in the way the woman’s dark gaze moved around the pub. Jenna patted the stool beside Arianna. “Here, sit beside my sister.”
There was something about the way Jenna insisted the woman sit beside her that put Arianna on alert.
“I’m so glad you’ve taken over the store. We were afraid it was closing for good, Ev…Do you prefer Evangeline or Evie?” Julia asked.
“Evie.” She smiled. “I wouldn’t have known the store was closed if Jenna hadn’t gotten in touch with me.”
“I needed stuff for Shay and Michael’s wedding, and we always support local, so I’d ordered everything from Evie’s aunt,” Jenna explained. “When I couldn’t reach her, I mentioned it to Kitty. You know the Widows Club. If you need to find out about someone’s family, they’re the ones to ask. They got Evie’s number for me.”
Here it comes now, Arianna thought when her sister glanced at her from under her eyelashes. “Evie’s aunt had been taken to the hospital, and no one had tried to look for a family member.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I had no idea she was sick,” Mackenzie, the owner of Truly Scrumptious, said. “I feel so bad. My bakery is two doors up from Holiday House. I supply the seasonal cookies for the shop.”
Holiday House was a year-round Christmas store that also carried other seasonal holiday lines.
“I know, and I hope you’ll continue to do so. Don’t feel bad though. None of us knew my aunt was having problems. She’s just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”
They all made sympathetic noises, including Arianna, who pinned her sister with an I’m onto you stare that had no effect on Jenna whatsoever because she continued to avoid Arianna’s gaze.
“Are you going to run the store or try to sell it, Evie?” Lily asked.
“I’m keeping it. I’ve sold everything I own and moved here. Fingers double crossed that I can make a go of it. The only retail experience I have is from when I stayed with my aunt during the summers.”
Arianna breathed a little easier. Maybe that’s all it was. Jenna wanted her to take the new girl on the block under her wing.
Or so she thought, until Mackenzie asked, “What did you do before?” And Jenna once again cast Arianna a nervous, sidelong glance.
“I was a therapist in New York,” she said, and Arianna could have sworn Jenna and Evie shared a glance.
Arianna pushed back from the table and stood. “It was lovely to meet you, Evie. Good luck with Holiday House.” She gave her sister and friends quick hugs, thanked them for the night and for all their help over the past few weeks, and then got the heck out of there before Jenna or Cherry could stop her.
Once outside, she inhaled deeply, allowing the crisp October air to calm her frazzled nerves. It helped until her eyes were automatically drawn to the burned-out remains of the four stores up the road. She bowed her head and walked quickly to the side street. Just a few months before, she’d been like nearly eve
ry one of the people crowded into the pub tonight, thinking of ways to increase sales and attract more customers.
Now with Daniel Gallagher’s plan to modernize Main Street, razing half the block and putting up a modern office building which included storefronts, they had a very good chance of losing their dreams for their business’s futures too. And they were looking to her to protect them, to save them. She didn’t understand how they could put their faith in her: Didn’t they see she was a fake, a fraud?
Of course they didn’t see her for who she was, she thought, when she walked by house after house with her campaign sign on their front lawn. It wasn’t even a recent photo of her. They’d used one a professional had done years before, when she’d been the type of woman who deserved their faith. A woman who could fight and win.
Arianna dug in the leather hobo bag she wore over her shoulder, searching for her lipstick. She pulled it out, using her teeth to take off the lid. Then, with her left hand, she awkwardly drew a mustache, thick eyebrows, and a goatee on the sign sitting almost hidden beneath a big oak tree. By the time she’d gone through the red tube of lipstick, half a tube of peach, and five signs, her artistic skills had improved.
“You do know it’s a misdemeanor to deface campaign signs, don’t you, lady?”
She briefly closed her eyes and sighed. She should have known he’d somehow catch her in the act. She turned. Connor leaned against his car, arms crossed, with her favorite smile on his handsome face.
“Are you going to make a citizen’s arrest?”
“I should,” he said as he pushed off the car to walk toward her. “I happen to be very fond of the candidate and her face.”