Dora shrugged. “The name change has been real popular. I’m trying to add more creative names to the desserts. Spice things up a bit.”
“You could call one Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Pie Eater,” Irma suggested with a wide grin. “In honor of Trevor. Display it in the case next to Maggie’s bread.”
“It’s not my bread,” Maggie said, throwing up her hands. “I doubt Trevor would appreciate that kind of attention, either.”
“That’s a good point,” Dora said with a nod. “I don’t want to make the Stones angry. They’ve promised to increase their standing order of croissants and cookies now that the tasting room is open.” She leaned toward Irma. “I give them a big discount, of course, because of all the tourists coming to the bakery after they try my stuff at Harvest.”
Maggie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. No one in town seemed the least bit concerned about getting on her bad side.
“Do you think Jason has more pull with the family?” Russ asked, and Maggie bit down so hard on her cheek she could taste blood inside her mouth.
“I doubt it,” Irma answered before Maggie had a chance to respond. “He was always a bit of an outsider, and I don’t think anyone in Dave Stone’s immediate family likes him. There was some bad blood when Dave inherited the farm and his brother got the time-share in Arizona.”
“Also,” Dora added, hitching a thumb in Maggie’s direction, “Jason isn’t sleeping with either of the brothers. That has to count for something.”
“That’s crass, Dora,” Grammy muttered. “Even for you. To think Maggie would barter sexual favors for influence is insulting.”
“Don’t get on your high horse with me, Vivian,” Dora shot back. “I remember when you dated Mark Kipling after Chester died. You can’t tell me you were honestly interested in that onion-breathed weasel other than the fact that he owned the bank.”
“Enough.” Maggie rose from her chair, gripping the edge of the oak conference table. “I’m done having my private life carted out for inspection at every turn. I’ve worked hard during my first term as mayor. I hope each of you will support me in this election because I’m good at this job.”
She glanced at her grandmother and then away. “Not because of my family name or who I’m dating or because you think I’m a good sport about my fiancé cheating on me. I care about this town and I care about the members of the business community. I’ll work things out with Harvest. While they’re important to Stonecreek, so are each of you. You’re important to me. I’m going to make sure we do the right thing for everyone.”
“Don’t worry, Maggie,” Chuck O’Malley said in his gruff voice. “We’ve got your back.”
“Thanks, Chuck.” She smiled as the rest of the association members around the table nodded or called out their support. Her grandmother was uncharacteristically quiet and refused to make eye contact.
Maggie would worry about whatever bee had taken up residence in her grandmother’s bonnet later. Right now, she was emotionally drained. “I’m going to get back to city hall while you all finish your meeting. I promise to follow up with Jana and Marcus and keep everyone updated.”
With another sidelong glance at Vivian, who still appeared mesmerized by something Russ was saying next to her, Maggie waved to the rest of the business owners and then left the room. The Miriam Inn looked much as it had when Maggie was a girl. Personally, she thought the interior of the building could benefit from a bit of a face-lift—or at least a light freshening. But this was her grandmother’s domain and Maggie wouldn’t dare give Grammy suggestions on how to run her business.
The town square was quiet this Monday morning, with only a few people walking their dogs on the path and the local tai chi group practicing on the open expanse of lawn in the center. The day was overcast, although the brightly colored leaves and the fall decorations that adorned the businesses up and down Main Street still made downtown look cheery.
Maggie pulled out her phone again, but she had no missed calls from anyone at Harvest Vineyards. Disappointment lanced through her. Somehow she knew Jason Stone would spin this latest development in his own favor, and although she wanted to believe the members of the business association supported her, she wouldn’t blame them for looking out for their own interests.
Her fingers hovered over the home screen, but then she shoved the phone back into her purse. She needed time to research other vineyards that also housed event venues before making her case to the Stones.
She breathed deeply as she entered city hall. Since her grandmother had been mayor for most of Maggie’s childhood, the scent of pine and decades-old files was familiar and made the tension in her shoulders ease slightly. Her own personal version of a relaxation candle. It represented so much to her, and although the past months had been difficult, she didn’t regret that she’d chosen to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps. The key now was honoring that past while forging her own path.
She greeted several people but didn’t stop moving. Right now she needed her own space and to recharge. Only her office wasn’t empty. Griffin stood in front of the bookcase that lined one wall, holding a framed photo of Maggie as a baby in her mother’s arms.
“Hey,” he said with that almost smile that never failed to make her knees turn to jelly.
“Hi,” she whispered, then swallowed when her voice caught on the one syllable.
“You look like her.” He turned the frame toward her as if she didn’t have the image memorized.
“She was prettier than me,” Maggie answered. “Morgan is almost her doppelgänger.”
He placed the frame back on the shelf. “Your sister has the same hair color, but I see you in her eyes and around the mouth.”
Tears clogged Maggie’s throat. She’d love to believe she resembled her mother, either in looks or personality. “I still miss her.”
Griffin nodded, as if that was to be expected. “I miss my dad, and we didn’t even like each other. I can’t imagine how it must feel to lose someone you truly love.”
“You don’t fool me,” she told him, moving forward. “I know you loved your dad.” She reached out and laced her fingers with his. “I’m sure he loved you, too.”
Griffin snorted. “I don’t know about that part, but you’re right on the first. I loved him even if I never could make him happy.”
“He’d be proud of you now.”
“My mom said the same thing to me.”
“Great minds...”
He lifted their hands and kissed her knuckles. “You seem stressed.”
“I just came from the downtown business owners’ association. It was an emergency meeting to discuss the new plans at Harvest.”
Griffin grimaced. “I’m sorry for that.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” She tried to tug her hand away, but he held fast.
“I didn’t know. None of us did. Trevor and my mom had discussed the idea of an event venue, but she wanted to figure out what was needed based on what was already working in town.”
“Like the Miriam Inn’s conference center?” She raised a brow.
“Yes,” Griffin answered without hesitation.
“You can understand why I find it difficult to believe Trevor didn’t make the announcement on purpose.”
“Believe it or not, I think him jumping the gun on the announcement had more to do with me than you.”
“Because you’re with me?”
He shook his head. “Marcus is stepping down as CEO.”
Maggie drew in a sharp breath. “Brenna told me he’d said something about wanting more time to spend with her and Ellie, but I had no idea he wanted that much time.”
“He’ll be involved but not in the day-to-day operations.” Griffin still held her hand, running his thumb along the fleshy edge of her palm. It was an absent touch but also intimate in a way that had butterflies flutt
ering across Maggie’s chest. “He and my mom want me to take over.”
“Not Trevor?”
His full mouth thinned. “I was as shocked as you are. Trevor is the obvious choice.”
She moved closer, placed her free hand against his chest and spread her fingers, feeling his steady heartbeat. “I’m not shocked that they want you, Griffin. You love the land and you have an innate gift for understanding the vines, just like your dad did.”
“I’ve been gone for so long,” he murmured, his eyes drifting shut as if in pain.
“I’m guessing it’s like riding a bike.”
One side of his mouth curved up as he blinked, then met her gaze. “Not exactly.”
“But kind of?” she prompted.
“Kind of,” he agreed.
“I asked about Trevor because he told me he expected it to happen.”
“He’s not the only one. He knows the business end and the branding better than anyone. His expertise is a big part of the reason Harvest is now a well-known player in the wine industry. It’s not just regional anymore, either. He’s expanded our reach, increased the export sales by over twenty percent the past two years and generated a ton of buzz about the vineyard’s new varietals. Just listing his accomplishments makes me feel like a slacker.”
“But his heart isn’t in it,” she said quietly, pressing her hand against his chest.
He huffed out a laugh. “It’s like you and my mom are the same person.”
“Ewwww.” Maggie made a face and pulled away.
Griffin laughed again. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it.”
“Let’s get out of here,” she blurted.
He glanced around. “Out of your office or the town hall building in general?”
“Stonecreek,” she clarified. “Can you sneak away for an overnight in Lychen?”
“My little coastal-town hideaway made quite an impression on you, huh?”
“I did love the town,” she said, “but you made the impression.” Lychen, about an hour from Stonecreek, was a picturesque town nestled against the craggy beaches of the Oregon coast. It had been the setting for their first date, a perfect night away from the pressures of family and community. An evening for just them, and Maggie wanted to recreate that magic.
“I’m supposed to meet with Marcus first thing tomorrow morning.”
“We can come back tonight,” she suggested, trying not to let her disappointment show.
“Or I could reschedule my meeting with Marcus.” He closed the distance between them in two long strides, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. His mouth molded against hers and she hummed her pleasure as he deepened the kiss. Even though it had only been a day and a half since she’d spent the night at his apartment, it felt like ages ago.
“I like your plan better than mine,” she said when he finally released her. Every fiber of her being tingled with need at the same time her stress from earlier melted away. The only thing she cared about at the moment was being with Griffin.
“What about a change of clothes?”
She grimaced and shook her head. “I can’t go back to my dad’s house. I’ll get sucked into real life.”
“No real life,” he said, kissing her again.
“Too complicated,” she answered, wrinkling her nose.
“The banned word.” He clasped a hand to his chest in mock horror.
Maggie giggled as happiness filled her. Being with Griffin made her truly happy and she couldn’t imagine a better reason to play hooky from life than the chance to spend the day—not to mention the night—with him.
They managed to sneak out of the town hall with no one seeing them. Maggie’s car could remain parked in the employee lot behind the building, so they climbed into Griffin’s Land Cruiser and headed for the coast. Maggie texted her dad, Brenna and her assistant, Megan, to let them know she had to take a quick trip out of town and would return tomorrow.
Then she turned off her phone and set it on the console, leaning her head against the seat to gaze out the window at the changing landscape.
“Why didn’t we think of escaping before now?” Griffin asked with a smile.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Because already this is the most fun I’ve had in ages.”
“It only gets better from here,” he promised, and he was right. They stopped for a late lunch at a local deli in one of the towns off the main highway and pulled into Lychen just as the sun was beginning to make its way across the sky toward the horizon.
“Beach and then hotel,” Griffin told her as he parked in a lot near the pier.
Maggie made a face as she looked down at her pencil skirt and modest heels. “I’m not exactly dressed for the sand.”
“You look perfect to me,” he told her as they climbed out, Maggie leaving her shoes inside the SUV.
She felt perfect, despite being overdressed. He took her hand and they walked down to the edge of the ocean. It was nearing low tide so a wide expanse of beach was exposed. The sand was cool under Maggie’s feet. At this time of year, the temperatures near the coast were in the fifties and a strong breeze blew her hair in all directions.
She inhaled deeply of the salty air and leaned closer to Griffin. He slung an arm over her shoulder, the heat from his body warming her as they walked. A few pelicans hopped around the rock formations just offshore, foraging for food, but otherwise they had the beach to themselves.
Back in early summer when they’d had their first date, Maggie couldn’t have imagined how important Griffin would become to her. They were an unlikely match—he with his devil-may-care attitude and the heart of a rebel and her always wanting to please everyone, even at the expense of her own happiness.
It was easy to be with him, natural in a way she’d never experienced with anyone else. There was no denying that she’d fallen head over heels in love with this man. And although she still wasn’t certain if those feelings would ever be reciprocated, she couldn’t help but believe he cherished the connection between them as much as she did. It had to be only a matter of time until he said those three words back to her.
Chapter Twelve
“Nice going, Spencer. Way to work the system.”
Morgan swallowed as Zach Bryant dropped next to her on the lunch table bench. She concentrated on peeling the orange she’d packed and not looking at Cole, who sat across from her.
She didn’t need to look at him to know he was angry at Zach’s intrusion. Anger poured off him like heat from the old radiator in her room on a cold winter night. Cole and Zach used to be friends, last year when Cole first moved to Stonecreek. He’d immediately become the de facto leader of the wild crowd at the high school, the crazy and sometimes dangerous escapades from his previous school documented on social media to make him a legend his first day on campus.
In a way it was funny because Cole had first motivated her to change her image and become part of the hard-partying group of nonconformist kids. She’d been infatuated with him from the start but hadn’t realized that while she was trying to get in with the bad kids, he’d desperately wanted out.
Now she wished she’d never gone down that path in the first place. Cole acted like it was so easy to walk away, but the fact that he hadn’t outright told Zach and his crew to shove off told a different story. Stonecreek was a small town and once you were pigeonholed at the high school, it was difficult to undo a reputation.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said quietly, glancing toward Zach, then inwardly groaning when Jonah, Jocelyn and Amanda crowded around the table.
“Homecoming,” Zach said. “Jocelyn said you convinced your folks to let you go to the dance.”
“My dad agreed,” Morgan clarified. “My mom is dead.”
“Whatever,” Zach muttered, like he was mad she’d contradicted
him.
She looked up through her lashes to see Cole glaring at Zach and then back at her, a muscle ticking in his jaw. Morgan gave a small shake of her head. The last thing she needed—that either of them needed—was Cole getting into trouble at school.
“So what’s the plan?” Jonah asked, plucking an orange sliver out of Morgan’s fingers. Jonah was the consummate lackey, following Zach wherever he went like a puppy would his owner. “Do we make an appearance at the dance first, then duck out or do a little prepartying to make it actually fun?”
“I think the dance will be fun,” Morgan said, earning a disbelieving snort from Jocelyn.
“You’re joking, right?” the cool blonde said with a sneer. “I say we preparty. Cole, can your brother hook us up?”
“Nope.”
Jocelyn pouted and leaned into Cole’s arm, making a sick pit open in Morgan’s stomach. Jocelyn and Cole had dated—or at least hooked up—for a short time when he’d moved to town. Even though her self-named best girlfriend acted like she’d moved on, Morgan had a feeling she’d love another chance with Cole.
“Please,” Jocelyn purred, rubbing herself all over Cole. He didn’t seem to notice, but Morgan wanted to reach across the table and throat punch the girl. “Just a teensy-weensy bit of the good stuff.”
Cole’s gaze flicked to Morgan, then he shifted his arm away from Jocelyn. “I don’t party anymore, Joce. You know that.”
The girl’s glossy mouth turned down at the corners. “Lame.”
“I can hook us up,” Zach told the group. “We’ll make Boy Scout Cole our designated driver.”
Jocelyn, Amanda and Jonah all laughed at that.
“I’m going to the dance,” Cole said through clenched teeth. “Not to wherever you losers wind up for the night.”
“Losers?” Zach’s eyes narrowed. “That must make you King Loser, dude, because your list of exploits is longer than the rest of ours combined.”
“Not anymore,” Cole shot back.
“Well, then...” Zach hitched his chin toward Morgan. “You must be planning on going stag, because Morgan’s with us.” He reached out and trailed a finger along her sleeve. “Aren’t you, sweetheart?”
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