Love Arranged (Lakefront Billionaires, #3)(21)

The Lopez-Mu?oz chat is active, but I’m more interested in a new message from Willow.

WILLOW

Whatever you did to convince Lorenzo not to fire or sue me, THANK YOU!

I blink twice at the message.

Did I say something? I don’t remember—

Oh.

ME

It’s the least I could do after risking your job to begin with.

ME

I’m SO sorry about mentioning the fiancée thing. You asked me not to say anything, and I broke my word.

WILLOW

No worries. All is forgiven!

ME

Really?

WILLOW

Yeah. I can’t completely hold your drunk actions against you when I’m the one who suggested opening another bottle.

ME

I’m old enough to cut myself off before I ever let myself get to that point.

I was too down on my luck to stop, but I’ve learned my lesson.

WILLOW

Out of curiosity, how did you convince Lorenzo to keep working with me?

It takes me a few seconds to remember, and when I do, I groan.

ME

I may have threatened to run against him.

WILLOW

I had no idea you’re interested in politics.

ME

I can get a little sassy when drunk.

Not that I think my attitude had any sway over Lorenzo’s choice to keep working with Willow.

WILLOW

I’d say!

WILLOW

Thankfully whatever you said worked because he’s pretending last night didn’t happen.

WILLOW

But don’t assume you’re off the hook because I need to know everything about you, Lorenzo, and the Eros app.

So much for my plan to put last night behind me, and it’s all thanks to my big mouth and hurt feelings.




Two days later, I’m scheduled to open the shop before our second-newest employee takes over for the afternoon. I’m not much of a morning person, so I treat myself to an iced coffee from the Angry Rooster Café.

A few people in the café stop me to chat, and I entertain their conversations before I have to drag myself back to my car and drive over to the Historic District.

My stomach sours when I find the mayor and his two sons standing in the middle of Lavender Lane, reviewing what looks to be architectural plans. I’m tempted to keep driving around until the Ludlows leave, but I still need to wrap up the flower-wall design before we open for the day, so I park my car in an empty spot and walk over to Rose & Thorn.

My shop is in the Ludlows’ direct line of sight, so I brace myself for the inevitable.

“Lily!” the mayor calls out. I would love to ignore him, but I’d risk looking too immature in front of Richard, so I turn to face the three of them with an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Mayor Ludlow has overseen Lake Wisteria for nearly three decades after taking over from his late father, and he recently celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday last year before announcing his upcoming retirement.

“Mayor Ludlow.” I take advantage of our proximity and memorize the company logo on the corner of the plans.

The mayor keeps a smile in place while he rolls up the paper, but I don’t return it before acknowledging his other son. “Trevor.”

I ignore Richard altogether, earning a raised brow from Mayor Ludlow and a grin from Trevor. The eldest Ludlow son is thirty-five, while Richard was born five years later. They look similar with their matching blond hair and blue eyes, although Trevor stands out with his warm smile and friendly demeanor.

Of the two Ludlow sons, Trevor is the more approachable one, so I understand why Mayor Ludlow chose him as his predecessor over Richard, who usually looks like he is suffering from a chronic case of IBS.

Or maybe he only appears that way around me.

“Nice to see you, Lily,” Trevor says.

“What are you all doing out here?” I ask.

Mayor Ludlow’s smile returns. “We’re going over some of the architect’s plans for Lavender Lane.”

My heart stutters. “A bit premature, don’t you think?”

“I want to hit the ground running after I’m sworn in.” Trevor winks.

“Assuming that even happens.” I spare Richard a glance and wish I hadn’t.

His icy-blue eyes are laser focused on me.

“We know the letter must’ve come as quite a shock,” Mayor Ludlow speaks. “But Trevor is going to make sure everyone is taken care of and given first dibs on the new retail spaces.”

“How thoughtful of him to offer us an opportunity to buy our own properties back for quadruple the price.”

“We understand rent prices have gotten a bit out of hand…” the mayor says. “But we’re partnering with the local bank to offer small business loans to those who are misplaced.”

“You mean the bank you own?”

The mayor’s smile falters. “Yes, but our rates are competitive, I assure you.”

Richard, who probably suggested Lavender Lane for this plan to spite me, says, “For the price we’re paying for the building, you should be grateful.”

“I guess I’m too blinded by my rage to appreciate your generosity.”

Richard shrugs.

Any lingering hope of convincing the mayor to change his mind goes up in flames because there is no way Richard will let that happen. He resents me far too much.