It was nothing more than a bench, a grassy field about the size of a master bathroom with a rusted goal post and a jungle gym I was fairly sure had been there since the 1970s.
Since the place was empty, I plopped down on the bench, my briefcase at my feet.
Red marks on the document poking out caught my attention and I pulled the papers to my lap.
Melanie’s number was right in the dead front and center of page two, not much for hiding.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, skimming over the next paragraph. The one talking about her survey. About the investment in the future of the community.
Yeah, an investment that wouldn’t bring any money to the council members who would crucify me and my business.
“Excuse me, mate, mind if I have a seat? The other bench broke from under me,” a deep Australian accent forced my eyes forward.
Against the sun at his back, his coppery hair was like a halo, shining down over his well-worn jeans and stained t-shirt.
“Yeah, sure,” I muttered, scooting to the side.
“CJ, if you hit your sister with the ball again, I’m going to take it away,” he yelled, not even giving me a second glance.
I followed his call, two young kids with matching coppery hair, kicking a ball around the patch of grass.
“Pathetic area for soccer practice, but it’s the closest one to the house.”
That accent.
Those kids.
Turning sharply toward him, I tilted my head, making sure I was picturing the right guy. “You’re Chance Bateman, right? Aubrey Bloom-Bateman’s husband?”
He laughed, leaning back into the bench, his arms casually hanging against the wooden back. “Aye. And you’re that councilman, right? The one who was giving my Melanie a hard time.”
Oh, I gave her a hard time all right.
But as soon as I thought about her and the knowing smile Chance gave me, that sinking feeling was back in my gut.
“Yeah, I don’t think she’s a big fan of mine.”
“Aw, I wouldn’t say that. It seemed like you two were awfully chummy at Vinny’s the other night. I don’t think she even noticed anyone else was in the room but you.”
I swallowed hard, the memory feeling like a lifetime ago. “Yeah, well, kind of screwed that up when it came to the park vote.”
He nodded. “Ah, yes, Aubrey filled me in that you’re the evil corporate bad guy who doesn’t want a new park.”
I shook my head, smirking. “I wouldn’t say that.”
“So why else would you say you don’t want a park there?”
I sighed, leaning back on the seat. Tension had gathered in my shoulders and I probably should have just shut my mouth since that’s what got me into this mess in the first place.
But maybe it was the sun, or the guy’s carefree attitude, but I found the words slipping easily off my tongue. “I have a lot of investors on the board who want to see Lot 42 turn into a strip mall complete with a coffee shop and burger joint.”
“Isn’t there another one of those about five minutes up the road?” he asked, no sense of malice in his voice.
“Yeah. Five minutes one way. Three the other way.”
“Sounds like you’re not very convinced there needs to be another one either.”
I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding in. “I don’t know, anymore.”
He put a hand on my shoulder. “Well, mate, I can tell you this much, there will always be coffee shops. There will always be other investments. But if you’re even giving this a second thought, whether it has anything to do with Melanie or not, you shouldn’t go forward with it.”
“Is this you talking or your wife who wants the dog park?”
He laughed. “This is coming from a guy who made a hell of a lot of mistakes in his relationships. But being honest, that’s the thing I wish I did from the beginning. Sometimes my head gets in the way of my heart and that is the biggest mistake.”
I nodded, even though his words weren’t fully hitting my fuzzy brain.
Losing the investors on this park could cause me to not only lose a shit ton of money, that I didn’t need anyway, but any future trust from the council.
“And, hell, if you really are looking for an investment opportunity, why not just have some of those food trucks do rounds at the park? There’s one that shows up to some of the kids’ soccer practices over on Palm Lane. Best damn waffles on a stick I’ve ever had. You’ll have to try them sometime.”
I blinked hard, turning to see Chance’s white, bright smile.
Maybe he did have a point.
Not just the food truck option, but about following my heart.
I stood up, grabbing my briefcase. I needed my computer and to have my assistant set up a few meetings. “Thanks, Chance. I think I’ve got some work to do.”
He held his hand out. “Happy to help, as long as you don’t tell my wife we had this conversation.”
“You’re secrets safe with me.”
Chapter Ten
I woke up, my face pressed to the oak desk in my home office.
I remembered shutting my eyes for just a second after I got off the phone with a man from Chile Camion out of some little beach town.
The man had talked for about two hours, half in English, half in Spanish, and mostly all of it going a mile a minute.
I glanced at the clock then froze.
Then jumped up.
I knocked down all of the sticky notes I had scattered, realizing it was way more than a few minutes I’d been sleeping.
“Shit,” I muttered, running to the bathroom, grabbing my toothbrush with one hand and my phone in the other.
A text from my assistant flashed on the screen asking if I wanted to put in another flower order and I hovered over the reply button.
No.
Flowers weren’t going to do it this time.
But I did have another plan.
I pulled up another document on my phone, looking over the legalese while I finished brushing my teeth.
By the time I shaved, I’d transferred a deposit to my condo manager and was ready to head into town.
This time I wasn’t going to let some council members cloud my judgement.
***
I’d never actually been inside of the animal shelter or seen the secretary with her lime green fingernails and ‘don’t fuck with me’ scowl.
“Can I help you, Mr. Chase?”
Okay, so she definitely knew who I was.
“Yes, I’m here to see Melanie.”
“Why do you want to see her? To make her cry again?”
Ouch.
Her words were like a virtual slap, my cheeks burning.
“I had an inquiry for her.”
“An inquiry isn’t a good enough answer for me to get this phone and call her up here.”
“It’s okay, Emma,” a soft voice broke through.
Like a breath of fresh air, Melanie came from around the corner. Her hair up in a ponytail wearing jeans and another one of those button-down blouses, she was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen.
In or out of her clothes.
If this didn’t work.
Fuck.
My shoulders fell just thinking about it, but I straightened them, licking my lips as I slowly rounded the desk.
“What do you want, Mr. Chase? I’m getting ready for our meeting tonight, even though I don’t see the point, but I’m still going to do my job.” She curled her lip, her eyes narrowed as if I was the lowliest bug beneath her tennis shoes.