Is It Any Wonder (Nantucket Love Story #2) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,40

here on the island, and she and Alyssa Martin are here to help us improve our image in the community.”

In the back, a man with dark eyes shifted in his seat. Louisa recognized his face. Aaron Jessup. His photo had been on all the blogs and in the newspaper after Jackson Wirth’s accident. He’d done his job well. But then he’d screwed up.

She knew how that felt.

Nobody asked why they needed to improve their image. It was as if everyone knew, and the tension in the room rose because of it. Charming this crowd definitely wouldn’t be a piece of cake.

“Louisa?” Duncan turned to her as if to hand over an imaginary baton. “You’re up.”

She forced herself to smile, though the nerves pulsing inside her made it very difficult to concentrate. “Good morning, gentlemen.”

Was her voice as shaky as it felt?

Alyssa was passing around the beautiful handout Louisa had made the night before, outlining their ideas for the fundraiser. She stopped and looked at Louisa, a telltale sign that Louisa was not off to a strong start.

Ally gave her a look as if to say, Get it together, and Louisa forced herself to obey.

She closed her eyes for a quick second, drew in a tight breath—a mental reset of sorts—then started in on the pitch she’d practiced.

Within a few minutes, she had the skeptical guardsmen smiling, laughing, and yes, maybe even eating out of the palm of her hand. She was good at this, regardless of whatever XPO Grumpy thought of her. She had a self-deprecating way about her that people appreciated, and given the fact that this crew had saved her life only a week ago, it was easy to make fun of herself.

No matter how much the whole event still haunted her dreams.

“The goal is to increase your visibility in the community,” Louisa said. “To get people to pay attention when you tell them to wear a life vest.” She paused for a ripple of ironic laughter and made a face that let the men know she was their first offender, then continued. “Or to stay off the water. Our plan will foster goodwill on the island, and it will shine a light on the excellent and important work you all do.”

Louisa picked up her iPad and opened it to her presentation notes, then outlined her plan for a Coast Guard–sponsored regatta. A full day on and around the water. The thought of it turned her stomach. Would she ever want to go back in the ocean again? She’d been reminded how brutal and angry it could be.

“The goal is to stack the whole day with activities people will want to participate in. There will be a number of races for serious sailors, as well as a few geared toward young sailors. The entire day will be an opportunity to get you in front of people. We can teach them about water safety, show them what to do if they find themselves in a precarious situation at sea, give tours of the base, that sort of thing.”

“How is that going to make money?” a very young-looking guardsman asked.

“Well, that’s the fun part,” she replied. “There will be an entry fee for anyone who wants to sail, of course, and we’ll have business sponsorships, but what we’re most excited about—and what we think will be the biggest draw—is our ‘Race with a Coastie’ event.”

A mix of reactions from the men in the room.

“Race with a Coastie?” someone asked.

“We’re going to do an auction night,” Louisa said, her confidence dwindling, but doing a decent job of faking excitement.

“So you’re going to auction us off?” a guy in the front row asked.

“Basically, yes,” she said.

“Cool,” the guy said with a grin.

“People in the community will get the chance to bid on you, for lack of a better word,” she said. “The highest bidder wins a chance to race with you on the day of the regatta. The auction will be a completely separate affair. Once the teams are formed, you’ll need to have a couple of practices with your teammate, and then the day of the race, it’s every team for themselves.”

The men began chattering, and Louisa’s nerves started to settle. Then she glanced at Cody and wondered if he was being paid to stand guard at the back of the room. He looked like a bouncer outside a bar, for crying out loud.

The other guardsmen seemed to like the idea, so Louisa let them talk for a minute while she