you really get rolling on the building and gardens.”
Words just couldn’t form. Not adequate ones, anyway. “You are the most amazing friends.” Lacey’s voice broke.
“I just suck in general,” Zoe said. “I don’t have a dime and can’t leave my aunt Pasha.”
“Zoe, just you being here is more than enough,” Lacey said. “Will you all come with me this afternoon?”
Jocelyn’s smile faded. “Not me.”
“Just meet at the town hall,” Lacey said quickly. “Please.”
Finally, she nodded. “For you. To the town hall.”
“Oh my God!” Lacey shrieked softly. “I have partners!”
“Lots of them,” Zoe said. “Silent Jocelyn, organic Tessa, and don’t forget the man with the magic drafting tool.”
“That’s just the problem,” she confessed on a sigh. “I can’t forget him for one minute.”
“So when do we get details on last night?” Zoe asked.
“Let’s just put it this way: He liked your choice of underwear.” And, because they were her best friends and partners, she told them everything. Well, almost everything.
Word must have gotten out about the meeting. A few dozen people peppered the community meeting room in Mimosa Key’s town hall, with Charity and Patience seated in the front, surrounded by supporters. A handful of other familiar faces filled the front row of folding chairs, while others sat in small groups of two and three, and some people stood in the back at a coffee station.
The low buzz of conversation stopped when Lacey entered with Jocelyn, Tessa, and Zoe. Clay had texted that he’d meet them here but hadn’t arrived yet, making Lacey taut with nerves and a vague sense of disappointment.
She squashed any doubts. He’d be there.
“Where’s the one who tipped you off?” Zoe whispered.
Lacey glanced around but couldn’t find Gloria Vail. “Not here.”
“She’s probably swimming in the bottom of the bay.”
Lacey bit back a laugh. “They’re not that bad.” She hoped. Charity was sending some dagger-like looks Lacey’s way, and her sister, Patti, offered a cool, but less deadly, nod.
The long council table remained empty as no members were seated yet, so Lacey led her friends to some seats in the audience. She kept glancing at the door for Clay, but instead saw another man with a familiar face that had graced front pages of the Mimosa Gazette for much of Lacey’s teenage years.
Will Palmer had been the island’s golden boy, blazing through the minor leagues and on his way to the pros, last she’d heard. But in the past few years—
“Oh, shit.” Next to Lacey, Jocelyn murmured the curse as color drained from her face.
“What’s the matter?”
“My phone’s vibrating,” she said, stabbing her hand into her bag, lowering her head, hiding her face.
“Jocelyn?” Will approached slowly, but Jocelyn popped up to climb over Lacey to get out of the row.
“I have to take this call.”
“Jocelyn,” Will called. “Please, wait.”
She froze, giving Lacey a pleading look. Then she suddenly composed herself and faced him.
“Hello.” She reached out a hand. “How are you, Will?”
His eyes flickered with surprise. “Fine. And you?”
“Great. Oh”—she wiggled the phone—“’scuze me for a second.” She walked out, leaving him slightly slack-jawed.
“Hi,” Lacey said, trying to cover the awkward moment, looking up at the sizable athlete. “I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Lacey Armstrong.”
“Hello.” He shook her hand, but his attention was still on Jocelyn, giving Lacey a chance to take in how time had changed him. He wasn’t as boyishly cute as he had been in his baseball heyday, but he was still seriously tall, dark, and handsome.
“I didn’t know you were back in Mimosa Key,” she said. “Are you visiting or are you here for good?”
“I’m back,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I’m picking up some work with all the construction going on. That’s why I came by today.”
Construction? That was a huge step down from major league baseball. “What kind of work? I’ll hopefully be looking for some people.”
“I’ve been sort of specializing in carpentry and woodwork, but, really I can do anything. Stucco, drywall, you name it.”
“I’ll remember that,” she said as the council began to take their seats.
Once again Lacey turned to the door, willing Clay to show. Where was he? He’d texted a few hours ago that he was still in Fort Myers but he’d be here on time.
“Where did Jocelyn go?” Tessa asked when she and Zoe came back from a stop in the ladies’ room, sliding in right behind Lacey. “She just blew by us in a big fat hurry.”
“She’s taking a call,” Lacey told them.
The slam of Mayor Sam Lennox’s gavel silenced the