BLOOD RUSHED in my ears and my feet hit the path, one after the other. My lungs burned as I ran, and I focused on my breathing and on the light peeking through the trees.
I was on my morning run, and today was tougher than normal. Last night, I was too excited to sleep. She said yes.
I couldn’t believe she said yes.
To be fair, she didn’t have much of a choice. A pang of guilt wrenched in my chest as I remembered the anguish on her face when she realized I was her only option. Everyone needed to be happy for deals to work, and even though I was doing this to win the election, I truly wanted her to walk away feeling like she got what she wanted.
I shrugged my guilt off. She’d get her restaurant. I was cosigning on a loan for someone who was almost a stranger. She’d walk away happy, it might just take a few weeks.
The revulsion on her face when I asked for a pair of her underwear still made me laugh, though.
My watch beeped, indicating my heart rate was getting too low and that I needed to pick up the pace. I groaned and pushed myself harder, carrying myself through the forest paths toward the beach.
When I reached the sand, sweat poured down my face and my hair was soaked. I slowed to a walk and took a seat on a log, staring at the ocean as the waves crashed on the shore. Damn, this place was gorgeous. I shook my head and admired the brightening sky with its sunrise tones.
I unlocked my phone and saw I had a missed call from Will.
My throat tightened. Something was wrong. Something had happened with Kara or Nat.
“Hey,” he answered when I called back.
“Is everything okay? What happened?”
“Everything’s fine,” he told me. “Relax. I was up early and just wanted to say I heard the good news, Mr. Mayor.”
I exhaled my relief and grinned. “I’m not mayor yet.”
“Yeah, but you will be. That town worships the ground you walk on, always has.”
I thought about my low poll numbers. “How’s the family doing?”
“Good, we’re setting up the apartment and unpacking still. Kara misses her Uncle Emmett.”
I propped my elbow on my knee and leaned my chin on my palm. “I miss that kid, too.” My mouth pressed into a line as I stared at the water. “I’m going to fix the electrical grid, Will. It might take a couple years, but I’m going to do it. Kara should grow up here in Queen’s Cove, where her family is. She should grow up the way we did.”
“It’s not so bad here,” Will said, but I could tell he was putting on a brave face and trying to stay positive. “I hope you’re not—” His voice broke off.
“What?”
“I hope you’re not running for mayor just for us. I could never ask you to do that. You have a business to run. You have a life. Being mayor is a big commitment.”
Was I doing this for Will? Of course, I was. He was my best friend. He’d do the same for me in an alternate universe where the situation was reversed.
The more I thought about being mayor, the more I campaigned, created my platform, and spoke with locals, the more I wanted it. I wanted to fix Queen’s Cove. It wasn’t just for Will, it was for everyone who lived here. I wanted this magnificent place to shine the way it should.
Will’s situation was just the catalyst.
“You guys moving gave me the idea,” I admitted. “But I want to make this town what it should be. The business is doing well, and I trust my management team. I’m ready for a new challenge. I want this.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, Rhodes, I appreciate it.” Will’s voice was thick.
“Don’t get all sappy on me. You can cry when I win.”
He laughed. “Asshole.”
A big grin pulled across my face.
“Well, I should get going,” he said. “Just wanted to say congrats. Let me know if I can do anything, okay? Do you need help with the website?”
“Nah, my team has it handled. Thanks, buddy. Talk to you soon.”
We hung up, and I sat there on the beach, watching the sky become brighter as the sun rose higher, thinking about what the next month had in store for me. First, I had to make my relationship with Avery known to the town. There was a town fair starting tomorrow night. A thrill of excitement hit my chest, and I grinned. I wasn’t a relationship kind of guy, not like Will, but dragging Avery around town and enduring her eye rolls and irritation was going to be fun. Something about her made me laugh.
Deep in my mind, a little spike of nerves hit me. I had always had a little thing for Adams. She was fun to irritate. It was too easy with her. The woman just did not like me, not one bit. She always held that wall up.
Now, we’d be spending time together and pretending to be a couple. My knee bounced at the thought of it. It was dangerous.
Good thing it would all be fake. Avery would keep that wall up and nothing would happen. Things would stay the same as they always were. I’d carry on, become mayor, and fix this town, while she’d get her restaurant, and both of us would walk away happy.
I made my way off the beach, back into the forest, and ran home with a renewed sense of energy.
