13

Luella’s stomach rumbled as a waiter passed her and Charles’s table at Café Frederica. The man balanced a heaping tray of food and headed toward a larger group. Oh, what divine smells! She savored the fragrance of the salty-tangy hollandaise sauce that came on the café’s eggs Benedict, which she’d ordered. The mouthwatering smell of breakfast—the savory scent of cooked bacon mingling with orange juice, eggs, and fresh-roasted coffee—filled the dining room.

Charles spilled some sugar while pouring it into his coffee. He almost dropped his spoon while putting it into his mug to stir the coffee. Was he nervous?

“So what’s the farthest from the island you’ve ever traveled?” He set the spoon on a napkin. “I’ve met a few people here who say they haven’t left Glynn County. But I don’t think that’s you.”

“Very true.” Luella drummed her fingers against the laminated tablecloth. “Hmm, I think the farthest I’ve been was Prague, when I was in college. It was a study-abroad program.” Flashes of the long-ago trip popped up in her mind—the six-hundred-year-old, multicolor, multiplated astronomical clock and strands of opera music sung by voices that were nothing less than angelic. The trip had changed her perspective on life and her goals. That was the beginning of her longing to travel and understand history. “You?”

“Actually, until I was employed by Seaside Properties, I’d hardly ventured outside the Northeast. My dad owned a hotel in upstate New York. I worked there while growing up and helped when I could after college. When Dad retired, I took over, and I never really needed to travel for work, and I had responsibilities that kept me close to home. About the time my life had some real freedom, Seaside Properties offered to buy the hotel. I helped broker a deal my dad would accept, and then my dad agreed to sell it. The company hired me to manage properties for them. Since then I’ve traveled some, managing a property for about a year, just until I get things running smoothly. Then someone takes over for me, and I go elsewhere. It’s allowed me to finally see a few new places, and I love it.”

“So basically you waltz in, straighten out any issues caused by the buyout, and leave?”

He nodded. “Pretty much.”

Had he been single his whole life? Few were. Her own choice to willingly forgo marriage and family life in order to travel and write didn’t work for most people. It would be nice to hear a bit about his story. “Any children?”

“Two, and good ones. A son and daughter. Do you have kids?”

“No. Never married, never had children.” She didn’t want to elaborate, but why? Maybe her reasoning would sound pathetic to him. “Where have you traveled to recently?”

He leaned back, smiling and looking relaxed. “I’ve spent a lot of time in DC helping to reopen a hotel that had been through extensive remodeling. I visited the Smithsonian so many times while I was there that I think even blindfolded I could lead anyone through the museum by this point.”

“Lots of history there, of course. But I’m afraid the most time I’ve spent at the Smithsonian is a day.”

Their waiter came back and set two steaming plates on their table. After thanking her, Charles bent his head to bless his food. Luella did as well.

The food tasted every bit as good as she’d anticipated.

Charles swallowed a bite of his blueberry-stuffed French toast. “This is tasty. Thanks for the recommendation.”

“St. Simons doesn’t have a huge variety of restaurant choices if you’re used to a big city. Still, we’ve had lots of growth and new businesses pop up in recent years.” Both a boon and a hassle for Blue Sails. Luella hated the fact that competition had been eating into the store’s profits.

He speared a blueberry with his fork and gestured to her. “But your shop has been a St. Simons Island landmark, yes?”

“We’ve been in business a long time, but I don’t know if you’d call it a landmark. And it’s really Julep’s shop. She foots the bills and does the lion’s share of the work. The rest of us pay her a little rent and lend a hand when time allows.”

“The relationship between you and your friends is like nothing I’ve run into before.” He chuckled. “I’ve heard several interesting and conflicting things about you Glynn Girls from other locals.”

Was this her opportunity to talk about the property? “And you were left wanting to know more?” She used her knife to cut another bite of the eggs, ham, and English muffin.

He shrugged, but he was smiling. “My interest is piqued, yeah.”

She set her utensils down, leaned forward, and held up a finger. “I’d be happy to tell you some of the Glynn Girls’ most humorous and prized secrets. But we’d need to go on a second date somewhere more private.”

“More private?” His green eyes held an emotion she couldn’t define.

“Yeah. In return I’d like you to seriously listen to me explain why it’s so important to let us girls have that prime spot for the store.” What could she say to help him warm up to the idea? “If you’ll let us rent that store, I’ll even throw in telling my tour groups that your hotel is most definitely not haunted. Nope. Just a quiet old building. Stay there and you’ll sleep like a baby.”

Charles studied her. “Is this some sort of a barter system you use, Miss Ward? Trading dates for favors?”

Realization of what she’d said hit hard and fast. She sat straight up. “Wait.” She splayed her hands toward him, making the table shake. “I-I didn’t mean…”

He held her gaze. “As tempting as that offer is, a pretty face and interesting conversation can’t sway a business decision.”

“Oh…that sounded so horrible, didn’t it?” She was too embarrassed to think. “I’m not like that. I mean, I go on dates, but…” She trailed off as she realized he was chuckling through closed lips. “You’re messing with me!”

“Guilty. Sorry. But add this conversation to the picnic and you Glynn Girls trying to butter up Stan and Rick…Well, I had to harass you a little.”

Luella laughed. “That picnic plan wasn’t my idea. I went along with it because we’re getting a little desperate. It’s a long, convoluted story that includes Julep losing her husband and debts piling up. Julep needs several things: a shop on a corner so Blue Sails isn’t hidden in a row of stores and more space so the sales floor can be expanded and more space for us girls. Blue Sails could sell more furniture if we carried a larger selection. I’m sorry if I’m being bold, but I can’t stomach you giving the best location on St. Simons Island to someone less deserving than Julep.”

His smile fell a little. “I admire your loyalty and tenacity, but—”

“If you would just hear me out, I know it would make a difference.” Luella could feel the door of opportunity closing.

“Luella, I’ve heard enough. You’re an intelligent, educated woman. You must know it’s never a good idea to allow someone’s personal struggles to sway a business decision. They are separate matters, and they need to stay that way. It would do more harm than good if you share too much about the store’s financials, so let’s just stick to other topics.”

She wanted to hit the table, but she kept herself in control. Oh, she just had to help him understand! But he was right. She was pouring out emotions about her personal connection to the store owner, and he needed business information. “St. Simons goes through small businesses like an ice cream truck goes through Popsicles in the summertime. But Blue Sails has been profitable and stable from the start. Julep is savvy when it comes to home furnishings and making a steady income. When her husband, Mitch, died, it threw her for a loop and caused a few financial issues. But all we need is a better location to make up for the extra she owes.”

Charles took a sip of his coffee. “I’m sorry losing her husband has been so hard on her.”

“Yeah, it’s been hard. Both Julep and Mitch had been lifelong smokers, although Julep quit the day Mitch was diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer.”

He nodded. “My mom was a smoker. It gave her emphysema.”

Luella fidgeted with her cup. “I’m sorry to hear that. Mitch didn’t know he was sick until it was too late. The doctors gave him only a few months to live. I’ve been close to Julep most of our lives, but I’d never seen her struggle with anything like she did the news that she would lose Mitch. They’d been in love since they were teens.”

“I’m sure watching his health decline was a nightmare.” His voice was soft.

“It would’ve been, but he didn’t die of cancer. At some point along the line, he decided to give people on the island the best New Year’s fireworks display they’d ever seen.”

Charles cringed a little as if he knew what was coming.

Luella sighed. “But something went wrong. We’re not sure what. Mitch was in a small, uninsured boat just off a private marina with all the fireworks.” Luella closed her eyes, taking a moment to regroup. “The boat exploded, taking out some of the marina.”

“How long ago?”

“Eighteen months, and the event—both the fireworks going off and Mitch’s death—were so over-the-top that the whole county hasn’t stopped talking about either of them. If Mitch had been thinking clearly, he would’ve known better than to set off fireworks without the proper authorization, but I believe his recent diagnosis had him too addled to think. Anyway, the damage was far more than Mitch’s life insurance covered. Julep’s mortgaged her house and pulled equity out of the shop.”

Charles studied her, both brows raised, and she realized that without meaning to she’d ventured back into emotional territory and shared too much that had nothing to do with good business sense.

She leaned in. “Okay, so she now owes rent and an equity payment each month, but Julep’s business isn’t a gamble. She’s turned a profit for twenty years.”

“I’m sure she has.”

Luella waited for him to elaborate, but he said nothing else. They finished their breakfasts in silence. Should she prompt him to say anything more?

The waiter dropped off the bill as he walked by. Luella reached for the black check holder. “I’ll pay for it. I’m the one monopolizing the conversation.”

“No, no. I invited you.” Charles scooped it up before Luella could grab it, stuck a credit card in the slot, and handed it back to the waiter when he passed by on the opposite side of the table.

Luella had been on enough dates to know when one was dead in the water. They’d started out clicking so well. What had happened?

He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Some of this is my fault, but I wish you hadn’t shared with me the financial aspect of Julep’s dilemma. I can’t give you that vacancy you want.”

“What?” A few diners nearby looked up from their meals. She flashed them a mind-your-own-business look. “Why?”

He rubbed his temples. “You just told me about the debt involved, and the only purpose of getting a larger store with more overhead is so she can purchase more goods from the wholesalers, which will be even more debt. If your business goes into bankruptcy, we’re tied up in the court system, unable to make you move out right away and unable to collect rent owed—or most of it anyway. As it stands, we have several other surefire applicants.”

What had she done?

The server returned to the table and handed him the finished check. Charles nodded at him and filled out the tip and signed the receipt. “Part of the mistake was mine. I didn’t mean to ask questions that would cause you to share the store’s debt, and I shouldn’t have invited you, knowing you were part of the group attached to this bid.”

They picked up their belongings and left the restaurant.

How could she have messed up this situation even more? What was she going to say to the girls? “Charles, please just tell me you’ll give our proposal a fair look. Don’t take what I said over a friendly breakfast as a reason not to do so.”

He nodded. “I intend to. But you’ve raised some red flags.”

Yep. Like she stuck her foot in her mouth again. The way she did every time she got near Chuck.