“I know you’ve got a lot of…feelings when it comes to Sunset Harbor, and I don’t need a response right now, but I think you’d be perfect for this, so I told Noah I’d ask.”
“Perfect for what?” I ask, wary but curious.
“Noah’s got his hand in a few pies, as you may know.”
“Billions of dollars’ worth of pies, you mean.”
“Exactly. His family has people working PR, of course, but it’s gotten to a point where he wants someone of his own for his individual endeavors. When I suggested you, he thought it was a great idea. Now, I don’t have salary or contract details yet, but I can assure you that Noah’s averygenerous boss.”
No words will come to me, but Cat keeps going.
“Here’s the catch: it would be a position in Sunset Harbor. On location.” Her talking speed ramps up. “I don’t want you to answer yet because I want you to take time to consider it. Like,reallyconsider it. So, now that you know it’s an option, I’m just going to hang up and get back to the fundraiser so that you have some time to think. Okay? Okay, bye.”
The line clicks, and she’s gone.
I blink, then pull my phone from my ear to stare at it, half wondering if I just imagined that whole conversation.
I have no idea what to do with that drive-by job offer. Cat wants me to work for Noah Belacourt? In Sunset Harbor? Doing PR?
I sort of hate how enticing that offer is, even without knowing the salary details, even after everything that’s happened over the past week. Knowing Cat and Noah want me to stay on the island is comforting, though. Maybe more people want that than I’ve been willing to consider.
My thoughts are all jumbled, and I’m getting increasingly impatient to see Beau, so I head to Seaside Oasis to keep myself busy and let myself mull over Cat’s call.
Grams decides it’s time for a second lunch—“I’ll get mymoney’s worth from these monthly fees!”—so we go to the cafeteria, which has become our default hang-out spot.
“So,” she says as she daubs way too much sour cream onto her taco salad, “what tomfoolery have you been up to since I saw you?”
“Nothing you want to know about,” I say.
She grunts. “Out with it.”
I consider telling her about Cat’s call, but I decide against it. I need to make the decision for myself—and it’s not a mystery what Grams will want me to do. “I’ve been putting that presentation together for Beau—the one I’ve been shadowing him to get footage for. He presents it to the city council tonight.”
“I thoughtyouwere doing the presenting,” she says, adding a heaping tablespoon of cilantro to the growing mound on her plate.
“Can you blame me for not wanting to after what happened at the last meeting?”
“Hmph,” is all she replies to this as I take her tray and we head to the nearest table. “So, you finished it?”
“Last night,” I say, setting both trays down. “Beau’s been worked to the bone the last couple of days, and he won’t get much time to prepare today, either, thanks to the pool fundraiser. But he’s charming enough to pull it off.” He is. But he shouldn’t have to. They should realize how valuable he is without a pretty presentation to convince them.
“Well?”
I raise my brows and take my seat. “Well what?”
“Let’s see it, then,” she says impatiently. “This thing you’ve been working on for so long.”
“Um, okay,” I say, thoroughly surprised. “But it’s all video of Beau, Grams.”
“Quit dillydallying and show me.”
I obediently open my phone to the presentation and let itplay—with no narration—while Grams watches, her thick glasses pushed down to the bottom of her nose.
At first, my gaze alternates between the videos and checking Grams’s expression. But then, I get sucked into watching Beau. I could watch him all day. He’s so incredibly capable, so charismatic, so good at what he does. But it’s in his own distinct way. He’s the island’s biggest asset.
Of course the island doesn’t want short-term rentals. They don’t want investors and Jimmys and constant noise complaints. They want more people like Beau. Or like Jane Hayes. Or Cat Keene. People who love the island and are invested in its future. They might lose Beau if they’re not careful, though.
When the presentation comes to an end, my nerves return.
