“No, I already asked. You’re my last hope. Please, Mar.”
My mom would not like the thought of me not helping Carol if I could, but I wasn’t sure I could. I’d avoided the place for so long now. “Can I think about it and get back to you?”
“Yes,” I heard the relief in her voice. “Thank you for at least considering.”
“Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow. Bye.”
I hung up and went back to scrolling plane flights to London.
“Was that Carol Andrews from the bed-and-breakfast?” Scott was peering over my shoulder at the flights.
“Yep.” I looked over at his expression. It looked almost hopeful. “Have you met her?”
“Yeah, I was hoping to stay there.” He gestured to the blanket on the office couch. “It didn’t go over well.”
I cringed. “Yeah, lawyers aren’t her favorite.”
“So I gathered.”
“Not your fault. It’s all from some persistent investor guy. They won’t leave her alone.”
He motioned to my phone. “What did she want?”
My eyebrows lowered. “Why?”
Scott rubbed his palms together. “I was wondering if she sounded angry. I need to try again, and I’m not sure how to go about it. I made a complete mess of it last time.”
That made sense. “She seemed fine, needs some help with the trunk-or-treat this year and was wondering if I’d head that up.” I clicked to the next page. “Wow, there are some cheap red eyes if I leave next week . . .” I saw Scott flinch.
“If you want to get on Carol’s good side, you need to become a community man. That’ll always win her over. Maybe you should run the trunk-or-treat.” I laughed and shrugged.
“Wait.” Scott held out both of his hands as if calming a wild animal. “That’s it. Let’s talk about this London thing. I may have an idea.” A wide grin formed on his face, and he snapped his fingers. “I think I found a solution to both our problems.”
“I’m all ears.” I turned my chair toward him. He braced his arm on the desk and was towering over me. His eyes were bright, and my throat went tight.
“Marissa, this is perfect!” He wrapped me in an awkward hug. I was enveloped in cinnamon and strong arms.
Nope. Not perfect. This was not where I wanted things to go.
Scott stepped back and rubbed his hands. “I need a place to stay, and you need a plan . . .”
I grimaced. “I don’t like?—”
“I know you don’t like plans, but they are my thing.” He paced back and forth. “What if I plan your trip to London and you can help me get on Carol’s good side with the trunk-or-treat thing? We could run it together.”
“I don’t know . . .”
“Let’s talk about it over lunch.” He looked at his watch. “Or breakfast.” He smiled. “You’re an angel. Let’s walk to the Merctogether. We could have breakfast. Betty Ann told me they have the best maple bars, but they sell out by eleven. I’m never there that early.”
I'm always game for donuts but walking together to the Merc and sitting there for breakfast sounded too much like a date. As the town rushes in and out, it might spread the wrong idea. And wrong ideas spread fast in Hillsdale.
Chapter Ten
SCOTT
This was going to work.
Marissa could help me get on Carol’s good side, and then I could still take the Raymond & Johnson Law offer. The bonus of it all? I wouldn’t have nightmares about Marissa being murdered in London by helping her plan her trip.
