Walker glares at him. “My suit. Yeah. Ha. You’re hysterical.”
Fletcher shakes his head. “Nope. The bright side is thatno one will be looking at a single one of us with Tally around. You look gorgeous.”
My lips tip up in a surprised smile. “Aw! Fletcher!” I throw my arms around him in a hug. “I have no idea why my best friend hates you so much. You’re the best of the bunch.”
“Jeez, thanks,” Eli mumbles as Walker growls, pulling me back to tuck me beneath his arm and into his chest. “Stay close.”
“Because you want me to distract everyone with my beauty?” I bat my lashes up at him.
Walker doesn’t take the bait, though. His eyes are warm as he stares down at me. This is how he looks at me all the time now. As if, since the weight of all the secrets has been lifted, since we all just agreed to start being honest—even when it hurts—he’s lighter. “Because I love you and I don’t like peopling unless I’m with you.”
My chest grows tight, as it does every time he says those words. “That’s ’cause I handle the talking.”
He arches an unimpressed brow as I press a kiss to his chin. “I love you, too.”
When I pull back, I take a moment to look around the brewery. The whole building is covered in flowers from the farm, and as my eyes focus on the end of the bar, I spot my sister talking to a man. “Is that Jake Montgomery?”
Rosie appears out of nowhere and leans across the bar, whispering, “Yeah, he came in here all depressed because his book flopped. He didn’t realize we were closed for a private event, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Don’t let Rayna know he got in here without a ticket.”
“Wait, he told you his book was a flop?”
Rosie snorts. “I’m a bartender. Ioverheareverything.”
“I actually liked his book,” Eli offers.
“You read it?” Rosie asks.
“It was our bowling team’s read last week.” He turns to Walker. “If you ever showed up, you’d have read it, too.”
Walker rolls his eyes and bends down to murmur in my ear. “Want to go over and say hi?”
I glance in Penny’s direction again. Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s beaming. I haven’t seen her smile that big since—I bite my lip—actually, I haven’t seen her smile that big since prom, when she spent the entire night sitting in the corner with Jake Montgomery.
“Nah.”
Walker shrugs just as we’re interrupted by a hollering Rayna. “Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor!” Behind her, the Liberty Ladies stand with my mother in tow, each of them in a different color to celebrate the many flowers of spring. My mother chose pale blue to represent the blue irises that were always my daddy’s favorite.
My dress has splashes of all different pastels as a symbol for the wildflowers.
“What can I do for you, Mrs. McGovern?” Fletcher replies, all business.
“It’s time to announce the grand marshal.” She winks in Walker’s direction, and I feel my heart leap.
There’s no way this crazy town didn’t vote this man in. If only for the fact that they love to make him talk when they know it’s his least favorite thing to do. But truly, I think it’s because they saw a man who needed people. Who needed community. And that’s what the residents of Hope Harbor do when they see people in need. They act. They provide.
Fletcher makes his way to the stage as I turn toward Walker and fiddle with his suit, making sure his tie is properly done. Then I kiss him, because from the way he’s looking around, like a deer in headlights, I can tell he’s considering bolting. Fletcher calls all the nominees up and talks about what an honor it is to stand next to the men and women who represent the best of this town.
“Enough dillydallying,” Babs hollers. “I want to see them take it off!”
Fletcher flounders for his words while Rayna gives Babs a swift smack to the back of the head. “No spicy jokes here. This is a sacred ceremony.”
Babs rolls her eyes. “Buncha prudes.”
Penny sneaks in between my mother and me. “What did I miss?”
“They’re about to announce the winner,” I whisper.
“But Babs told them to take it off,” my mom explains.
