"That would be great." As long as I could convince Eve to renew the lease.
After dinner, I drove into town, meeting Hudson's mom at the bookstore. "Thanks for watching her."
His mom touched my shoulder. "I'm happy to watch her anytime. Good luck at your meeting."
I had nothing else to do but go to the meeting and hear the fate of my store. The hall was already filling up when I got there. Everyone was milling about, grabbing snacks from the back table, and talking.
I took a seat at the back of the room, hoping to go unnoticed. A few seconds later, Clara turned around, and when she saw me, waved for me to sit with Reina, Meg, and Belle.
"Where's Ayla?" Clara asked when I approached.
I slid into the seat next to her. "With Hudson's mom at the bookstore."
"You two are a thing now," Clara said.
"Yeah, we are." Other than with Gus, this was the first time I'd admitted that to anyone. It felt good to admit it out loud. I'd finally gotten over my issues to take a chance with Hudson.
Clara smiled. "He's a good guy."
I let out a breath. "I thought I knew my ex too, and that didn't work out. I missed the red flags."
"I've never known Hudson to get serious about anyone, but he's also private. I haven't seen him with anyone lately."
My cheeks flushed. "That's good."
"You're special to him." Clara nodded toward where Hudson stood talking to Eve.
I hoped that his business relationship with Eve wouldn't be a problem tonight. "You think Bill's going to cause trouble tonight?"
Clara shook her head. "When doesn't he?"
I licked my dry lips. "My lease is temporary, and I'm worried he'll convince Eve to not renew it."
Clara's eyes flashed with determination. "We won't let that happen. We want you to stay."
I let out a breath. "I hope it won't come to that."
"Whatever happens, you've got us on your side," Clara said, and Reina leaned over her to squeeze my hand.
"It's us against Bill."
Meg nodded from where she sat.
"Thanks, guys."
Eve tapped the microphone. "I think everyone's here. We can get started."
"Why are we here?" someone called from the back.
"There were a lot of inquiries and concerns about the pipe replacements, so I wanted to talk to everyone at the same time and answer any questions that you might have."
"When are you going to get to the pipes at the diner?" Merry asked.
"We'll talk about that tonight. Hudson has a schedule of repairs that he wants to provide." Eve motioned for him to give them out.
Hudson walked to the end of every row and handed a stack to the person on the end. When he got to me, he said, "Ladies."
Everyone smiled at him, taking an agenda and passing on the stack to the next person. I read the sheet which indicated that he would complete my shop first, and then move onto the buildings that utilized water for their business like the coffee shop and the bakery.
