Page 95 of Billionaire's Coastal Haven

Lucky struggles as Charlotte drags her down the street and around the corner out of sight.

Paisley touches my elbow. “I’m sorry for what Lucky and Elsbeth did with the photo. I’m sorry I was part of it too. I shouldn’t have encouraged them.”

“I forgive you.” I wrap her in a hug. “Mean girls will always be mean girls.”

“Some more than others.”

Jack clasps his hands on the tabletop. “Zoe, have a seat for me. Charlotte asked me to ask you a question.”

I do. Landon grabs the chair next to me.

“What do you say to being our interim mayor until we can hold elections?” Jack asks. “You up for that?”

“Really?”

“Yes, ma’am. No one is better suited for the job.”

“I’d be honored.”

“Come by Town Hall later, and we’ll make it official.”

Landon hugs me tight. “Dream come true?”

“All of it. Especially you.”

Bonus Epilogue

Collin

Mom pinches the bridge of her nose. “You broke the rules.”

A storm rages outside my mom’s kitchen door. Thunder crackles in the silence, but nothing is as heavy as the disappointment and frustration in Mom’s tone.

Archer doesn’t meet Mom’s eyes. “We know.”

Archer, Sebastian, and I sit around the table where we ate every family meal growing up, but food is as absent from the tabletop as Jasper, Ryder, and Marek are from their chairs.

We stare at the manifest Zoe and Landon found under the estate.

A heavy aching settles in my chest. This manifest could mean everything, or it could mean nothing.

“Zoe might be your friend, but we can’t trust anyone. Even her.” Mom’s eyes stray to the picture of her and Zoe’s mom on our mantle. “Heaven knows I would have let her mother shoulder this burden with me if I’d thought it would help, but it won’t. We are alone for a reason.”

“We can’t keep this secret any longer.” I lay my hands palms-up on the table. “Dad and Katarina could be out there somewhere waiting for us to rescue them, but we’ll never know if we don’t look.”

“Your dad abandoned us, Collin.” Sympathy fuels her words and softens her expression. “It’s a childish fantasy to believe anything else.”

“What do we do about Zoe and Landon, then?” Sebastian asks.

“Them? Nothing. They know about the money now. The best thing for us to do is lead their search to a dead end. FindingSiren’s Callwon’t bring back a worthless dead man.”

I push to my feet. “Mom, you’re wrong. We need to know what happened to Katarina. Why her? Why did Dad takeher? If there’s even a possibility that she’s alive, we need to search.”

Mom rests her hand on my shoulder. “My heart is just as broken as yours, but it’s no good wishing for dreams that can’t come true.”

“What’s the use of having all this money if it sits in trust funds gathering dust? If not to find our sister, then we should help Zoe and Landon fund the museum and fix Rainwater Bay.”

Mom scowls. “Rule number Four.”