Page 257

A corner of my mouth curled upward. Even when we were double-checking with the core group of townspeople, all of them mentioned how much she’d done for them over the years. Even if she was a little wild and did her own thing, they respected her and knew she was good for the job.

“Are you excited to see if she wins?” Henry asked.

“Excited and nervous. I’ve gotta figure out how to keep her from losing her mind.”

“A few things work on Wren, but they’re not things I should mention in a coffee shop,” Henry added.

“Oh, I’ve heard about that.” Cain shuddered.

“I’ve also heard about yours,” Henry said. “None of us here are immune to the gossip.”

“The ladies talk about everything,” Dean said. “Do you think they’ve talked about which one of us is the biggest?”

“No,” Cain said.

“Absolutely not,” Theo added, going bright red.

“They have,” I replied. “They absolutely have.”

“I figured,” Dean said. “It’s me, right?”

“I don’t usually brag,” Henry said. “But I get no complaints from Wren.”

“It would not be you,” Theo said.

“We could measure.”

“We are not measuring our dicks,” Cain hissed.

“I wouldn’t mind.” Dean shrugged. “I have a measuring tape in my truck.”

Hanging out with the guys had been a good distraction from all that was going on. But when the day of the election came around, there was nothing that could get my mind off of Jade.

She’d been steadily getting more and more stressed as time went on.

When the day started, she seemed totally fine. Then she couldn’t sit still.

After that, she started pondering spellcasting, which told me she was really stressed.

When I made sure that she wasn’t about to start a science experiment in the kitchen, she started pacing. I hadn’t gotten her to stop.

“And what if they change their minds? What if there aren’t enough votes?” Jade asked.

“We did our best. No expense was spared.”

“I’m still a write-in candidate.” She shook her head. “We were nuts for trying this.”

“It’s what’s best for the town.” I grabbed her hand to stop her. “You want this, don’t you?”

She swallowed. “I do. I really do.”

Most people had seen it. Without realizing, Jade had taken on more responsibilities. After I offered to watch the shop, she was handling issues with the town.

She helped Mark with a delivery problem. She helped Tammy with sourcing tiles for the diner. It was like she gave herself permission to step in.

I loved seeing it.

“We still have two hours until the results are in.” I put my hands on her shoulders and guided her to sit in my lap. “Breathe.”