Free A Moment on the Lips (A Whistle Stop Romance, #3) by Jennifer Faye Page B

TROUBLE, in all caps.
    Joe accepted the pad of paper she offered him. He was impressed by her easy-to-read handwriting. If his was half as legible as hers, he probably wouldn’t have done everything on his laptop.
    As his gaze slid down over the long list of ideas for the festival, he was blown away by Piper’s extravagance. It would cost a small fortune to bring in carnival rides, including a Ferris wheel, a petting zoo, and clowns. What had she been thinking when she wrote up this list?
    Suddenly, he was reminded of Denise. When he’d first had the idea to quit his high-paying yet high-stress job with a mortgage company, she hadn’t wanted anything to do with his idea to open a coffeehouse. She told him he was being foolish. When he proceeded to show her the plans for the interior design, hoping to win her over, she’d told him he was being cheap and that nothing he did would stand up to the big-name chains.
    He’d reluctantly taken her advice and upgraded his plans. The first shop didn’t take off as expected. In fact, he’d almost lost his shirt and shoes as well as everything in between. But when all looked lost, business finally picked up. One coffee shop led to two and then three, spread across the neighborhoods in Albuquerque.
    When his ex joined the business full time, the first thing she did was have all three coffeehouses professionally redecorated with extravagant furnishings and trendy art, which necessitated a rise in prices for the customers. Denise bulldozed right over his philosophy to keep it simple and cost efficient. The business started to sink again.
    He wouldn’t let that happen with this fundraiser. He wouldn’t let extravagance prevail. He would get Piper to listen to reason.
    Joe tapped his pen on the tablet. “About these things you’d like to have at the festival, they aren’t going to be cheap.”
    “And you think being a penny pincher is the way to go?”
    “At least the town will receive most of the proceeds. You won’t be handing it out to a bunch of carnies who don’t even live here.”
    Her fine brows scrunched together, and her glossy lips pursed. The urge to chuckle at her puckered face bubbled up inside him, but he resisted, knowing it’d only infuriate her. They had more important things to haggle about at the moment.
    He cleared his throat. “The point of this whole thing is to make money for the town square, right?”
    The frown on her face didn’t ease. She merely nodded.
    “Then we have to stick with practical, economical ways to raise the funds we need. If we spend everything we take in, then we won’t get ahead.”
    “While the goal is to raise money for the revitalization, we can’t be so focused on the financials that we lose sight of the other purpose of the festival.”
    He sat back and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “And that would be?”
    She smiled. “It’s simple. This should be the family event of the year. Your idea of having raffle tickets, bingo, and food isn’t going to be enough for a community festival.”
    “But those items will bring in decent revenues with nominal overhead.”
    “You’re really serious? You think the residents are going to come spend their hard-earned money on raffle tickets and a hot dog?” When he nodded, she continued. “Even if they came out, they wouldn’t spend much.”
    “Why wouldn’t they? They’d know it is for a good cause. I thought you’d want to get the most bang for your buck.”
    Piper shook her head in disbelief. “Haven’t you ever heard of having fun?”
    He shrugged. “It’s overrated.”
    “If you’re planning to run your business like you want to plan the festival, you aren’t going to have many customers.”
    He refused to consider that she had a valid point. His coffee shops in Albuquerque had done okay before his ex’s redecorating. “What do people care about the décor of a coffee shop as long as the coffee is the best they’ve ever tasted?”
    She expelled an