Free Half Moon Harbor by Donna Kauffman Page B

Mr. Monaghan that I intend to honor his family’s legacy and, if anything, my ownership has lightened his burden somewhat.”
    â€œExactly!” Cami chirped. “Win-win for everybody, just as I said. And don’t you worry about his feathers being a little ruffled. I’ll speak with my husband and make sure everything is fine there. Frankly, like you, I thought he’d be happy about it; that’s why I didn’t give it a second thought.”
    Now Cami, that’s not really true, is it? Grace thought, her instincts and Cami’s too-eager-to-gloss-things-over chirpiness telling her something else was definitely going on. Grace wasn’t looking to be best pals with her Realtor, but she did wish Cami respected her intellect a little more. She’d been quite happy with how quickly Cami had moved everything through, even patting herself on the back for picking someone with Cami’s extensive connections. But while Cami’s family history was a strength when it came to making things happen, Grace was well aware those same connections could work against her if Cami got it in her mind that maybe Grace wasn’t such a good fit for Blueberry Cove after all.
    â€œWell, as I said, we’ll be practically living on top of each other and, as someone with a vested interest in launching a new business in town and being part of the hoped-for growth potential for Half Moon Harbor that you spoke of, of course, I want to make sure it all goes as smoothly as possible. For everybody’s sake. Win-win.” She tried to strike a balance between too-chirpy and giving away her true feelings, which were going to be a little more complicated than she’d initially thought. Maybe a lot more.
    â€œYes, well, as you said, all on the same page,” Cami echoed. “I’m so glad you called me so I could clear up any anxiety you might be feeling.”
    If muddy waters are clear, Grace thought.
    â€œIt’s exciting, isn’t it? This new project of yours. I hope you don’t mind, I’ve already spread the word a little. I figure we fellow businesswomen should always support each other. Small towns are still such men’s clubs, and this far up the coast, it can be even more retrograde, trust me.” She laughed in an overly bright way that made Grace wince a little and decide right then and there that no matter the stakes or people involved, she was personally all chirped out.
    â€œIf they only knew how easy they were to read, right?” Cami went on. “If we can’t work over them, we just work our way right around them.”
    Sort of like you just worked your way around Brodie. Grace opened her mouth to make some kind of polite response and bring the conversation to a close. She was thankful for Cami’s help in securing her inn property, but bosom businesswomen buddies wasn’t where she saw things heading.
    â€œIs it true you’ve retained Langston deVry as your architect?”
    Whatever Grace might have said to end the conversation went right out the window. “I—how did you know I’d retained Langston?” She swore under her breath, realizing she’d confirmed Cami’s query. But she had retained him, and that wasn’t any kind of big secret . . . though she hadn’t told a soul in Blueberry Cove about him as yet. In fact, she hadn’t even mentioned his name since arriving in town.
    â€œOh, I don’t even remember now.” Cami’s perky voice took on an even higher chirpy note, indicating Grace’s query had unnerved her a bit. Maybe she wasn’t used to dealing with people who actually paid attention to what was being said. “Is he—Langston, I mean—will he be coming to the Cove soon, then?”
    Every instinct Grace had went on full alert. There was more going on. She just had to figure out what, exactly. “He does such great work,” Grace said carefully, saccharine free.