Holiday Reunion (Hollyberry Harbor #1)

Chapter 4

FOUR

James slapped his hand down on the documents in front of him to prevent Sarah from taking them. “I get you don’t want to hand off the proposal to the mayor with the light show, but you have to hear me out.”

“Not going to happen. I already told you, it would only draw people who aren’t willing to come spend money at the shops. Why do we have to keep going through this?”

“You’re wrong,” James insisted. “When people go to a drive-in movie, don’t they get out and buy concessions?”

“That’s different.” Sarah folded her arms in defiance.

“In what world is that different?” He asked with exasperation. “People are watching a movie from their cars. They’d be driving through the lights in their cars. Same thing. They’re watching a show from the warmth and comfort of their vehicle.”

She groaned. “Do I really have to spell it out for you? I swear. When you get attached to something, you won’t let go.”

“Says the girl who can’t let go of what she calls tradition.”

Sarah scowled at him. “Fine. I’ll tell you. When you go to a movie. You park . You shut off the engine and you watch a screen play a movie. The light show requires you to keep moving. You start at point A. You end at point B. Then by the end of it, your kids are in the back seat screaming and fighting about their siblings stealing their air. Would you want to find parking and drag those children through town?”

She was right. Dang it, he hadn’t thought about that—probably because he’d been so caught up in his idea. His jaw tightened as he scrambled to come up with a solution before their meeting with the Mayor. He still thought the light show would draw a lot of people. He just needed a way to incorporate it into the festival in an organic way.

Sarah snatched the paperwork. “Our meeting is in ten minutes. I have everything ready, sans light show. All I ask is that you don’t try anything. We need a rubber stamp of approval from the mayor to start making purchases and scheduling people for the event.”

He frowned. While she was very much a stubborn woman, he couldn’t help admire her tenacity. She’d thought about everything from the food, drink, and activities for children to the parking, admission, and everything in between.

The mayor had been smart to ask her to help. Heck, if she wasn’t so tied down to her bakery, he might have been interested in hiring her to be the project manager for the harbor.

She was ignoring him now. It was as if looking at him caused her trauma of some kind. That didn’t matter. It gave him a chance to really watch her. He’d noticed a lot about her while she refused to acknowledge him.

There was a freckle behind her left ear that was only visible when she fiddled with her hair. Occasionally, she take a strand of hair and twist it around her finger before tucking it away. When she needed to sneeze, she’d wrinkle her nose, scrunching it side to side in order to fight it. She was never successful, but it was adorable anyway.

What was he thinking?

He shouldn’t be thinking about Sarah that way. She could barely stand him. He had a feeling he was one mistake away from her pushing him into that icy lake.

Sarah’s eyes cut to him then they narrowed. “What?”

“Nothing,” he was too quick to say.

“You’re staring at me…”

Yeah, because she was beautiful, strong, and maddeningly irresistible. He coughed, looking away. “I’m not going to change my mind.”

“Well, that’s too bad. Because if it’s not in the proposal, then it’s not going to be discussed. The mayor is far too busy to have us mess around. He needs all the points in a brief and well-organized way. Lucky for me, you don’t have any means to slip in your idea.” She said the words with a chirp-like sound.

And it hit him right then. She was wrong on both counts. He was going to put his idea in the proposal, and she’d have no choice but to support him. And it was mostly her idea anyway.

It looked like he might actually go for a swim if she got the chance.

He bit back his smile as he turned to send a message to his assistant. Melanie always got everything done no matter how much time she had to do it. All he needed was a drawn diagram and a map.

James sent off the message and while they waited outside the mayor’s office, he kept checking his phone. Melanie had assured him she’d make it in time. As it stood, he had three minutes before the meeting was supposed to start. The mayor might be late, but it was unlikely. James had heard how the guy valued punctuality.

Sarah placed the folder between the two of them and started digging in her purse for something. At that very moment, Melanie materialize beside him. She handed him a single sheet of paper, smiled and hurried off. It took two seconds to slip the paper into the folder and Sarah wasn’t any the wiser.

The mayor’s office door opened, and his secretary ushered them in.

Sarah glanced at James. She nodded then picked up the folder and got to her feet. James whistled, his hands in his pockets as he followed her into the office.

“Here’s our proposal. It’s all there—every activity, every cost accounted for. I’m guessing you’ll need a few minutes to go over it?—”

“What’s this light show activity? It’s not listed in the main agenda.”

Sarah’s sharp eyes launched at James, fire shooting at him like arrows.

James stepped forward as nonchalantly as he could. “That’s because it’s not going to be paid for by the city. I’m going to offer that one on the house.”

Mayor Potter’s brows lifted. “But you’re already donating a tree.”

Once again, Sarah stared at him, but this time with surprise.

“It’s nothing.”

“Sir,” Sarah jumped forward. “We hadn’t discussed the full logistics of the light show?—”

“I think it’s genius.” The mayor picked up the paper then turned it around. “Who came up with the idea to break up the light show in two parts with the middle being the Christmas village? That’s good thinking. Folks will drive through, stop for a treat or some souvenirs, then finish strong with the remainder of the lights. Absolutely brilliance.”

“Sarah’s got a lot of good ideas. We just didn’t know if this one would fit the budget.” James offered.

Sarah’s mouth hung open as she now stared at the mayor. James could have been smug in this moment. He could have rubbed it in her face that he’d won over the mayor with his newfangled ideas.

But he didn’t. He sat back and let Sarah take the win.

Eventually, the mayor tossed the proposal to the table. “I don’t need to see anymore. I’ll send this to the council with my stamp of approval. They’re all aware that we need to get things moving, so I’m giving you the go-ahead to start immediately.” He rose to his feet, his smile wide and his eyes bright. “I think this has the opportunity to be one of the best years yet.”

They were hurried out of his office as he had another meeting to attend. The second they were in the hall, Sarah whirled around and poked him in the chest, hard. “I can’t believe you did that! We agreed?—”

“No we didn’t.”

She snapped her mouth shut and her eyes narrowed to slits. “I could go right back in there and tell him I think it’s a mistake. He’d listen, too, because he thinks it’s my idea.”

“You could…” James drawled. “Or you could take this for what it is. It’s a gift. You get everything within the proposed budget, and I get what I want. You have to admit, it is a rather good idea. People will have a reason to stop.”

“How do you figure?”

He leaned really close, his voice lowering. “FOMO.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. “Fine. I’ll give you your little project. It’s your loss.” She peeked at him. “Are you really paying for a real tree?”

He nodded.

Sarah’s admiration was short lived. She folded her arms and looked away. “I won’t stand in your way under one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

She glanced at him once more. “This is going to take a lot of planning to get it perfect. We don’t want to become the laughingstocks of Hollyberry Harbor.”

“No, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” he chuckled.

“So every meeting I want to call, you’ll be there. No excuses.”

“Deal.”

Her brows lifted. It was clear she wasn’t expecting him to agree so easily. Sarah moved closer still until their noses nearly touched. “Every. Single. Meeting.”

“You don’t have to repeat yourself. I heard you fine,” he whispered. His lips quirked upward. “Are you sure you want to agree to it?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’re right. I am rather charming. This is your excuse to spend as much time as you can with me.”

She gasped but he didn’t let her come up with a retort. Instead, he brushed past her. “I’ll be at your beck and call,” he called over his shoulder. “Abuse your power all you wish.”