Secretly Smitten

by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, Diann Hunt

  The line went dead, and the women looked at one another.

  Zoe saw the unanswered questions in her sisters’ eyes. This wouldn’t be the end of it.

  CHAPTER NINE

  William hadn’t been invited to the opening soirée for Cupid’s Arrow, but as Smitten’s city manager, it wouldn’t have been right to skip such an event. Anytime a business opened, the city wanted to support its prospects. It was purely business. That, and he wasn’t about to let anyone hit on Zoe. The event started at eight, which gave him time to finish up business late at the office and change into more casual fare for the mixer.

  He’d seen the flyers and read the online ads. Zoe had done a fabulous job of informing everyone what her business was about and making the idea nonthreatening to people. It felt like a fun idea for a group of friends to meet and simply see if there might be something more. Meanwhile, he had no doubt that Zoe was working hard in the background to make romance happen. He doubted it was just like a lightning strike. Unless a guy met a woman like Zoe . . . and that was exactly why he planned to be there. To ensure that lightning only struck once.

  Smitten’s downtown was dressed up with year-round Christmas lights, with tourists out for their evening stroll, picking up trinkets, searching for antiques, or tasting the fudge and maple syrup offerings. It was enough to make a man nearly forget the call of the ocean and the feeling of sand beneath the feet.

  William checked his watch. Three minutes to go. He wanted to let a few people in first so that he didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. A sore, uninvited thumb.

  The railroad deal he was counting on to connect Smitten with bigger surrounding cities for a more vibrant economy was far from a sure thing. RailAmerica drove a hard bargain, and the competing towns simply had more money to invest. What the towns could come up with, as well as ticket potential, weighed heavily in their decision. The railroad administrators weren’t going to say yes out of the goodness of their hearts—and their decision would probably make or break his permanent status. For once, William felt in over his head. For once, it mattered whether or not he stayed.

  Someone patted him roughly on the back. He turned around to see a muscular, rugged-looking guy. “Hey, you must be the new city manager. Zak Grant.”

  William breathed a sigh of relief. “Julia’s partner at the Spa & Grill.”

  “And husband.”

  William held out his hand. “William Singer. Glad to meet you.”

  Zak held a f lat aluminum tray that smelled like heaven— where surely barbecue would be served. “It’s great to meet you. On your way to Zoe’s grand opening?”

  William nodded.

  “Me too. I’ve got a friend coming who runs the local construction company, and he’s told his guys they can start late tomorrow if they come.”

  “Does it need that kind of push?”

  “Nah, people love Zoe. She knows everyone from working at Julia’s spa and Natalie’s coffee shop. Luckily, a lot of those friends are single.”

  “Oh,” William answered through a clenched jaw.

  “You married?”

  “Nah. Happily single,” he said, stretching the truth. Happily single until he’d met a darling brunette with a pixie cut.

  “Well, now’s your chance,” Zak said, and William followed him into the building.

  The room, which had once felt so large and empty, was now crammed with people ranging from around twenty to middle-aged. No one looked the least bit uncomfortable in what he would have thought was an awkward situation.

  At the sight of Zoe, his mouth dropped. She wore a minidress, black with white details, that hugged every curve. It had a high neckline and a white ruffled skirt on the bottom. Her tiny waist was hugged by a black velvet bow, and her legs, which seemed to go on forever in velvet heels, were bare, tan, and unreal. He wanted to grab an overcoat to cover her up for fear someone else might see what he did—that her beauty was natural and magnetic.

  Her eyes were enormous, and it was the first time he’d seen her in lipstick. A fifties siren red. She talked to people as she worked the room, serving punch. He hid behind as many patrons as possible until he felt someone’s arm around him.

  “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

  He turned to see Anna Thomas, Zoe’s mother.

  “Stunning,” he said.

  “She never wears lipstick. I suppose she doesn’t need to.”

  “As the city manager, I’d have to vote against the idea of her wearing makeup. City hazard. Accidents.”

  “Oh, William, you’re such a charmer. No wonder Zoe said to watch out for you.”

  “She said that?”

  “Not in so many words, but—”

  “Excuse me, won’t you? I’d better get to work and get people away from that wiring.” He met as many people as possible while casually pulling them from leaning against the walls. He pulled chairs out for women, and he got too close to the men so they just naturally moved. In fact, he did whatever he could to keep the exposed wiring from being an issue. He knew Zoe hadn’t expected so many people, and she had to realize that her sixty-seven capacity had been blown out of the water.

  “Let me know if you need anything,” Anna told him as he passed.

  He ended up with a group of construction workers who were so into the appetizers, they failed to notice any of the women there.

  “So the railroad will mean more construction jobs. If you can’t make the fund-raiser, join one of the work parties. We’re going to redo a rail car and show them what Smitten is capable of.” He passed out business cards and asked that they call him to confirm times.

  The guys all nodded, anxious to get back to their ribs and conversation. With the crowds and Zoe near the front entrance, William thought he’d make his way to the back room and sneak out the alley. He didn’t want her to think he was there in a business sense.

  “Excuse me,” he said. “Excuse me.” The room bulged with people. “Excuse me,” he said to a young woman leaning against the wall. “You don’t want to lean against that wiring.”

  The young woman glared at him.

  “The wires could catch on your dress,” he said awkwardly. “Wouldn’t want to get a pull.”

  A burly man who was obviously from logger stock stood over the young woman with his chest puffed. “She’s taken! She’s only here to support Zoe.”

  The woman went right back to leaning against the wires. Maybe he was there on business after all. He had to get across the room to Zoe and let her know there were too many people for safety purposes. He wouldn’t be popular, but he had bigger fish to fry.

  “Zoe!” he yelled across the room, but with the buzz of conversation and the music, his voice was barely audible even to himself. In the distance, across the room, Zoe shook her short locks as she laughed with those who surrounded her.

  He stopped, unsure of how he’d get her alone to tell her that she needed to weed out the people who weren’t necessary for her party’s success.

  “Is there a problem, Will? You look nervous.” Zoe’s sister Clare came up beside him. “Rib?” she said, holding up a platter.

  “No, no thank you. Clare, can you get Zoe to come back here and talk to me? She’s got too many people here.” He’d no sooner finished the sentence than Zoe appeared, and he wondered how she’d maneuvered through the throng of people so quickly.

  “William, you’re here! I should be irritated, but I’m in such a good mood, not even you can ruin it.” She giggled and touched his temple. “You’re healing nicely.”

  “Zoe. You’re over capacity. We need to thin this crowd. Someone could rub up against those wires.” He practically had to shout over the noise of the room. “I’ve seen this before. Take it out on me all you want later, but I’m begging you to clear the room before something terrible happens.”

  “What?” She leaned in close so that she could hear him, then rose on the tiptoes of her heels and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you, William. Isn’t it wonderful?” />
  “Zoe!” The wail of a siren drowned him out. The siren got louder, then ceased.

  “You called the fire department on me?”

  “I—” He tried to explain he hadn’t, but the firemen in all their regalia had burst into the building and scared the crowd. William worked the room to keep people calm, and the chatter in the room became louder and more intense.

  The fire chief’s voice boomed through his bullhorn, instantly changing the mood of the room from something casual and party-like to anxious. “Attention, patrons. This room is over capacity. I must ask you to vacate the property immediately. Please go out only through the front entrance, as we will need to have a count as you exit. Thank you for your immediate cooperation. Once again, this room is over capacity, and for your own safety we ask that you vacate immediately in an orderly fashion.”

  Zoe gazed back at him, her eyes wide and full of fear as the fire chief led her to the back room. In them William saw an accusation of betrayal. Who could blame her? He’d gone against his own common sense, as well as the law in his new city, to impress a woman. Even if she was Zoe Thomas.

  The people filed out, leaving the tables with their elegant centerpieces strewn with remnants of ribs and half-empty glasses.

  “William?”

  He turned to see the burly Carson, current town patriarch and for all intents and purposes the man who hired him, standing beside him. “Carson—”

  “Did you know about this?”

  “The event?” he asked, as if pleading ignorance would help his case. “I knew about the mixer, but as of this morning only twenty people had said they were coming. I’m certain Zoe had no idea of the turnout.”

  Carson mumbled under his breath, “I don’t need to tell you that we can’t afford mishaps while RailAmerica is considering Smitten.”

  “No, sir.”

  “I’ll see you in my office in the morning. Eight o’clock sharp.”

  “Yes, sir.” He’d calmed rougher seas than these in Hawaii, but it had never mattered to him like Smitten did.

  He caught one last glimpse of Zoe as Fire Chief Brand handed her a piece of paper. He assumed it was a citation, and judging by the amount of people over capacity, she wasn’t going to get off easy. That meant paperwork for the department and automatic closure until she had a chance to meet with the fire department and the town board. He slinked out of the room, wondering how he’d ever face her again.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Morning at the lake was always postcard-perfect. The shingled cabins across the lake reflected a mirror image of themselves over the water. The soothing image negated everything Zoe was feeling, and she was reminded that when times looked their darkest, God was at work. Cupid’s Arrow had been a success, but at what cost? She came away from the window and saw her mother carrying a tea tray.

  “What are you looking for?” Anna asked.

  Zoe sat down on the small love seat. “I was hoping William might come by, actually.”

  “I have a feeling William might be done with Smitten and its women.”

  “Don’t make me feel worse, Mom.”

  “He did try to tell you, Zoe.”

  “I couldn’t have known everyone in Smitten was going to show up!”

  “This is a supportive town.”

  “I’ve got to come up with the money to fix the wiring. My contract promises that there will be weekly events for members, and I’ve been warned I can’t open the business doors again until I’ve met with the fire department.”

  “Zoe, I’m not sure why things happen the way they do, but you did break the law.”

  “I didn’t. Not technically. I had the fire department’s approval.”

  “But didn’t William tell you that the building wasn’t up to code for a gathering—even a small one?”

  “Whose side are you on?”

  “There are no sides here, Zoe.” Her mother backed down the way she always did. Anna hated conflict.

  Zoe looked at the tea tray. Her mom had set out small cookies and linen napkins that Zoe didn’t even know she possessed.

  “That’s all my stuff, from my kitchen?”

  Anna nodded. “If you weren’t so busy cooking for everyone and using Tupperware, you’d know you have some very nice things from your grandmother and your aunts. You might think about inviting William here to dinner sometime.”

  Zoe’s stomach fluttered at the mention of his name before she remembered his face at the grand opening the night before. And the way Carson spoke to him, and the way he left without a word. William had been right, but she knew Carson—he wasn’t the sort of man to accept excuses. And though she barely knew him, something told her William wasn’t the type to offer them.

  “If I have to refund everyone’s money, Cupid’s Arrow is dead. Even with the fire department showing up last night and cutting everything short, I had seventy-seven signups.” She poured herself a cup of tea. “Maybe they felt sorry for me.”

  “Or maybe they saw that you can deliver what you promised. You always were the girl who wanted to make sure everyone was having fun at a party. You couldn’t stand to see someone alone in a corner. People know that heart, and they want to give back. Maybe find a love of their own.”

  Zoe sat down on the sofa and poured two cups of tea. Her mother sat beside her. “What if I made a mistake? What if I wasted my time and all my money on this, and last night was it? Then I’ve lost everything and I might not be able to stay in town, Mom. I might need to go somewhere else to find a job to support myself.”

  “This is just a setback, Zoe. Don’t make it a catastrophe. You’ve already got members signed up on the website, so it can’t be about the parties alone. People want to connect, and that’s proof.”

  “What if it’s not just a ‘setback’ for William? Carson looked pretty intense last night talking to him.”

  “I’m sure William will simply tell Carson that he told you of the law.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think he’d do that. I just don’t think he’d let me take the blame.”

  “Well, he’s not stupid, Zoe. He wouldn’t lose his job over you not doing as you’re told.”

  Zoe wished she could be so sure.

  Her mother made it sound so easy, but the setback made Zoe question everything. Maybe Smitten wasn’t going to be the same town anymore. Maybe with the addition of William and the new ways of the world, she’d be nobody in the scheme of her beloved town. Made obsolete by the ripe age of twenty-seven.

  “What if I misheard God? Maybe he didn’t want me to do this, and I rushed into it.”

  “Maybe,” her mother said as she set down her teacup. “If that’s the case, God has something for you to learn from it. Look for the lesson. Sometimes the lesson is the gift.”

  “Mom, you sound like a greeting card. This is serious!” Zoe sipped her tea and tried to find comfort in the view. The lake was still glass-smooth. All of her internal struggles didn’t make one ripple on the lake outside.

  “Mom, what really bothers me is that I put all those people in danger last night. That’s what William had been trying to tell me. If I really cared about people, I wouldn’t have gone through with the event just because it was convenient for me.”

  Her mother came close and enveloped her with an arm, pulling her into a hug from the side. “Zoe, not everyone in Smitten has been to Shelby’s School of Manners. Those people didn’t all RSVP. You had no way of knowing you’d have that kind of turnout, and those wires have been there for nearly a century. There was no reason to believe they’d suddenly go up in flames last night. And they didn’t go up in flames either. The threat of danger is not danger.”

  Zoe nodded. “I think it is to a man like William. I thought he just liked rules, but now I think it’s because he’s seen the darker side of businesses not working safely.”

  “He probably has. Next time you’ll have someone posted at the door, and you’ll ensure people let you know they’re coming by turning away those who
haven’t responded. You can always make phone calls the day of an event and ask.”

  “If there is a next time. I have to come up with the money to fix the wiring, and that’s more than everything I made last night.”

  She heard the slam of a car door and looked out to see Carson walking up the path, a black notebook in hand. A wave of fresh fear washed over her.

  “What does Carson want?” Anna asked.

  “No doubt to tell me I’m out of business.” She opened the door before he knocked.

  His eyebrows were raised. “Zoe.”

  “Good morning, Carson.”

  “I’m here on business,” he said in a stern voice.

  “I figured. Come sit down and have some tea.”

  “No tea for me.” He looked around as if to note the condition of his cabin. “Good morning, Anna.”

  “Carson,” her mother said. “Sit down, won’t you?”

  “I’ve inspected the building this morning with the fire chief.” He took a seat.

  “And?”

  “Fireman Brand approved you for opening, but the truth is, you never should have been allowed to inhabit the building until the electrical was fixed.”

  “Ellie Draper rented it to me on the condition that it not cost her any money. I should have made those repairs and checked them out with an electrician.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “It wasn’t Fireman Brand’s fault.”

  “Fireman Brand warned Ellie of the conditions. She was told to make the arrangements.”

  “No, we had an agreement, Ellie and I. I just didn’t know about the electrical until—”

  “Wait. You knew about the electrical?”

  She nodded but wouldn’t look at Carson. “William Singer told me earlier in the week, but I didn’t have the money and told him so. He told me it wasn’t illegal, but that it wasn’t safe. I didn’t think he had the guts to go through with shutting me down. Guess I was right.”