Читать книгу Winning Her Love - Harmony Evans - Страница 12

Chapter 4

That same day, Vanessa ducked into Lucy’s and slid into one of the empty bright blue booths facing the window. She looked around and nodded to a few folks who were already seated for lunch. Thankfully, the mayor wasn’t one of them.

She put her cell phone on vibrate before stowing it away in her purse. Although she couldn’t run from Gregory forever, at least she could avoid his calls. If she picked up, no doubt he would try to persuade her to change her mind about managing his election campaign. It would be easy to tell him no on the phone. But in person? Vanessa wasn’t sure she could do that again.

She’d always been attracted to powerful men. But it wasn’t long before she discovered, often painfully, that under their shiny veneer of success, most of them weren’t very nice people to be around.

Vanessa had a feeling that Gregory was different. He didn’t look at her as if she were someone to be conquered. He didn’t try to impress her with his credentials or his bank account. Although maybe that didn’t count, because the whole town knew that he’d graduated with honors from Stanford and that his family was one of the wealthiest in Bay Point.

Instead he had reminded her of a childhood memory, one she’d long forgotten. The two of them playing together, making mud pies. And for a moment, she’d remembered what it was like to be free, unencumbered by daily responsibilities, an ever-growing mound of bills and tough choices.

He remembered my smile.

Her heart skipped a beat—

And yet he wants to destroy the carousel.

—then sank in her chest like a rock.

The Bay Point Carousel was the hub of downtown. Vehicles had to navigate around it to get to Magnolia Avenue north-or southbound or to continue west on Ocean Avenue. Parking spots jutted out on all sides like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Right now there were only a few minivans in front, likely parents bringing their children to play, even though it currently wasn’t operational.

Vanessa peered out the window. The structure was about a block away, and though she could see only a horse or two, it was enough to stir a flood of memories, most of them happy.

She planted her elbows on the mint-green laminate table. The carousel meant so much to her and the people of Bay Point. Why didn’t it mean anything to the mayor?

And why do I care? She nearly said that thought aloud, but instead she pursed her lips and let out a slow breath.

The aromatic scent of incense and coffee beans wafted over her. She lifted her head just as Lucy Dee Diller, owner of the diner, set down a shiny aluminum carafe.

“What’s wrong, child? Rough morning?”

Vanessa nodded but chose not to mention the tall, dark and handsome half of her troubles.

“I had a bunch of deliveries to Bay Point Hospital and a few nursing homes in the area. It’s hard to see so many sick and elderly people.”

Lucy turned over a white porcelain cup and nestled it into its accompanying saucer. “Your flowers will make them feel better, no?”

Vanessa bit her lip and rubbed her palms on her khaki pants. She felt a trail of sweat bead at the base of her spine beneath her white polo, emblazoned just above her left breast with the shop’s logo.

“I guess...” She trailed off.

Although there were many patients who were on the road back to recovery, her mind always seemed to return to the ones who weren’t so lucky. She didn’t want to tell Lucy how many times she’d delivered a cheery get-well floral arrangement to an individual at the hospital and a few days later delivered a more somber arrangement to the patient’s family at a funeral home.

In her darkest moods, she sometimes wondered how flowers could make a difference. But deep down, she knew that they did because of the life-changing effect they’d had on her own life.

“I just wish I could do more. Sometimes I feel so powerless.”

“Ah...perhaps you need to rub the crystal ball more often?”

Vanessa skirted her eyes over to the large glass orb nestled on a gold-columned pedestal near the front of the store. People routinely touched or patted it on their way out of the restaurant for good luck. Being a tad germophobic and a nonbeliever in Lucy’s magic mumbo jumbo, she never indulged.

But maybe, she thought, I should start.

She grinned. “Couldn’t hurt.” Then her smile faltered. “What does your crystal ball say about the future of Bay Point?”

Lucy sighed heavily. “Change is never easy.”

She poured Vanessa some coffee, then slid into the opposite side of the booth.

“When I came to Bay Point from New Orleans to open my diner, I was twenty-two and full of California dreams. The sun...the surf...the men.” She giggled. “It was a different era.”

Vanessa’s eyes widened. “What was the town like back then?”

Lucy folded her hands like a prim schoolgirl, but her eyes held a devilish gleam. “On weekends it was like a mini Hollywood. Lots of stars would drive up the coast from Los Angeles or Beverly Hills. Beautiful women. Gorgeous men. Actors, actresses and directors seeking their escape from the production lot and the photographers.”