Whitney made a good point. Having the mayor’s support would go a long way toward preserving Dove’s Nest as the community landmark it was. She didn’t want to have done all of this in vain.

“Okay,” she said reluctantly. Gail was going to shit, but their pitch to the client wasn’t until after Labor Day. “Mayor’s niece? Do we know her?”

“Yes, we do know her,” Whitney said casually, but Sarah detected a note of apprehension in her voice. She paused before continuing. “You remember Lia Jameson from high school, right?”

Lia Jameson? As in her high school frenemy Lia Jameson? She shook her head quickly. “Oh no…”

Whitney forced a smile that said, Please don’t kill me. “I kinda already told her yes.”

“Whitney!”

“Sorry, Sarah. She needed an answer, and you have to admit, this is a good idea.”

“But Lia? Really?” The former gossip queen had always been just one step ahead. When Sarah placed second in the science fair, Lia placed first. When Sarah got an A on a math test, Lia got an A-plus. And according to Facebook, Lia was now happily married with a successful law career in New York City with a penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park. Once again, she’d beaten Sarah at life. Seeing her old high school rival right now when her own career was on the line and her heart was a mess wasn’t exactly appealing.

“Look, the rivalry you two had years ago was a teenage girl thing. You are both mature, successful women now. The past is in the past, right?” Whitney said.

Unfortunately, Sarah wasn’t so sure. That certainly wasn’t the case with Wes.

…

As Wes packed up his surfing gear an hour later, Marissa approached on the beach. The summer sun had her freckles darkening on her pale skin, and the sight always made him smile. She had Kelly’s coloring and was prone to burns, hence the thick white glob of sunblock on her nose. “Hey, all done?” she asked.

“Yeah, how was the book?”

“It was good. I finished it, but now I have to wait a whole month until the next one comes out,” she said with a sigh.

Wes laughed. “A whole month, huh?” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d finished one full book, let alone this never-ending sci-fi series Marissa was obsessed with.

“Thanks for not forcing me to surf,” she said, eyeing him suspiciously behind blue-rimmed sunglasses.

“I was too tired to save you from pretending to drown multiple times today,” he said teasingly. “Ready to go?”

“Actually, I was wondering if we could maybe take a walk along the boardwalk, since we’re down here anyway?” she asked.

Wes hesitated, checking his watch. He really should get to the B&B, but maybe his guys could handle it that day without him, allow him to avoid coming face-to-face with Sarah just yet.