Everyone stills. The store is so quiet you could hear a condom drop. Eliza looks like she’s about to cry; Nora and Indira are holding hands.

“There’s no real news yet,” I say, and the group collectively exhales in relief. “But we do have a shift in our strategy.”

When I finish filling them in on Josie’s plan, they’re all staring at me with shocked expressions.

Indira is the first to speak, her dark eyes flashing. “You want to work with that uptight, snobby little—”

“Hey!” I say sharply.

Indira blinks, surprised. “Sorry. You want to work with…her?”

“Voluntarily?” Nora adds.

“I thought we hated her?” Eliza says.

“We do,” Cinderella says at the same time I say, “We did.”

I shoot Cinderella a glare. “We don’t anymore. Josie has a lot of great ideas and—”

“How do you know she’s not trying to sabotage us?” Indira cuts in. “I don’t trust her.”

Eliza folds her arms. “Me either.”

“Ryan, why in the world would you consider this?” Nora asks, her wrinkled face full of confusion.

Under her breath, Cinderella mutters, “Because he wants to f—”

“Okay, okay,” I say loudly, then take a breath. They’re saying all the same things I would’ve said a month ago. “I hear your concerns, and I understand. But if we keep treating each other like the enemy, the only person who wins is Xander—and no one wants that.”

“Cosign,” Eliza says, scuffing her sneaker on the ground, and after a moment the others mumble their agreement.

“If we can show Xander how much higher our collective profits are over the next four weeks, he’ll have to admit that Josie and I make a good team—along with the rest of you, of course.”

“What if he doesn’t go for it?” Nora asks, her voice small.

I don’t want to admit I’m worried about that very thing. But Josie’s plan gives me two things I desperately want: a chance to be with her, and the opportunity to keep my store and my staff. No other option gives me both. If I win, she’ll never want to be with me, and if she wins, I lose the store that feels like home and the staff that feels like family. No romance store in P-town or anywhere else could compare to the history I have here.

But I’m not going to burden my staff with my fears. Instead, I pretend to be as confident in our plan as Josie is and say, “He’ll go for it—the man speaks dollars and cents; he’ll see this option will make him the most money.”

I’m not sure if any of them believe me, but we wrap up the meeting so Eliza can get to soccer practice and everyone else can get to work opening the store.