Louisa’s eyes dipped back to her menu. There was nothing worse than proving her parents right—and she seemed to have a knack for getting herself into situations that did just that.

No wonder nobody took her seriously.

Eric reappeared in the restaurant, caught her gaze, and held it. Still no butterflies—only the horribly uncertain feeling that she’d left a trail of mistakes behind her. And she didn’t know how to clean it up.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THE FOLLOWING DAY, CODY MET WITH LOUISA at the station for an update about the Coastie auction. He gave her a list of men prepared to participate, along with the details he’d collected about each one.

She flipped through them hurriedly, scanning the facts. Today she was all business. He knew he’d hurt her feelings. He should apologize.

“Is that what you needed?”

She tucked the pages inside her padded notebook. “Yep.”

“Louisa—”

“Just make sure that everyone is there on time Friday.” She pulled another sheet of paper from the notebook and handed it to him. “Dressed in uniform and looking sharp, please.”

He took the page. “I will.”

“We’ve sold a decent number of tickets, but anything you can do to help spread the word would be great too.”

He nodded in agreement.

She steeled her jaw. “The next hurdle is a big one.”

“How can I help?”

Louisa straightened and pushed her hair behind her shoulder. The simple move drove him crazy. He wanted to run his fingers through those long red waves, which was ludicrous considering what a stellar job he’d done ticking her off yesterday.

“We need to go see Jackson Wirth’s parents.”

Cody frowned. “Why?”

“We can’t do a fundraiser for them without their permission,” she said. “It just feels wrong.”

“Giving someone money feels wrong?”

She looked at him then, and he felt like he’d just been zapped by an electric current.

“It’s about more than that,” she said. “We’re dragging him back into the limelight. Mr. and Mrs. Wirth might not appreciate that.”

“And if they say no?”

Louisa drew in a breath. “There are lots of great causes out there.”

“When do we go?”

“I’m going tomorrow,” she said. “Alyssa set up a meeting, but she didn’t give them any details.”

“I can make that work.”

“We have to take the ferry,” Louisa said. “He’s in a hospital on the Cape.”

A twinge of excitement coupled with a wave of nausea raced through him at the idea that he would be spending the better part of the day with her.

“I’ll be there.”

A pause hung between them, and finally she tucked her notebook inside her bag. “Great. I think that’s everything. I’ll see myself out.”

With that, she was gone, leaving a trail of ice in her wake.