Page 49 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

“I don’t think we need to beperfect—”

“Riley. You’re a perfectionist. You’ve always been a perfectionist. There’s nothing wrong with that. But that’s not Lilac Bay. We’re quirky and we’re messy and we’re fun. And yes, sometimes our residents may seem a little nutty—” Her eyes wandered over to where Jerry was setting up the fence for the petting zoo. Despite my strong hints that kids would be more interested in interacting with larger animals—specifically ones who didn’t posses such sharp beaks—Jerry had brought at least a dozen of his chickens along with the more appealing goat and pig. Libby shook her head before continuing in a determined voice. “But that’s part of our charm.”

My eyes were still on Jerry, who had abandoned the portable fence to introduce a passing Zane to the chickens. “Oh, yeah. Charming.”

“Hey,” she said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I mean it, Riley. If you try to make these people into something they’re not, it won’t turn out well.”

She was basically repeating my line to Becky. But then again, she hadn’t heard Chris that day, basically saying that we had no shot at this. I hadn’t shared that conversation with anyone—I couldn’t bear the thought of them all being so disappointed. Instead I'd doubled down on my efforts for the event, determined to prove her wrong.

“I know. You’re right. I’ll try to let go a little bit.”

“Good.”

“But,” I said, feeling a flash of worry, “we should still get Sherry to stop with the up-dos, right?”

“Oh, absolutely. The last thing we need is half the town walking around with Sherry hair.”

After she left I directed my attention to the various groups of people working around the square. Several members of the Elks club were assembling the sound system where the band would set up later. Senior class officers and student council members from the Island School were carting boxes and supplies around the green, and judging by their still-normal-looking hair, none of them had visited Sherry yet—thank God for small favors. Most of the Libbies were here helping Posey and Rose with decorations—though several of them had abandoned any pretense of work to participate in their favorite pastime: staring at David Jenkins while he lifted heavy things. Even the island’s Girl Scout troop was here, setting up their lemonade table. And the square was already starting to come together.

It’s all going to be fine, I told myself.No one cares about this island more than the people who live here. You don’t have to micromanage.

A familiar voice across the square caught my attention, and I turned to see Mason and Jayden helping Jake to hang bunting from one of the tables. I grinned, happy to have them there. I was about to step over to say hello when someone stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

I knew who it was at once—the man from the bar, that pitcher from the Big Hotel team. I hadn’t thought of him in weeks, what with all the excitement, but it was impossible to mix him up with any of the islanders.

Guys around here just didn’t look like that—designer jeans, expensive haircut, hands that looked suspiciously manicured. And the way that he was smiling at me was familiar—he’d looked at me that same way from the pitcher’s mound.

“Hey,” he said. “You’re Riley, right?”

“Yeah.” I brushed my hair off my forehead. I had planned to go home to get cleaned up after the square was set up and now I wished I hadn’t waited. I felt distinctly grubby compared to this shiny-haired, Calvin-Klein-model-wannabe.

“We haven’t really met yet, but we played against each other a few weeks ago.” He held out his hand. “I’m Chase.”

The name rang a bell, but I was too distracted by his smile when I took his hand to give it much thought. It was warm and smooth and surprisingly strong.

“Hi,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t sound as breathy as it felt. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’ve been trying to work up the courage to come say hi for a while,” he said, his smile far more smug than his words were. Something about it reminded me a little bit of Andrew.He’s a player, I told myself.

“Why did you need to work up courage?” I smiled back and his own grin deepened. Maybe I didn’t look quite as grubby as I thought.

“It always takes some courage to talk to a pretty girl.”

I should have rolled my eyes, should have walked right away from this flirty, smug-smiled boy, but somehow I didn’t.

Maybe it was the fact that he was still holding my hand. I pulled it away abruptly.You have work to do here tonight, I reminded myself. Important work.

“You seem pretty sweet—and way too conscious of that fact,” I told him. “But this is a pretty big night, and I have work to do.”

“Well, that’s the other reason I came over,” he said. “I want to help.”

“You want to help hang crepe paper streamers in Town Square?” I asked, eyebrows raised. “Instead of going back home at the end of the day?”

“I’m actually staying on the island,” he said. His eyes flashed a little and I got the feeling he was trying not to laugh. “I know that doesn’t really fit in with your preconceived ideas of the outsiders up at the hotel, but there it is.”

“You’re staying here?” I asked, the skepticism strong in my voice. None of the Big Hotel workers stayed on this island when their shifts were done. Why would they? They had things like nightclubs and actual shopping malls on the mainland. And, you know, cars.

“I am. It seemed silly to commute across the bay every day,” he said. He watched me for a minute and then laughed. “You can lower your eyebrow any minute. I’m telling the truth.”