“Oh yeah, that would be perfect,” April said, and they all headed out of the store, back into the sunlight.
Penny was stood in front of The Garden Table and waved the group over, leading them through the front to a table in the back. As April slid into her seat, she noticed the initials ‘PL’ and ‘EB’ carved into the wood, followed by a little infinity symbol. April brushed the letters with her finger and smiled to herself as she looked up and caught Penny’s eye. Penny grinned back, setting down a plate piled high with sandwiches.
Ethan sat opposite April, a confident gleam in his eyes. “OK, so, after making some calls, I may have found something. I have a friend a couple towns over who actually dealt with something similar last year. Guess who the artist turned out to be?”
April bit her lip. “Conti?”
“Conti.” Ethan nodded, grinning. “I sent him some photos of your store and a few other buildings outside and he’s about ninety per cent sure they’re also Conti’s.”
“So …”
“It’ll take a few months for them to be professionally evaluated, but for now I think there’s enough of an indicator to halt construction indefinitely.”
April’s heart leapt. “Thank yousomuch.”
“Now you just have to convince the mayor,” Noah said and stuffed half a sandwich in his face immediately after speaking. “Whah? Isst mah lunch break.”
April watched with her nose wrinkled.Pig.
“They’ll send a team out to assess the building. You might be able to get it expedited given the urgency of the case. I’ll make some calls for you.” Ethan smiled, eyes flying wide when April practically tackled him with a hug.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Hey,I’mthe one who found out who the artist was,” Noah protested and April smacked a loud kiss on her brother’s cheek.
“And I’m grateful for you too. But you’re my brother, and part-owner of the store. You had to help.”
“So for now, maybe Walston will accept Ethan’s testimony? Like an expert opinion? They do it all the time in court,” Penny added like she was an expert and Ethan rolled his eyes.
“Courtroom dramas aren’t the same ascourt.” Ethan kissed his fiancée’s forehead. “But I can talk to the mayor—it might be enough.”
April nodded, relieved. “OK. Make sure to mention the duty-of-care stuff. If it is a Conti design and we let Luke’s team bulldoze it, there could be … consequences?” In truth, she wasn’t sure, but at the very least it wouldn’t look good for the mayor if the town found out he could have stopped the demolition. “I’ll ask Izzy to arrange the meeting.”
“So what do we do now?” Noah asked, glancing around the group.
“Now I think we just hope that Walston hears us out,” April said, unconvinced. “And in the meantime, I’ve got painting to finish off if I want the store to open on time.”
Walston sighed heavily as he reread the documents April had handed to him. It was late on Friday morning, the earliest Izzy had been able to secure a meeting, but April didn’t mind; it had given her enough time to pull together a document outlining her case for halting the development work. Sat opposite the mayor, separated from him by his large mahogany desk, her knee was bouncing with anxiety as she waited for his verdict. Luke, who was sitting in the chair beside April, seemed to notice the nerves radiating from her, and she thought she saw his hand twitch, as though longing to reach out and still her leg. He seemed to catch himself, though, refocusing his eyes on Walston’s face, and April forced herself to do the same.
“Well, it isn’t ideal, of course, but it looks like you might be right, Miss Jones. At the very least, until the buildings have been authenticated, we can’t allow the demolition to continue.”
“Oh my goodness.” April could barely contain her excitement at the mayor’s words, but she forced herself to retain her calm, professional facade. “Thank you so much, Mr. Walston.”
He nodded his acknowledgment before turning toLuke. “Mr. Pointer, I assume you’ll be OK to call your team off? And now I come to think of it, I’d quite like to know how your client’s initial survey didn’t flag the possible protected status of the buildings,” Walston mused, fixing Luke with a hard stare.
Luke seemed unruffled by this. “They carried out a private survey rather than using my company’s surveyor, Mr. Walston. I will of course be happy to ask for a review of the survey when I let them know why we’re ceasing construction.”
“Very good, thank you, Mr. Pointer.” Walston smoothed his thinning hair back from his forehead, frustration evident in his pinched expression.
“Uh, Mr. Walston.” April didn’t want to add to the mayor’s concerns, but they had made a deal, and there was no way she was going to let him back out of it now. Walston looked up at her, his eyes softening a little as she went on, “Does this also mean that you’ll approve the Spring Flower Festival?”
“Hm? Oh, yes, of course!” The mayor’s face split into a smile. “Truth be told, I’d forgotten that was part of the deal, but with the loss of the construction revenue, the festival might be exactly what we need to breathe some new life into Main Street! I think Izzy will be best placed to coordinate the festival’s organization, don’t you?”
“I bet she’d love to help.” April grinned, standing and shaking the mayor’s outstretched hand as she did so. “Thank you again, Mr. Walston.”
As she left the office, she felt a bubble of joy swelling in her chest, making her feel as though she might float a few inches off the ground. At the sound of heavy footsteps following her down the hall, though, she felt the bubble shrink ever so slightly.
Luke wasn’t scowling as he entered the elevator behind April, but he didn’t look exactly pleased, either. She breathed in deeply, the smell of his aftershave making her feel vaguely light-headed as the doors slid closed. He stood beside her, eyes studying her face, and she felt a blush slowly rising in her cheeks.