Page 35 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

The mayor opened the floor for comments, both for and opposed to the plan. Most of the town was very obviously in favor, a murmur of excitement making it difficult to hear the speakers at times.

There were a few people that seemed less than enthused, however. “My concern,” Bill, one of the island’s many fishermen, said in his quiet way, “is that this will be too much exposure. We don’t want to get overrun with a bunch of tourists that don’t appreciate what we have here.”

“Tourism is kind of an essential fact of life here, Bill,” Edward said. “How would we fill our hotels and restaurants without it?”

“And how will we respond when our streets are clogged and the ferry is delayed because so many mainlanders are here gawking around?” Bill shot back.

Edward rolled his eyes, turning to the older man, clearly ready for an argument.

“It’s okay, Eddie,” I said quickly. “Bill has a good point. Too much growth too fast can be damaging to a small place like this. But I don’t think you need to worry.” I started to rattle off some viewership stats of Heather Dale’s last primetime special, as well as the ratings of the most popular travel shows on cable. I’d done this research this very afternoon, knowing someone would raise this question. “I think what all these numbers mean,” I explained, “is that this could be a show with nice ratings, but we’re probably talking about more of a niche market here. A reality show about small town America isn’t going to garner the kind of attention of, say,American Idol. I don’t think we need to worry about hordes of people showing up on our shores. But I think it could lead to a bump in tourism. A manageable one.”

Bill nodded. “Well, you do sound like you know what you’re talking about, Riley. I suppose it’s worth a shot.”

I felt a little rush of pride at his words. I was convincing people.

And then Jenny’s grandmother, the owner of the Big Hotel, stood up, and a little grumble went around the room.

“I was just wondering what will be the determining factor in who—and what businesses—get to be featured on the show.”

“That will largely be up to the producers,” I told her.

“Yes, but this welcome committee? The one the mayor said we need to appoint? It sounds to me like they’ll have quite a bit of power in promoting certain businesses.”

All around the room, people were glaring at her.

“The point of the committee is to have representatives from a cross-section of interests—” the mayor began, but Mrs. Hillman cut him off.

“Good. Because as the largest business on this island, I think that the Ottawa Hotel should have a representative on the committee.”

Besides Jenny’s grandfather, who was nodding eagerly next to his wife, everyone else was staring at her in disgust and disbelief, a low muttering running through the room. Jenny sank lower in her chair, clearly mortified.

“Well, we’ll leave that up to the people of Lilac Bay,” the mayor said heartily, but I could see the struggle in his face. Piss off the vast majority of the voters in the room or annoy the largest business owners on the island? “But before we start naming people to the committee, I think we should have our vote on whether or not we want to participate in the show. Are there any more comments?”

When no one else moved to speak, the mayor continued.

“I think a simple voice vote will suffice here. All in favor?” A loud chorus of ayes echoed around the room, well over two thirds. “Those opposed?” Though there were a few scattered nays, it was obvious that the town was every bit as excited about this opportunity as I was. “The ayes clearly have it,” the mayor said. “Congratulations to us all!”

There was another eruption of applause and scattered chatter.

“Now. Let’s figure out who should be on this committee. Would anyone like to make a nomination?” He smoothed out his tie, his head held high, his expression clearly designed to look both competent and expectant at the same time.

“I nominate Mayor Jones!” Millie called eagerly.

“Oh, Millie, thank you. What a surprise!” he said, and I could practically feel Andrew rolling his eyes behind me. “You know, I do have some acting experience under my belt.” He puffed out his chest. “Did a fair few commercials back in my day.” He waited a second, probably for applause, before resuming his normal posture, looking slightly disappointed when no one seemed overly impressed. “Any other nominations?”

“Riley, of course,” Zane called out. I grinned at him.

“I plan to assign Riley as the director of this entire endeavor,” the mayor said, and my grin turned to a blush, and there were several calls ofhear, hearfrom the crowd. “After all, none of this would have been possible without her.” He looked at me. “Riley, this is your primary responsibility now. I know you won’t let us down.”

What a difference a few weeks make,I thought, as the crowd continued to call out nominations. Just when I had been sure I wouldn’t be doing anything worthwhile in my job for the foreseeable future, and now here I was, leading one of the most important efforts our town had ever faced.

The rest of the committee was nominated without much drama—though there was some argument between Crystal and Fran, of course, to determine which of them should be chosen. In the end, we decided on neither of them. Libby had been picked right after me, and she sold fudge from both kitchens in her store.

“That’s what they get for always fighting,” I heard Rose mutter from the front row as Fran and Crystal both took their seats, grumbling loudly.

I suggested Andrew, and he promptly disagreed, telling me he would help out, but that there was no reason for him to sit on the committee.Typical, I thought to myself, catching Rose’s eye as she frowned at me.

The only other source of contention was the nomination of Chase Carter by Jenny’s grandfather. None of us had ever heard of Chase—and the reason why was evident as soon as she started to explain. “Chase is our new manager,” Mrs. Hillman said. “He’s a wonderful representative of our hotel.”