Page 94 of Billionaire's Coastal Haven

“Don’t worry, I’m not partnering with her either.”

“What if she finds another investor?” Paisley asks.

The bell over the door rings, and Lucky struts inside as if on cue. Gigantic aviator glasses over her eyes, Chanel bag on her arm, and a swagger she didn’t have last time we saw her make my skin crawl.

“You, young lady, have some explaining to do.” Charlotte wags her finger like she’s scolding a child who spilled juice on her favorite book.

Lucky cocks her head. “Explaining? About what?”

“Your actions as mayor.”

“What could I possibly need to explain?” Naivety drips from her voice, but none of us buy it.

“The mayor serves at the pleasure of the council. You answer to us. And we don’t want mansions.”

“Oh, that. It’s a great idea. You’re welcome.” She plops her bag on the counter. “Francesca, can I please have a vanilla macadamia nut, half-caff latte with extra foam?”

“We’ve been out of mac nut milk for a few days now.” Anawe-shucksexpression plants itself on Francesca’s face. “Regular work?”

Lucky growls. “I’m cutting out dairy, so of course it won’t work.”

“Then I’m afraid I can’t make you anything today.”

“How do you run out of macadamia nut milk?”

I hide my smirk behind my hand as Landon takes a sip of his drink. Francesca is definitely not one to cross when you love coffee the way we do. Kind of glad Lucky didn’t get that memo. This is classic.

Francesca lifts her hands in defeat. “Missed it in the order last week. Should be better by next week. I bet Katherine over in Pine Ridge has some.”

“Fine.” Lucky blows her bangs off her forehead and spins on her sequined boot. “Charlotte, where were we?”

“You’re fired.”

Pfft. “Don’t be silly.”

The rest of the town council circles behind Charlotte. “Lucky, being mayor isn’t a free pass to do whatever you want, whenever you want.”

“Gemma said you refused to pay for your ice cream two days ago, told her to bill Town Hall,” Greyson says.

“I was there on town business. Her awnings are faded, and she should replace them. No one else had the guts to tell her.”

“Bill called me yesterday,” Jack says. “You ordered a new shed. Again, billing it to the city.”

“I need an office to work out of at home. What better way than an environmentally friendly shed in my backyard?”

“The town isn’t your personal checking account. You don’t get to order people around. You definitely don’t get to buy Chanel handbags.” Charlotte swipes the bag off Lucky’s arm and dumps the contents on the table. “You are fired. You have thirty days to pay back everything you charged to Rainwater Bay, or I’ll file a lien against the apothecary.”

“You can’t be serious. After everything Mayor Winslow spent money on over the years, you’re mad about an ice cream cone?”

Zoe shoulders forward. “Dad was meticulous about what he charged to the town and what he didn’t. I have the receipts for the last twenty years, if you’d like to see them.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Charlotte hands Lucky the contents of the purse and slings the bag over her own shoulder. “Town service is an honor. If only you had treated it as such.” She clicks her tongue. “Your parents aren’t going to be happy when they hear about your behavior.” She loops her arm through Lucky’s. “Let’s get this over with.”

Lucky struggles to free her arm. “We don’t need to bother them.”

Charlotte clamps down harder on Lucky. “Jack, finish up with Zoe.”

“You got it, love bug.” He kisses his wife’s cheek.