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He’s a handsome man—brown hair with gray on the sides, bright blue eyes, and a nice build, but even though he’s flashing those nice dimples, all I can think about is physically throwing him out of my meeting, which I’m fully planning on turning into a witch hunt.

“They’re as much a part of this community as a bunch of wolves trying to blend in with a flock of sheep,” I say. He frowns.

“Maybe so,” he says, dropping the smile, “but we still have to give them a warm Greene Mountain welcome.”

I’ll give him a Greene Mountain welcome alright. Right up the ass with my foot.

I did some online research of this guy and his family, and was horrified about what I found. Many articles were roasting this guy’s dad for ruining the town of Huntington. I know he’s going to try and use the same playbook here. Not on my watch, he won’t.

It’s five after seven and the room is getting loud. Tyler and Carrie are here from the Greene Mountain Stables, and Trish from the Warm Loaf Bakery. She’s deep into an old romance paperback, so I’m not sure how much help she’s going to be. I see Molly from the veterinarian clinic and June who just started the pottery shop in town. It’s a good turnout.

“Crap,” I whisper when I see Tina and Tiffany sitting in the front row. They’re identical twins who work the reception desk at the Greene Mountain Lodge. They have the same round black-rimmed glasses and the same straight black hair cut into a bob.

I’m sure they only came here to roast me.

Luke gets things started, saying hi to the crowd and going over a few basic announcements before it’s my turn to speak.

“And the signups for the Christmas Craft Fair are going on now,” he says as more people walk in—Mitch the driver at the Greene Mountain Lodge and Victoria from the Children’s Library. “You can sign up on the website or come into my office if you want to fill out a form the old-fashioned way.”

My pulse is racing as I shift from foot to foot, my whole body on edge. I can’t believe I almost went out with that guy. I can’t believe I liked him. Gawd. That’s over now. I’d strangle him before I let him buy me dinner.

“And now I’m going to hand the floor over to Ivy,” Luke says with a smile.

He steps aside and lets me take the podium. I look at the crowd full of locals, friends, neighbors, and everyone who makes this place so wonderful, and I feel emotional. A protective part of me takes over as I look at what’s at stake.

I’ll die before I let that man ruin my town.

“Thank you all for coming,” I say into the microphone. “I know everybody here loves this town.”

They all nod and smile, agreeing with me.

“And that’s why we’re here,” I say in a forceful tone. “To protect it.”

“We’re here for the free donuts,” Tina, or Tiffany, I can never tell which one is which.

“Who said there would be donuts?” I ask.

“There’s always donuts,” Tiffany says. “Are there no donuts?”

“No,” I say.

“This is highly disappointing,” Tina says. “I was expecting donuts.”

Tiffany shakes her head as she glares at me behind those thick glasses. “Not a good start, Ivy.”

I take a deep breath and try to ignore them. “For anyone who hasn’t heard yet, Keaton Holdings is trying to buy our town up from under us!”

I’m expecting a gasp of outrage, but only get a few murmurs.

“We can’t let them get away with this!” I say, gripping the edges of the podium. “This town belongs to the people, to us, not to some billionaires hiding behind a corporation.”

The room quiets.

“We built this town. Us. Trish’s family has been baking donuts at the Warm Loaf for almost forty years.”

“Now she remembers the donuts,” Tiffany mumbles.

“Tyler and Carrie delight guests with horseback riding through the mountains at the Greene Mountain Stables. Luke’s family has been running the Bedrock Inn for generations. Julian and I started Greene Mountain Bungee with a wild dream and absolutely no idea what we were doing.”