Read Online Ask Anyone by Sherryl Woods - Free Book Online

Bobby.
    She found him in his office, his feet propped up on his desk and a smug expression on his face.
    â€œEnjoy your meeting with the mayor?” he inquired.
    â€œIt was illuminating,” she told him. “He thinks you’re sneaky.”
    Bobby didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised ordismayed by that assessment. “That doesn’t hold a candle to what I think of him,” he said as he stood up. “You ready for lunch?”
    â€œCan’t wait,” she told him.
    He drove into town and parked down the block from a beachfront diner. “It’s not fancy, but Earlene’s is the heart and soul of Trinity Harbor. You want to know what’s going on around town, this is the place to come. I’d advise you to stay away from the coffee, though. The acid will burn a hole in your stomach.”
    Jenna grinned. “What would you recommend?”
    â€œThe iced tea and a burger are pretty safe bets.”
    â€œI’m surprised you eat here at all. Don’t you like the food at the marina?”
    He chuckled at that. “I like it just fine. Matter of fact, I cook most of it, but as you noticed, we’re closed on Mondays.”
    â€œYou’re a cook? I thought you owned it.”
    â€œI do, and I’m a chef,” he corrected testily. “But let’s not quibble.” He led the way to a booth by a window that looked out on the river, then regarded Jenna seriously. “Any plan for the waterfront has to include Earlene’s.”
    â€œOf course,” Jenna agreed at once. Though the interior was a little shabby, the place had an undeniable charm that could only be acquired over time. The wooden floors had been worn smooth by sandy feet. The tunes on the jukebox were oldies. The soda fountain looked as if it came straight out of the set for the old TV sitcom Happy Days.
    When her iced tea came in an old-fashioned, curvingsoda glass and her plain white pottery plate came loaded with crispy fries and a burger topped with a bright red tomato slice that looked as if it had just been picked in the garden, Jenna sighed with pure contentment.
    Around them there was the steady hum of lively conversation and the occasional burst of laughter. She hadn’t missed the speculative looks when she had arrived with Bobby, but the attention had quickly drifted away.
    This was the kind of place she looked for in Baltimore and never found. She was sure they existed, but probably in parts of town her father would be appalled if she visited. In her neighborhood there were chic cafés and trendy restaurants, where lingering wasn’t condoned, much less encouraged.
    â€œI could really start to like it here,” she said, around a juicy bite of hamburger.
    â€œDon’t,” Bobby said tersely. “There is nothing for you in Trinity Harbor.”
    She bristled defiantly at his tone and the warning. “Have you made up your mind, then? Are you turning down my proposal?”
    He hesitated.
    â€œWell?” she prodded. “Can you look me in the eye and tell me it’s not exactly what you would have described, if I’d asked you how you saw the waterfront developing?”
    â€œNo,” he conceded with obvious reluctance. “But that doesn’t change anything. The two of us working together is a bad idea.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œIt just is.”
    â€œJust what I like,” she said scathingly. “A businessman who has solid, rational reasons for his decisions.”
    â€œIt’s my decision to make,” he reminded her with exaggerated patience.
    â€œThen don’t let it be a bad one,” she pleaded. “It’s too important. At least say you’ll think it over.”
    â€œI don’t know,” he said, his expression troubled.
    â€œCome on. What do you have to lose?”
    â€œMy sanity,” he muttered.
    She chuckled at the plaintive note in his voice. “I swear, I will do my very