Read Online Preserving Love: A Contemporary Romance Series (Nick & Lexi Book 2) by Kay Brody - Free Book Online Page B

set plans on its doors reopening.  
    “We will be back,” the spokesperson said. “We are just letting this die down and letting people find another cause to worry about.”
    “She makes good fudge,” Whipple told us before taking her place back in the line of protesters. “It’s a shame that she’s chosen to do things this way.”
    We will be continuing to bring you up to the minute coverage on the proposed resort, the HRC decisions and the local community reactions.  
    I shook my head again at the article. Why in the hell would people protest her shop? It didn’t make a lot of sense. It’s not like refusing to buy candy would help or hurt the resort’s chances.  
    She needed me and I wasn’t going to bail on her. Not now. Not when she really needed my help. Even if she didn’t realize it yet.  
    I grabbed my things and headed out of the office. To hell with Morgan and all this bullshit. I was going to take care of something important. If he didn’t like it, he could fire me.  

    *****

    Lexi
    “What do you want?” Evan had appeared not long after Kendall and I had finished our lunch.  
    For some reason I felt the need to be at the shop every day even though it was closed. Part of me hoped that each day would be the one day that the crowds would leave and I could reopen. Perhaps even the day that people apologized for having no faith and trust in me.  
    Truth was, it was killing me and not even because of finances. I was dying from the image that was being portrayed of me. I loved my customers, my friends and the place I lived and I was being talked about as though nothing really mattered to me.  
    We were less than a week from the decision and everyone hated me. If Evan won and the development went through, I would be all but blacklisted in Asheville. It made me sad as it was the only home and life I’d ever really known.  
    Of course at this point, money was becoming a concern as well. The candy shop didn’t make me rich, but it certainly paid the bills. I’d had to call a relative and borrow some cash for my rent and I wasn’t looking forward to the remainder of the bills that were due with no real income.  
    “I didn’t know…” he started to say and then stopped. “I want to help.”
    “I think you’ve helped enough,” I pointed out.  
    Damn him. Even as I stood there cursing him for what had happened to my life and the person I knew, he could still pull me in with just the right look. The right words.  
    “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen Lexi,” he said honestly. His voice cracked and it almost broke my resolve.  
    “Well unfortunately that doesn’t change the fact that it has,” I told him, turning towards the counter that held my coffee. “I just have to wait it out.”
    “No,” he argued. “Waiting it out won’t work. We have to fix it.”
    “How Evan? Are you going to give up your design? Are you going to refuse to build? To fight for the approval?”
    “No,” he answered, disappointing me once more. “I can’t. I signed it over so even if I did, they’d still do it. But I want to help you. I want to help this scenario.”
    “There’s not much anyone can do Evan,” I was honest, but it was easy to see that I wished like hell we could. I needed life to be normal. “I wish I had an answer.”
    “Have you ever thought that maybe it’d help if we showed the world that we aren’t what they said?”
    “I’ve spent my entire life proving who I am,” I snapped. “They decided it wasn’t enough.”
    “That’s not what I meant,” he placed a hand on my arm. “I meant as a couple. Maybe they need to see that we aren’t the mess that they think we are. Then they can believe this battle isn’t as bas as they think it is.”
    “Sounds cheesy to me,” I shrugged. “And we are the mess they think we are.”
    “We don’t have to be Lexi. I love you. I want to be with you.”
    “You…l--l--love me?” the word had surprised me. Regardless of