That Man of Mine (Whispering Bay Romance 3)

“Is that a serious question?”

“Well, yeah.”

“You seem like a smart lady. Figure it out.”

Mimi wasn’t quite sure what Doreen meant by that but she seemed friendlier than she’d been on other occasions, plus she seemed to have an open mind when it came to the festival committee. At least she was willing to listen to Mimi’s plan of action as opposed to Bettina and Sherry and Wendy who basically had their minds made up to go against her.

Mimi impulsively handed her the wrapped up slice of pound cake. “This would go really nice with that coffee you’re drinking.”

Doreen stared at the pound cake.

“It’s not a bribe,” Mimi said.

“A bribe?”

Mimi shrugged, a little embarrassed now. “You know. To vote my way on the committee.”

Doreen tried to hide her smile. “I think my vote is worth more than one slice of leftover pound cake.” She unwrapped the slice and took a delicate bite. Then she took another, not-so-delicate one. “Wow. On second thought, maybe this is worth selling my vote over. This is fantastic. Did you make it?”

“It’s Viola Pantini’s special recipe. I’ve been after it for years.”

Doreen took another bite. “Cream cheese,” she said. “That’s the special ingredient.”

“You think?”

Doreen nodded. She broke off a piece of the cake and handed it to Mimi, who popped it in her mouth. You simply didn’t turn down Viola’s pound cake. Not unless you were brain dead.

“I think you’re right about the cream cheese,” Mimi said, smiling.

Doreen cleared her throat, then handed Mimi two slips of paper. “You have a call from someone at the Harbor House wanting to know about the deposit for the wedding reception.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be bothered by that. It’s a personal call. I’ll straighten them out and tell them to strictly use my cell.”

“I don’t mind,” Doreen said. “I used to do stuff like that for Bruce all the time.”

“But I mind. I’m sure you have better things to do than answer my personal calls.” Mimi glanced at the second message. This one had a Nashville area code. “Oh my God. It’s Crystal, Billy Brenton’s personal assistant! She called? When? What did she say?”

Doreen put a hand up in the air. “Whoa. She called about ten minutes ago and all she said was that you should call her back at that number.”

“Oh my God,” Mimi said again. She dashed into her office and began pacing. She needed to stay calm before she got on the line with Crystal and made a fool of herself.

Doreen followed her into the office. “You know, Madam Mayor—”

“Oh, please call me Mimi.”

“Okay… Mimi, I don’t want to get all up in your business, but don’t get too excited by that phone call.”

“What do you mean?”

“Last year mayor Bruce was all about getting Billy Brenton for the festival. Kind of like you are now, and well, in the end it all blew up in his face.”

“You mean he blames last year’s Spring Into Summer festival fiasco for not getting reelected?”

“You got it.”

“Thanks for the warning. I really appreciate it, but Bruce is kind of trying to help me on this. I know there’s some bitterness where the election is concerned but we both want what’s best for Whispering Bay.”

At the doubtful look on Doreen’s face, Mimi continued. “But the difference between Bruce and me is that I’m not making anything public until I have a written contract. Plus, there’s my back-up plan.”