Ean pinned her with a look. “I wasn’t obligated to discuss my decision with you.”
Tilda’s eyes widened. “Sounds just like a damn lawyer.” Her response was a low grumble.
Grady’s frown was more perplexed than antagonistic. “We let you become a part of this group. It would have been common courtesy to let us know what you were planning, so this wouldn’t come as a surprise.”
Megan leaned forward, setting her elbows on the table. “We didn’t let Ean join the association, Grady. Every business in the center is invited to join the group, although each business has the right to decline our invitation.”
Doreen nodded. “For months, we’ve been trying to figure out an answer to this ownership problem. Instead of jumping down Ean’s throat, we should be thanking him for coming up with a solution.”
The glow of pride in his mother’s eyes eased his temper.
“Hold on, Doreen.” Belinda’s voice claimed Ean’s attention. “So, does this mean you’re not running for mayor?”
“Oh no. I’m still running for mayor.” Doreen turned to Ramona. “Nothing personal.”
Ramona returned Doreen’s smile. “Same here.”
“Ean.” Megan raised her voice above the cacophony of private conversations. “What plans do you and your partners have for the center?”
The store experienced sudden and complete silence. Ean met Megan’s gaze. Her eyes held an important question. It showed she understood the significance of this business venture. It also meant she was willing to treat him as a professional regardless of what was happening in their personal relationship.
He missed her so badly. And it had only been one night. Does this get any easier?
Ean cleared his throat. “My partners and I have discussed the business center and our roles in it at length. We recognize that most of these businesses are family-owned companies that have served this town for generations. We want to preserve that.”
Belinda shrugged. “So what does that mean to me?”
Ean looked at each association member in turn, settling his gaze on Megan again. “It means we’re rolling back rents to what they were prior to the town taking over the center.”
A startled silence descended on the table as though all of the air had been sucked from the store. Then a collective gasp rose, followed by a round of applause.
Through it all, Ean kept his attention on Megan. Her expression swept from puzzlement, to shock, to amazement and finally joy. She sprang from her chair. She took a step forward as though to embrace him. He knew the moment she remembered they’d broken up. The pain in her eyes matched the ache in his chest. Ean looked away.
Grady swept him into a surprise bear hug, which lifted him from his feet and realigned his spine. “Ean, my man, you are A-OK in my book. A number-one OK in my book! This is the best news I’ve gotten all year! The greatest Christmas gift I could ever get ever!”
That quickly Ean morphed from an interloper, who’d overstepped his boundaries, to the accessory store owner’s best friend. The older man released him. Ean gasped for air. He saw Megan grinning and wiping tears from her eyes. Tears of happiness, as well as laughter?
The image was bittersweet. In his mind, Ean had pictured himself making this announcement, then sweeping Megan into his arms. Instead, Grady had squeezed the life from him.
Damn it! He’d never done anything to cause her to mistrust him. He missed her so damn badly. But, apparently, their relationship had existed only in his imagination.
About an hour later, Ean was asking himself for the fourth time, Why am I putting myself through this?
He glanced at Megan seated beside him in his silver Lexus coupe. Her seat belt was secured across her slender body. After the meeting, they’d accompanied Doreen to her front door. They wished her a hasty “good night” before rushing back through the biting cold to his car. He checked his mirrors before pulling away from the curb in front of his mother’s house.
He would drive Megan home before continuing to his town house. Ean had taken Megan home from the bookstore so many times in the two months since he’d returned to Trinity Falls. He’d enjoyed her company in the past. Tonight it was torture. In the quiet, warming confines of his car, with the darkness surrounding them, Ean sensed her beside him. He tugged his gaze from her elegant profile. He smelled her soft powder fragrance. He tasted her skin with his mind.
Torture.
But it was only three blocks. Ean tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He could handle this, as long as they remained quiet.
“I owe you an apology.” Megan’s voice broke the merciful silence. “I should have realized that you weren’t meeting with your former bosses for yourself. You were meeting with them for the center.”
“Apology accepted.” Ean halted his car beside the Stop sign. With the roads empty, he continued through the intersection.
“I’m serious, Ean. I’m very sorry.”
Ean’s throat muscles flexed. “So am I, Megan. I’m sorry you didn’t trust me.”