Page 45 of November

“No, thank you, dear,” the woman said. “I’ll just have a look around, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Maisie replied.

“So, I’m taking off. I’m picking Paige up for afternoon practice,” Lainey said.

“Okay. I’ll see you later,” Maisie replied.

Lainey walked to the back, leaving them alone with the old woman who was slowly making her way down the right aisle of the shop.

“So, thank you for this. I could use it,” Maisie said, holding up the coffee.

“No problem.”

“Where’s yours?”

“Oh, I can’t stay,” India said.

“No?”

“I have a small break between meetings. I thought I’d stop by because I realized that I don’t have your number, and I wasn’t sure you’d still be here when my meetings were over at five. This place is sometimes closed by then.”

While it was true that she didn’t have Maisie’s number, she hadn’t come over just to get it. She’d planned on sticking around for a bit, talking if Maisie wasn’t busy, andthengoing back for her late meeting. Hearing her half-brother threaten the woman she may or may not be dating really threw her, though, and she didn’t know where to put that right now. On one hand, she needed to tell Maisie that she and Colter were related. On the other, she felt like either she or Colterhadto be adopted because he was the only one in their family who was like this.

India and her sister had turned out fine. Their cousins were okay, too. Yes, they were all rich, but none of them ever threatened someone like she’d just heard her brother threaten this sweet, kind woman who only wanted to protect her family’s legacy and help the people of New Orleans.

“You don’t have my number. Wow. How did we miss that?” Maisie asked.

“I don’t think we were worried about it because we knew we’d see each other.”

“Right,” Maisie replied and pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Give me yours, and I’ll text you.”

India did, and Maisie saved the number in her phone. Then, seconds later, India got a text from Maisie’s number.

“Got it,” she said without touching her phone. “So, I kind of overheard a little of the conversation from before.”

“Yeah, Colter Stone was here again,” Maisie said, almost seething.

No, shewasseething. Why had India brought this up? She could have just asked Maisie out how she’d planned and left. Why had she brought up her brother when she had been so close to escaping with Maisie’s number?

“He was? What did he want?” she asked.

“To threaten me, I think.”

“He threatened you?”

“He made me an offer: drop out of the election, and he’ll guarantee landmark status for the building.”

“Oh,” she said, wondering where that had come from because whenshe’dbrought that up with him, he had pushed her off completely.

“His team ran new polls, and they were supposed to be released today. I haven’t seen them, and I’m sure I’ll be the last to see them, but he admitted that I’m up a few points.”

“So, he’s worried about you winning now?”

“He said he wasn’t. He told me he just wanted to be done with the whole thing, and he could give up on putting some freeway or business here on my property.”

Maisie crossed her arms over her body.

“That would be bad PR for him, to tear this place down for some other thing. It wouldn’t matter what that other thing is.”