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friendly face
to the public. What I needed to do was convince Congressman Richards
that the development would bring in badly needed money into the area,
jobs, and a real future. If I could get him, he could convince the
city council holdouts of the worthiness of my plan. Maybe it wasn’t
ideal for the birds, the fish, but it was for the people.
    The phone rang.
    “Mr. Anderson, Jim
Morgan on the line.” I picked up right away.
    “Ryan, still having
trouble with Congressman Richards,” Jim said. “He’s a stubborn
one. There is that fundraiser at the public school on Thursday. I was
going to go, but I’m thinking we should try you with him.”
    Mr. Morgan hadn’t
been able to secure Richards support as quickly as most of the
others. I’d go to the fundraiser, and I’d have to think about how
I was going to make him invested in the development. MORGAN
properties’ was sponsoring a table. Maybe I could successfully
pitch the project over dinner. I could make them see that developing
the entire coastline would make California more like the French
Riviera or Italian coast, increasing the livelihood of its residents
and the value of their property.
    “Good idea. I’ll
go.”
    I had a sense that
Congressman Richards didn’t trust me, and that was why Jim was
having so much trouble. I needed the man to see sense.
    But first, lunch. I
could send my assistant out, but I hadn’t left my desk all morning,
and anyway, I needed some fresh air.
    I walked to the cute
sandwich shop on Ocean, and ordered takeaway. As I waited for my
lunch to be made I stared out the window at the people on the street.
Directly across from my lunch spot, I saw a new shop and signage
announcing the grand opening of Sealed with a Kiss .
    That rang a bell, and
the name danced through my mind as a tried to place it, until it hit
me suddenly. It was that woman Amy, from the Morgan’s party. I’d
heard from the neighborhood association she was opening a store.
She’d been feisty and gorgeous at the barbeque, before Hunter
dragged her away.
    I went to the
refrigerator to grab a Diet Coke. Perhaps what I needed for that
dinner in two days was a date–not what I normally did, but a proper
date. I was so busy at work that I usually preferred a date who
offered good sex, no strings attached. Amy would expect more, but I
bet Congressman Richards would like her, and she was clearly
concerned about the development and keeping the coast safe. If she
was with me, the Congressman couldn’t help but trust me.
    I would be easy to get
her to agree--women almost always said yes to me, so it wouldn’t be
too hard to have her come. It could even be fun--she was fiery and
sexy and nothing like the other women I usually dated, who went from
one rich guy to the next like it was their job.
    In fact, I think I
needed a card for my secretary’s birthday, and I knew exactly where
I could get it.

Chapter 7
    Amy
    Everything was going
well at the store. I had already picked up a few more commissions for
wedding invitations, and the brides to be had enjoyed picking out the
different papers, envelopes, and the direction I’d given about how
to style the invitation so it was an extension of their vision for
their special day. It was so fun to help the bride find just what she
was looking for and it felt so grown-up and professional to be doing
it in my own store.
    My journal section was
seriously lacking. I needed to find some ones that were more
humorous—more who needs him anyway? Or out with the old
in with the new or my favorite, the best way to get over
someone is to get under someone new type inscriptions. That was
definitely Jamie and Cat’s way. My two best friends knew how to
have a good time. I was a little slower to move on.
    Finally in the
afternoon, there seemed to be a break in the stream of customers. I
sat down behind the cash register, and began reading my favorite
design and stationary blogs. It counted as professional research now
that I was a small