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person who knows I once had a crush on Noah.”
    “Look, Ash. I’d love to read this and give you a different perspective, but I don’t know Noah like you do. And neither does Lucas.”
    I glanced down at my hands, realizing I’d been giving them a melodramatic wring, then looked back up at Jess.
    Noticing my hands, Jessica’s eyes narrowed. “This theory Lucas has and his plan to get you back on track—what is it really about his idea that has you so worked up?”
    A bead of cold sweat ran down the center of my back. “I’m not following.”
    “What is it you’re so afraid of, Ash? Personal failure? Letting your father win and losing your inheritance? Or that you’ll actually like spending time with Noah?”
    Her observation was way off-base and totally unfounded. She knew how I despised Noah and his constant interference in my life. Jessica’s comment made me second-guess her objectivity. “The Marshall Theater is special, Jess. It’s the lifeblood of Phair. And as much as I dislike the idea of letting my father win without putting up one last fight, I also couldn’t bear it if the fate of an entire town was hitched to my falling star.”
    “You’re not understanding what I meant.”
    I huffed. “So maybe speak in plain English.”
    She gave me one of those looks only a friend can give, took a deep breath, then exhaled and spoke slowly. “What I meant is, are you afraid you might fall in love with Noah Blake all over again?”

Chapter Four
    Noah
    Damn plumbing. No sooner had I fixed one leak than another started—one much more serious than the last. Luckily Babs had been in the cellar, bringing up extra bottles of wine, when the pressure valve burst. She’d interrupted me in the middle of an important business call because no one in the bar knew where the main shut-off to the line was. Guess that’s what I got for not telling Ashlyn that Kyle Pritchard was in town. A nd that he was a festival judge. Karmic retribution.
    I’d headed over to Ashlyn’s the night before, intent on getting her to agree to Lucas’s plan so I could implement a secret one of my own: protect Ashlyn from dickhead Pritchard. But she’d sulked off to bed before I could even work up to the topic. Since I’d had a video conference with my London expansion team at 4:00 a.m., I’d taken off after she’d stormed into the bathroom, pissed at finding me in her bed. And probably more pissed because she’d liked it.
    But I hadn’t left her unprotected. From both my office and the bar, I had a straight shot at the side door of the theater that led to her apartment. Pritchard hadn’t shown up all day.
    Plumbing issues squared away with the professionals now fixing the problem, I sat back down behind the desk of my upstairs office and picked up the phone. Before I could make a call, Babs came through the door.
    “Plumbers found an old AC unit in the cellar,” she said. “Want me to have them recycle it?”
    “Sure.” I leaned back in my chair, giving her a look. “I got an e-mail from the CEO of Cambridge Hotels.”
    Her brows rose. “Oh?”
    “They got the specs I had forwarded. They’re interested in partnering with the Double Shot, and they think Phair is the perfect location for their new resort. Told you they’d bite.”
    “Cambridge is swanky. A partnership with the Double Shot will generate additional tourists. Will that solve the threat losing the theater has on Phair?” she asked.
    “If the deal goes through, it won’t save the theater, but it will go a long way toward helping the town.”
    Babs pulled her e-cig from the front pocket of her skirt, lit up, then said, “Better watch it, son. If word gets out you had anything to do with this, you might get yourself elected mayor on a write-in ballot.” She took a final drag on her fake cigarette and headed toward the door. “Soon as the plumbers are done, I’ll have ’em haul away that air conditioner.”
    “Wait,” I said. I’d been so wrapped up in my