Beckett was just early enough for the first Debate Club meeting to handle a little personal business first. He burst into the second conference room on the left without knocking. A half-dozen faces looked up from the large conference table and smiled expectantly.

“I need your help,” he announced.

“It’s about damn time,” Willa said with a satisfied smile.

Ellery grinned at him from the front of the room.

He glanced at the board and noted a large X had been drawn over Paul’s picture. “Phase One” was written underneath. His own picture, one taken at a recent chamber event, had been added next to Gia’s above the words “Phase Two.”

“What’s all this?”

Ellery joined him at the front of the room. “You’re a stubborn man, Beckett. You didn’t know how much you wanted Gia until you couldn’t have her.”

He turned to his paralegal. She was dressed in platform suede boots and a dress with spider web sleeves. “You’re diabolical.”

“Thank you,” Ellery said with a mock bow. “And now that you know what you want, we’re here to help you get it.”

“Want a cookie?” Gordon Berkowicz offered up a tray of heart-shaped cookies with icing.

“I do. I really do.”

* * *

Gia hustled out of her studio and cut across One Love Park for the movie theater. The Facebook group alert had said it was a mandatory emergency town meeting tonight. She was curious about the reason for the meeting. Maybe Bruce was finally getting to the conclusion of his powdered wig argument? A smile tugged at her lips and felt foreign on her face. It had been a week since she and Beckett last spoke. But he’d made his presence known.

He’d sent lunch to the studio for her and Niko during the photo shoot for Summer’s magazine. She found a rose and a note on her car in his sharp, sloppy script reminding her to schedule an inspection. During her Tuesday night yoga class, he’d taken Thanksgiving leftovers to Evan and Aurora. When she came home, she found a basket full of clean, folded laundry. And last night, he’d advised Evan’s first Debate Club meeting, which from Evan’s description had been a huge success.

He hadn’t been kidding about not leaving her alone. It was more than apologies. Now he was showing her what kind of partner he wanted to be for her. But she was still hurt, still scared.

Glancing around the town square, Gia wondered where everyone was. The last town meeting had made downtown look like a parade. But tonight she was the only soul hurrying through the milky pools from the streetlights to the movie theater.

How late was she? The alert had said 7:15. Unless she read it wrong, which was a strong possibility. She hadn’t exactly been on top of her game lately.

Not wishing to cause a commotion, Gia quietly opened one of the theater’s doors, intending to slip into the back row unnoticed.

“There she is!” Mrs. Nordeman fluttered out of a group of townspeople milling about in front of the snack stand. “Now you just come along with me.” The older woman grabbed Gia’s wrist and started dragging her through the crowd.

Everyone was staring and Gia felt her cheeks warm. “Uh, Mrs. Nordeman, I was just going to sit in the back …”

“Nonsense. We saved you a seat right up front.”

“Up front?” Gia squeaked.

“We’ve got her,” Mrs. Nordeman announced to the crowd. “Now we can get started.”

Beckett and the rest of the council were already on stage and Gia wanted to curl up into a ball and die of embarrassment.

She was shoved into an empty seat, front and center in the first row. Summer and Joey sat on either side of her, grinning like hyenas. Jax and Carter sat on either side of them. Gia noted Jax’s frame sprawling out of his seat and crowding her friend.

“What is going on?” Gia hissed.

“Don’t look at me,” Summer shrugged innocently. “I’m new here.”

Gia shot Joey a look.

“I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen this before,” Joey said with a wicked grin. “I can’t wait.”

Gia made the mistake of looking up at the stage. Beckett’s gray gaze was fixed on her. He subtly flashed his phone at her. She frowned and dug through her tote bag until she found hers.

She had a text from him.

Gia shot him a look before responding.

She saw the corner of his mouth lift as his thumbs flew across the screen.

She shot him another dark look. He knew she didn’t like being manipulated and yet here she was, front and center with an entire town scheming against her.

Summer reached across Gia to help herself to some of Joey’s popcorn, her new wedding band glinting under the theater lights.

“How are you feeling so far?” Gia asked Summer, tucking her phone away to ignore any more messages from Beckett.

“Like I’ve run a marathon every day before two. By the time three o’clock rolls around I have to nap or I’m in bed by seven,” Summer lamented. “Please tell me this phase passes quickly.”

“You’ll breeze right through your next trimester. And then you’ll wish that you could sleep twenty-three hours a day.”

Summer sighed and took another handful of popcorn. “And then there’s the no sleeping because they’re newborns. And the no sleeping because they’re toddlers and climbing out of their beds and trying to set house fires. Oh, and don’t forget the no sleeping because they’re teenagers and who knows what they’re up to.”

“That about sums it up,” Gia said, her eyes scanning the theater for an escape route.

“Don’t even think about it,” Joey said mildly. “Jax and Carter will just haul you back in here and embarrass the hell out of you.”

“Too late for that,” Gia muttered.

She avoided making eye contact with Beckett until Bruce Oakleigh took the stage. Gavel in hand, he crossed to the podium.

“If I can have everyone’s attention,” he said, leaning into the microphone. The noise level lowered to a dull roar. He banged the gavel twice and the last of the conversations in the crowd died away.

“There, that’s better.”

“Now we all know why we’re here tonight, well, except for you, Gia,” he smiled brightly at her through his silvery beard. “We’re here to host an open forum that will decide whether or not Gianna Decker should give Beckett Pierce a second chance.”

The theater erupted in chatter and Gia tried to bolt out of her seat, but Joey shoved her back down.

“Just try and remember that they’re doing this because they think they’re helping,” she whispered. “And if that doesn’t work, know that Evan and Beckett came up with the idea together. So running out of here won’t just disappoint the whole town, you’ll have to deal with the kid’s sad face.”

“Evan did this?” Gia stopped fighting the grip on her shoulders.

“He and Beckett put all of this together,” Joey told her. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up as mayor after Beckett.”

Gia took a deep cleansing breath. And then another.

“Is she going to hyperventilate?” Joey hissed at Summer.

Summer shook her head. “I think she’s just trying to relax.”

The gavel banged again, bringing order to the crowd. “Let’s quiet down here. We’ve only got fifty-three minutes to come to a decision.”

“Oh. My. God,” Gia whispered. The town was planning to debate her relationship status for fifty-three minutes. She fervently hoped that the floor beneath her feet would open up and swallow her.

“Let’s get started with Beckett Pierce, the ‘forgivee’ in question,” Bruce announced, waving Beckett to the podium.

“Shit. They’re not expecting me to talk, are they?” she gasped.

Joey shook her head. “They got you a proxy.”

Gia put her face in her hands. “I am going home to pack. This town is insane.”

She could tell Beckett had taken the podium because the theater had become quite quiet again.

“Gianna Decker placed her faith and trust in me as a potential partner and I let her down,” Beckett began. “I refused to listen, I made snap judgments, and on more than one occasion I let my agendas and personal issues be excuses for lashing out at her.”

A grumble went through the crowd. Joey booed.

“Joey!” Gia hissed at him.

“Team Gia,” Joey whispered.

Beckett zeroed in on Gia’s face. “I was an idiot. I refused to be a team player. In a few bull-headed moments I forgot what being a partner meant and tried to make decisions for us both. I hurt the woman I care very deeply for and made her doubt herself. I’m so very sorry, Gianna. Hurting you has been the worst mistake of my life. And that’s saying something since you’ve already met Trudy.”

A chuckle rose up from the crowd.

Apparently there were no secrets in Blue Moon. At least none that involved fire and handcuffs.

“Gianna, I know I don’t deserve this. But please give me another chance to show you the kind of partner I can be. I want to be with you and Evan and Aurora.”

A generous round of applause rolled through the audience.

“Ugh, Mooners are too easy,” Joey grumbled.

Beckett was so busy staring at Gia that Bruce had to physically push him away from the podium.

“We’ve got a really wonderful proxy stepping in to speak on Gia’s behalf. Please welcome, Evan Decker,” Bruce said, stepping back from the podium and clapping.

Gia was halfway out of her seat when she spotted Evan strutting down the aisle toward the stage. He was wearing a suit and tie and his hair was neatly combed. He waved with both hands as he walked like the perfect Mini Mayor.

By the time he reached the podium the audience was standing and applauding. The kid definitely had a future in politics, Gia sighed, clapping along with the rest of the crowd.

Evan couldn’t be seen over the podium until Beckett pulled a crate out from under his seat and arranged it behind the podium.

He gave Beckett a polite nod and shook his hand before turning to face the crowd. He shot a grin at Gia and waved.

Weakly, she waved back.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to thank you for joining us tonight. When two people as stubborn as Gia and Beckett fight, it takes a village to bring them back together.”

The crowd laughed appreciatively.

“Best town meeting ever,” Joey muttered, her popcorn forgotten in her lap.

“We’ve heard my esteemed colleague say his piece,” Evan continued. “And now I’d like to educate you on the opposing position.”

Evan took a moment to organize his notecards before looking out over the audience. “Gianna Decker isn’t my mother.”

Gia slumped lower in her seat and closed her eyes. “For the love of —”

“At least not biologically. But in every way that counts, she is.”

Gia chanced a peek out of one eye.

“She married my dad when she could have done better, because she loved me. After letting my dad pursue his goals, she realized that we needed more stability. We needed family. She divorced my dad and moved us here to be closer to Grampa. But we found a lot more family than just him. We found the Pierces.”

He looked over his shoulder at Beckett. “Beckett made dumb mistakes. Really dumb ones. Like incredibly stupid ones.”

“Move it along, kid,” Beckett grumbled.

Evan grinned. “But he made them with what he thought was our best interests at heart. When my dad makes decisions, he makes them because it’s what he wants, not because it’s for the best for everyone. So even though Beckett was wrong, his heart was in the right place.”

Evan shuffled his cards again. “Okay, now we get to the part where Gia was wrong.”

Gia straightened in her chair.

“See, Gia got really used to being in charge. Even when she was married to my dad, she did everything for us and he didn’t want a say in it. Beckett wanted a say, and Gia didn’t know how to handle that. For instance, she’s probably really mad right now and feeling like we’re trying to tell her what to do. But that’s not true,” Evan said.

He looked directly at her. “We’re just trying to help you make a decision that works for all of us. Please don’t ground me. Thank you for your time.”

The applause was thunderous and Evan waved again while he took a seat next to Beckett. They solemnly high-fived and Gia knew she was screwed.

Bruce was back at the podium again. “At this time we’d like to open up the floor to comments.”

“Oh my God,” Gia whispered.

Willa from Blue Moon Boots was the first to stand. “I’d just like to say that I’ve seen the way these two look at each other and they’re a strong, solid match. Family and community are so important to them both that if they can work things out, we’ll all benefit.” She curtsied to the warm applause and took her seat.

Donovan Cardona stood up next, his uniform shirt stretched tight across his broad chest. “I’d like to throw my two cents in as a fellow town leader. I haven’t yet been called to Beckett’s house to settle any kind of dispute between him and Gia. So, in my book, that’s a huge improvement.”

People around him nodded in agreement.

It went on like that with townspeople debating their relationship for another fifteen minutes until Mrs. McCafferty of McCafferty Farm Supply stood up. “What I want to know is what kind of guarantee is this girl going to have that Beckett isn’t going to pull the rug out from under her again?”

Joey applauded with the rest of Team Gia.

Carter stood up. “Miz McCafferty, I give you my word that if my brother tries to do something else stupid like that again, I’ll beat some sense into him.”

Gia was suddenly suspicious that that’s how the brothers had gotten their bruises in the first place. Mrs. McCafferty frowned thoughtfully. “I think that’s a fair solution,” she nodded and took her seat again.

Julia, her pink tipped hair pulled back in a perky ponytail stood up. She had a chubby infant on her hip. “How do we know that Beckett really cares about not just Gia but you and your sister?”

Evan climbed back onto the crate at the microphone. “I’m glad you asked. I’d like to submit as evidence a few pictures that prove that Beckett likes us a lot.”

He pointed back at the control booth and the house lights dimmed a little as the heavy velvet curtains parted to reveal the screen.

The first picture showed Beckett, Evan, and Aurora mugging for a selfie in Beckett’s kitchen. The next was Aurora carefully swiping bronzer over Beckett’s made up face as he sucked in his cheeks. The crowd laughed loud and long for that one.

Next up was a grinning Evan raking in the poker chips during a card game while Beckett sat back next to him looking proud. Jax was pointing a threatening finger in Evan’s face while Franklin laughed.

“I want my money back,” Jax yelled at the stage.

Summer’s friend Niko had taken the last picture. Gia and Aurora were in Beckett’s arms on the dance floor at the wedding. Niko had captured a very raw, intimate moment and the feelings translated clearly through the lens. A chorus of “awhs” rose up.

“I respectfully withdraw my question,” Julia said, winking at Evan.

Bruce returned to the podium. “I think we’ve got just enough time for one more statement before we put it to a vote. Who’s it going to be?”

“Do you love her?”

The question came from the back of the theater. Gia, along with the rest of the crowd craned her neck to see who it was.

Ellery grinned from the front row of the balcony.

“That’s a valid question,” Bruce announced. “Mr. Mayor?”

Beckett returned to the microphone and looked directly at Gia. “More than anything in this world. My heart is yours. I love you so very much, Gianna. Please forgive me.”

The women in the crowd sighed as one.

Bruce elbowed his way back to the microphone. Beckett sat back down and Gia watched as Evan gave him a hearty thump on the shoulder. And her decision was made.

“Okay folks, let’s put this issue to a vote. Those in favor of Gianna Decker giving Beckett Pierce a second chance, raise your hands and hold them up so we can tally them.”

She could hear the arms going up like a flock of birds taking flight. Evan and Beckett raised their hands on stage.

Bruce and the rest of the council members appeared to be attempting to actually count the votes.

“Well, it would appear that the vote is almost completely unanimous,” he said, looking pointedly at Gia.

“Oh, what the hell?” Gia muttered and raised her hand.