“So not on our five o’clock broadcast but we can show them at eleven?” Eddie asked.

Maya held in a groan. “I’d rather you didn’t show them at all.”

“But you’re not the boss of us,” Eddie pointed out. “And what about all those TV dramas that show butts?”

“They’re on at ten,” Gladys added. “So we’ll show butts at eleven. It’s an excellent compromise.”

One Maya hoped Mayor Marsha could live with.

“But not at five,” she clarified. “You don’t want the FCC shutting you down or fining the station. If we had to pay a fine, we’d lose our budget and then you wouldn’t have a show at all.”

“Your job is to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Eddie told her.

“No, my job is to manage the cable access shows. Your job is to follow the rules.”

Eddie gave her a smile. “You have backbone. I like that. I remember when you were a teenager, waiting to go off to college. Look at you now—all grown-up.”

“Ladies.”

The male voice had them all turning. Maya caught sight of Del and nearly threw herself in his arms. Not that she wasn’t thrilled to see him, but the distraction was even better.

“Del!” Gladys hurried toward him. “You’re back.”

“You know it.”

He caught the old lady in his arms and hugged her, then turned to Eddie. After kissing them both on the cheek, he winked.

“Are you two making trouble?”

“Always,” Eddie said proudly.

Maya shook her head. “No more trouble. They both just agreed not to show naked butts before eleven. It’s a victory for decency standards.”

Eddie sniffed. “But after eleven, we’re all butts, all the time. Del, give us a picture of yours. We hold a contest for people to guess whose butt belongs to whom. No one’s seen yours in ages. It would be fun.”

He laughed and hugged them. “I’ve missed you two. There’s no one like you anywhere I’ve traveled.”

“If you think we’re all that,” Gladys said, “why don’t you come back and sleep with us? Seventy is the new thirty-five.”

Del’s amusement didn’t waver. “Let’s not ruin the promise of what can never be,” he told them.

“He’s turning us down,” Eddie said with a sigh. “Men are idiots.”

Gladys patted his cheek. “She’s right, but you can’t help it.”

The old ladies waved and walked out of Maya’s office. She sank into her chair and wondered if she’d actually escaped so easily or if there were more early-afternoon butt issues in her future.

Del took the empty chair across from hers. “They’re really doing a butt contest?”

“Yes, and I’d rather not talk about it. Mayor Marsha is worried about the FCC getting involved. I had to look up the definitions and everything. Not my favorite part of the job.”

He glanced toward the door. “I missed them a lot. They’re one of the best parts of this town.”

“Seriously? They frighten a lot of guys.”

“No way. They’re fun.”

“I wonder if we should redefine our terms,” she murmured.

He leaned back in his chair. “Relax. They like you. They’ll listen.”

“I hope you’re right. What brings you here?” Their appointment wasn’t for a couple of days.

He shrugged. “I was in the neighborhood.”

Easy enough to be, she thought. Fool’s Gold was hardly a big place. But still. “Everything okay?”

He hesitated just long enough for her to wonder what wasn’t going well before saying, “It’s great. I saw my mom. You can’t hold that over me anymore.”

“Because you were so worried I would. Do you want to talk business while you’re here?”

“Sure.”

She pulled out the two folders she’d started on their projects.

“Mayor Marsha and the City Council want a two-part campaign. Part one will support local tourism efforts. I’m working with several city officials on that. The goal is pretty simple. Make videos that entice people to visit the area.”

She thought about the format discussed. “You’ll be hosting and starring in those.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying I’m the talent?”

“You wish.”

He was dressed much as he had been the past two times she’d seen him. In jeans and a casual shirt. He looked at ease, as if comfortable in any environment. The beard was a little thicker, the hair a tad longer. The word scruffy came to mind, as it had before. But the sexy version.

She forced her attention back to the conversation. “The second part is a campaign celebrating the town’s new slogan. A destination for romance.”

“Interviewing people in love?” he asked.

“Easy enough,” she agreed. “I have a list of potential couples, including one that has been together for over seventy years.”

“Impressive. On the tourism videos, what do you want to do? Go film different locations with me talking about them?”

“Yes, but I’m hoping we can do something more inspired. If the clips are interesting, we can use them in advertising.”

“Or get them picked up by local news.”

“I’m less sure about that. Local news stories average forty-one seconds. National news stories average two minutes and twenty-three seconds. I’d rather get Good Morning America interested.”