Accidental Cinderella. Nancy Robards Thompson

grimaced as she opened the menu. “Why would you want to give him free press?”

      “It’s not free press,” Lindsay said. “It’s a chance to give Carson the type of story he wants. Something with an edge.”

      Lindsay glanced at Chandler to gauge his response, but he was staring at the menu. She wasn’t sure if he’d heard her. If he had, he didn’t look enthused.

      Over the menu, Paula regarded Lindsay with arched brows and a smug smirk that gave her pessimistic mouth an ironic upturn. No backing there—no surprise. So, Lindsay looked to Sam for support, but he was busy buttering a dinner roll. For a moment, an awkward silence enveloped them.

      Okay.

      She took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious aroma of herbed bread baking in a wood-burning oven. The enticing scent of rosemary and thyme filled the restaurant and fueled her courage. Giving the napkin one last twist, Lindsay decided it was time for the new girl to prove her mettle.

      “In all my research, I couldn’t find anything telling his side of the story,” Lindsay said. “This is a chance to ask him why he lied and to hear about his future plans.”

      Paula closed her menu and shook her head, as if Lindsay had proposed a feature on The Wiggles or something else laughably inappropriate and ridiculous.

      “Who cares?” Paula choked on an incredulous laugh, then pursed her lips as if stifling the urge to guffaw. She looked at Chandler as if she expected him to have the same reaction.

      “Who cares?” Lindsay countered. “A lot of people would find the story interesting.”

      “Maybe we can catch up with him for another episode,” Paula dismissed. “Since we’re in St. Michel, we’ll go with the wine and goat cheese theme.”

      Chandler held up his hand. “Not so fast, Paula. You haven’t made a case for your goat man.”

      Paula laughed again, as if she expected Chandler to join in on the joke. But his serious expression warned otherwise.

      “I think Lindsay is onto something with the Montigo story,” he said. “Let’s move forward with it.”