**Chapter 27: The Deposit**
"You knew," Mara said accusingly, rounding on her mother the moment the venue coordinator stepped away to pull up contract paperwork. "You knew about the cancellation before we even got here."
"I had a hunch," Diane said, entirely unrepentant. "The coordinator mentioned it might be coming up when I called to schedule the tour. I didn't want to say anything in case it fell through and got your hopes up for nothing."
"Mom."
"What? It worked out perfectly. Don't be mad at good fortune." Diane's grin was entirely unbothered by the accusation. "Besides, you two clearly love this place. I just gave fate a little nudge."
Jonah, reviewing the contract details with Robert nearby, glanced up with poorly concealed amusement. "October twenty-fourth. That's actually a b
