Page 23 of A Room By the Sea

“I absolutely second that,” Harper said, squeezing Audrey’s shoulder. “And I don’t blame you for being surprised by my comment. I don’t have a lot of faith in men, that’s for sure, but I didn’t mean to make Penelope feel as though her marriage was a complete loss.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how to give romantic advice to women. I hardly have a good track record with relationships! It would have been much better for her to go to you for advice.” She grimaced.

“Your perspective is valuable,” Audrey reassured her. “And there’s no one recipe to cure all relationships. Neither of us can know for sure what to say to Penelope right now. I just hope that everything works out for her. I wish there was something I could do, but I don’t want to push her and give her advice when she hasn’t asked me for any. I’m a little worried that she’s mad at me.”

Harper shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure she just needs a little time. She’ll definitely come around.”

Audrey sighed. “I hope so.” She took a bite of her sandwich and munched it thoughtfully, finding the taste delicious and hearty. She took another sip of her lemonade and then turned back to her friend. “How are things going for you?”

Harper waved off her question good-naturedly. “Life is life,” she said. “Nothing’s really new for me besides that litter of kittens, and the fact that we got three more dogs adopted this week. Good little details, but nothing to write home about. You, on the other hand, definitely have actual news to share, I’m sure.” She grinned. “How are things going?”

“With what?” Audrey asked innocently. “With the hotel?”

“Well, sure, but I meant with our handsome mayor. How are things going with Evan?”

Audrey couldn’t help blushing, which made Harper grin.

“Um, they’re going fine,” Audrey said, nibbling at the edge of her sandwich and feeling as though she was sixteen years old again, crushing on the captain of the football team or the captain of the debate team. Sometimes Evan felt way out of her league in a way that both thrilled her and made her nervous.

“Just fine?” Harper countered, lifting a brow.

Audrey laughed. “Okay, you’re right. They’re going very well.”

“But something’s bothering you,” Harper said, her eyes on her friend.

Audrey shook her head, chuckling. “Apparently you’re able to read me like a book. Something is bothering me. I still don’t feel ready to take our relationship to the next step—you know, becoming official. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready. I’m worried that Evan is going to run out of patience.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Harper assured her. “You haven’t been dating that long. And he was going to wait for you to be willing to date at all, remember? You and Evan haven’t known each other for all that long. I’m sure he’s willing to take things slowly. I bet the more you get to know him, the more you’ll be open to the idea of officially becoming his girlfriend.”

Audrey smiled at her gratefully. “You’re right. The more I see what a great guy Evan is, the more I feel sure I would like to start dating him more seriously. I’ve been so appreciative of how supportive he’s been of The Birchwood House. He suggested that we enter a regional contest for businesses, and I think it’s going to be a huge boost for the hotel. I never would have known about it if it weren’t for Evan.”

“Glad he’s looking out for you.” Harper gave a nod of satisfaction, then added. “And that sounds fantastic! It’s going to get you a lot of publicity, isn’t it? Even if you don’t win?”

“Exactly.” Audrey nodded. “The event gets a lot of hype and news coverage, so news of The Birchwood House is going to spread far and wide even if we don’t win. And—” She grinned. “Hopefully we do.”

“Well, I’ll be voting for you.” Harper raised her glass of pink lemonade and clinked it against Audrey’s. “Here’s to The Birchwood House winning all the fame and fortune that it deserves.”

Audrey lifted her glass too, feeling immensely grateful for Harper’s friendship. A rush of relief swept over her as she reflected that she never needed to worry about her friendship becoming strained. Coral Sands operated on honesty and goodwill, and Audrey couldn’t wait to invest even more of her heart into all of her relationships.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Shep’s hands moved at lightning speed as he measured and poured and mixed the ingredients for a new batch of sugar cookies. Townsend’s Bakery had been particularly busy that day, and Shep hadn’t had a break since he started baking early that morning. After he’d finished the baking for the front of his shop, he’d completed a couple of special orders for birthday cakes. Those had required an hour each of painstakingly careful decoration, and although he’d enjoyed it, by the time the cakes were done he was tuckered out. He’d been just sitting down to drink a cup of coffee and get a little rest when Iris had popped her head inside the kitchen to tell him that they had been struck with a busload of kids on their way to summer camp, and they were already almost out of sugar cookies.

Despite how busy his day had been, his mind had been even busier. All throughout his work, his thoughts had been running away from him like a pack of horses. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Elaine’s proposal ever since her impromptu visit.

In all my years of business, I’ve never considered partnering with another business, he thought as he worked. I suppose it’s never made sense to—and heaven knows I’ve made a point of keeping to myself. But I’ve been in awe of the progress that’s being made on The Birchwood House since the start, even though I haven’t told anyone. Of all businesses in town, I’m definitely most interested in partnering with them.

He felt slightly worried that he’d scared Elaine off during their last conversation. She’d seemed breezy and cheerful enough, but he’d certainly been the opposite, and he hoped that she wasn’t reconsidering her offer. After all, they hadn’t written up a contract or anything of that sort. It was more than possible that she was starting to rethink becoming business partners with Shep after taking into account what a grumpy attitude he’d had.

It’s true that I don’t like surprise visitors in my kitchen, he thought, but I really do want to partner with her.

He paused in his work, a slight smile creeping over his face as he remembered the way Elaine had barged into his kitchen. She was quite imposing and maddeningly straightforward, but there was something about her that he found attractive.

He started to consider what a business partnership between the two companies would look like on his end. He would need to do more baking, certainly, but it was unlikely that he’d need to bake an entirely different type of pastry for The Birchwood House unless someone at the inn had dietary restrictions. So he would probably be able to simply make more croissants, more doughnuts, and so forth.

He was deep in mental calculations about baking when he heard the front door’s overhead bell jangle more clamorously than it had all day. None of the other customers had disturbed the bell like that.

His ears pricked up even before he heard Elaine’s voice. The moment he heard her conversing with Iris, his heart did a strange flip-flop in his chest.

He was suddenly extremely aware of the fact that he was covered in flour. He glanced at his reflection in one of the clean cookie sheets that were drying in a rack and saw that his hair was plastered to his forehead due to the heat coming from the bakery ovens.