Page 4 of A Room By the Sea

At least I’m not doing this alone, she thought, smiling. Mom and Michelle are both fully supporting me. And I’m eager to start my career over with this hotel—but I can’t deny that the whole endeavor is daunting.

She decided in a flash to take the books over to Morning Brew and study there. She knew that heading to the cozy coffee shop would help keep her energy up and ensure that the project felt fun.

She hurried upstairs to grab a tote bag and the pink notebook that Michelle had given her. She packed the notebook into the tote bag along with three of the informational books—she would have packed the fourth book, but the books were too big for all four of them to fit in the bag together along with the notebook.

She strolled toward the coffee shop, the bag slung over her shoulder. Before long, the bag felt heavy and she felt the need to switch it to the other shoulder. She chuckled as she moved it, thinking to herself that next time she would either just bring one of the books along with her or invest in a comfortable backpack.

She reached Morning Brew a few minutes later and stepped inside, reveling in the rich, nutty aroma of coffee that pervaded the shop. Although there were several delicious bakery items available for purchase, she decided to only order a beverage. She’d already had a bear claw from Townsend’s that morning, and she didn’t feel the need to eat two pastries in one day.

Those muffins look amazing, she thought, and I’ll try one another time. I’m glad I got my treat from Townsend’s though. Everything Shep makes is the absolute best. There’s no comparison.

She ordered a honey lavender latte and took a seat at a charming little table placed by the window. Before long, she was immersed in her books, carefully taking notes as she read. She paused to sip her latte occasionally, finding the taste vibrant, sweet, and floral.

“Hey, you.”

Startled, Audrey squealed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up with wide eyes, but her expression of surprise shifted into one of delight a moment later.

“Evan!” she said warmly.

Evan McBride, the mayor of Coral Sands, was standing next to her, his strong hand on her shoulder. They had been going on dates, taking things slowly, ever since the spring, and she always felt fluttery and excited when she saw him.

“Hi,” he said, looking somewhat rattled by her reaction. Audrey chuckled, knowing that Evan always liked to do things by the book—and startling her wasn’t on his list of things he’d wanted to accomplish that day, she was sure. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You’re all good.” She smiled at him, wanting to reach up and squeeze the hand that was still resting on her shoulder but resisting the impulse. She did that a lot with Evan. When she was near him, she wanted to touch him and flirt with him. Since she was still recovering from heartbreak, however, she was determined to take their relationship slowly. She didn’t want to rush into anything for both their sakes in case it didn’t work out.

“You seem to be really focused on that book,” Evan said, looking at it curiously. “What is it?”

She half-closed it so that he could see the cover. “I ordered four books on how to run a business, since I figured I should be more educated as we’re starting to run the hotel.”

Evan smiled at her, and her heart started to thump in her chest. She knew that her heart wasn’t beating faster because of nervousness about running a business, or even because she’d just been startled a few moments before. Her heart was hammering because of how close Evan was standing to her, and the way she felt when she looked at him.

His smile is marvelous, she thought. He’s so attractive when he smiles—I never would have seen it coming, that first day I met him.

She held back an impish grin, thinking of the first time she’d met Evan. She’d been excited and in a hurry, having just returned to Coral Sands after the heartbreak of losing her husband, wanting to go to her mother’s house and see her. She’d whirled around in that very coffee shop, accidentally splashing her cappuccino all over Evan and the important signed documents that he’d been carrying.

Although it hadn’t been a great first impression for either of them—she’d thrown a terrible wrench into his day and he’d been undeniably grumpy about it—they’d continued to run into each other, and he’d ended up asking her out on a date. Although he’d continued to show that he was on the grumpy side, she’d been attracted to him anyway, and the more time they spent together, the less grumpy he became. He’d helped her gather all the documentation that she needed to turn the Sutton mansion into a hotel and historical site. They’d bonded over the work, and she’d found it sweet that he was being so particular about the legal work partly because he wanted to spend more time with her.

“Looks fascinating,” Evan said, his brows drawing together with interest. “Would you mind if I join you for a minute? I don’t want to interrupt if you’re really in a studying groove.”

“No, please do.” She gestured to the chair opposite hers. “Take a seat.”

Evan sat down, carefully setting his coffee cup down on the table as if he was worried about disturbing the piece of furniture. “I was excited when I saw you sitting over here,” he said. “I had to run over to the library for a meeting with Coral Sands’ events committee, and I decided to stop for a cup of coffee on my way back to the town hall. I was just leaving when I saw you here.” His eyes flickered over her face almost shyly, as if she was something incredible that he couldn’t quite believe was sitting in front of him.

“I’m glad you did,” she said, also feeling a little shy and wondering if she was blushing slightly. The way he was looking at her made her feel as though her chest and stomach were full of flapping butterflies.

For a moment, they shared a warm smile, and then Evan coughed gently.

“How are things going with the hotel?” he asked.

“Extremely well,” Audrey said, perking up immediately. “We’ve painted three more of the bedrooms—I think eventually we’ll paint all of them, but most of the rooms we want to leave white, and the paint still looks good in a lot of them. There are little cracks and things almost everywhere since the house is so old, but Michelle thinks those look nice since it’s not like we’re trying to hide the fact that the place is filled with history. And we’ve got four rooms completely set up, with furniture and bedding and all that. We’re buying more sheets and towels, since of course we should have plenty of backups for everything.” Audrey rattled off her list of all the projects they’d completed with a cheerful speed. “We also decided to add a little table in the kitchen that will just be for snacks for guests. There’s a mini fridge underneath it, and we’re putting fun little beverages in there, like healthy sodas and energy drinks.”

“Sounds great,” Evan said. “Are you sure you need to read these books? Sounds like you’re doing a good job of running a business already.”

She laughed, pleased by his compliment. “Oh, well, unfortunately I’m still unsure of a lot of financial and marketing elements, things like that. I know these books will help me a lot.” She bit her lip, staring into space for a moment before inhaling. “But we’re still full steam ahead on working to open the hotel—we should be able to have our grand opening next month.”

Evan tilted his head to one side, watching her face curiously. “Why don’t you sound more excited?”

Audrey sighed. “I’m just nervous, I guess. As much as I want to do this, I find myself doubting my ability to handle it all. I mean, I’m not a businesswoman. I never have been. I used to work in a craft shop for goodness’ sake!”