she hoped to buy soon. The For Sale sign was still propped proudly in the yard, and the house was locked up tight.
Please, God, if You could just keep people away till I have the money to buy it.
She checked her watch. Molly was showing the Farnsworths through the inn this very moment, and Levi was working the front desk. They’d agreed they shouldn’t all be hanging over the Farnsworths’ shoulders, so Grace had slipped out to run a few errands. And of course she visited her little house and did a little daydreaming.
And PS, God, if the Farnsworths are completely taken with the inn today, that would be terrific.
It was too early to return to the inn. They had it all planned. If the couple liked what they saw on the tour, Molly would take Levi’s place at the desk, and he’d sit down with the couple and go over the inn’s impressive financial statements. The couple would then have supper in the dining room—the coup de grâce, so to speak.
But that was at least another hour away. Grace turned away from her dream home and headed toward the coffee shop. A frappé would be a delicious way to pass the time. On her way she texted Sarah and told her about the bungalow. Her friend responded immediately with lots of enthusiasm.
Minutes later Grace approached Firehouse Coffee. The garage doors of the old fire station were up, and the patio tables were half filled. She opened the front door for a young mother with a baby, then breathed in the energizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
After receiving her vanilla bean frappé, Grace scanned the shop for a place to settle. Her eyes stopped on a familiar set of shoulders in the back corner, facing the patio.
She headed that way and slipped a hand over his eyes from behind. “Guess—?”
A hand clamped over her wrist as he whipped around.
She squealed, sloshing her drink.
He dropped her hand. “Sorry. Sorry.”
Grace’s heart was thumping like a bass drum. It had all happened so fast. She glanced around, but no one seemed to have noticed the commotion that was over almost before it had begun.
“You all right?” he asked.
Grace sank onto the seat across from him, resisting the urge to rub her wrist. “Remind me not to sneak up on you again.”
“Sorry. Occupational hazard.” He took her hand and rubbed his thumb across her wrist. “You okay? I didn’t hurt you?”
Grace felt the brush of his finger all the way down to her toes. “I—I’m fine. You just startled me, so I guess we’re even.”
“I’m batting a thousand, huh? That’s twice I’ve hurt you.”
“You’re a real hazard to my health.”
He gave her that guilt-ridden look she was coming to love.
“You need to lighten up. You’re on vacation. Sort of.”
Wyatt’s gaze swung up and past Grace, and he straightened as he stared at something behind her.
Grace turned just as her ex-boyfriend Nick reached their table. His brown hair was neatly clipped and swept to the side. He was in his usual uniform, a button-down and khakis. “Hi, Graceful. Fancy running into you here.”
Grace winced at the nickname. “Hi, Nick. I didn’t see you out there. How are you?”
“Not bad.” Nick glanced at the center of the round table where Wyatt’s hand still rested on her wrist. His eyes darted to Wyatt before returning to Grace. “I was taking a short break from work and saw you come in.”
“Um, Nick, this is Wyatt,” Grace said into the weird tension hovering over the table. “Wyatt, this is Nick, a friend of mine.”
Nick stuck out his hand, forcing Wyatt to let go of Grace.
“Pleasure,” Wyatt said, then placed his hand right back on Grace’s.
Heat inched its way up her neck and into her face, but she kept her smile steady on Nick. “So, um, how’s your mama? I didn’t see her at church Sunday.”
“Her lupus is flaring up, I’m afraid, so she hasn’t gotten out much. She’d love to see you sometime.”
“I’ll have to visit her soon. I owe her a game of Scrabble.”
“I could meet you over there, bring supper.”
“Sure. That’d be great.”
“How’s your business going? I saw your ad in the Bluebell Beacon.”
“It’s going well. I’m actually hoping to move out on my own sometime soon. The inn’s up for sale now.”
“I saw the sign out front. I hope it goes fast. I’ll help spread the word if you’d like. I could put up a flyer at the marina if you have one made up.”