Why had she mentioned that last part? This man was a stranger; he didn’t care if she stayed or left. Yet she felt the need to make the people in Blue Moon Bay aware of her intentions of restoring the B&B to its original landmark status in town.

He looked down. “I was sad to hear of Dove’s passing.”

“You knew her?” Though it shouldn’t be too surprising—they looked close in age, and Dove’s Nest had a great reputation in town.

Or at least had at one time. A reputation she hoped she could restore. Hopefully new owners wouldn’t change the name. She hadn’t really considered that until now.

“Yes, I knew her for a long time,” he said, his gaze rising to meet hers.

She squinted. “Hey, were you the man who came by to do the landscaping out back about a month ago?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “I used to help Dove sometimes with the maintenance of the place and such.”

“That was nice of you,” Sarah said, but the hair on the back of her neck peaked and she shivered slightly.

“I’m sorry to have trespassed on the beach the day of her funeral, but I just wanted to say goodbye,” he said, looking embarrassed.

The picture. He was the man in the background of their family picture. She opened her mouth to say something, but he spoke first.

“What brings you in, dear?”

Right. The reason she was here. It suddenly wasn’t so clear. “I wanted to buy about a dozen of these,” she said, picking up the one she’d been eyeing. “In this shape but various sizes ranging from this being the smallest to maybe twice this size, if you have them.”

He took it and scanned it, glancing at a few other shelves. “I think this is the last of this color scheme…in this shape anyway.”

“Darn. It was perfect.” She looked around, but the rest in the seafoam blue and aqua designs were a little too small.

“How many did you say you needed?”

“A dozen in total.”

He nodded. “When do you need them?”

Her plan was to go back to L.A. right after Labor Day. “A week from now?”

“Okay,” he said, carrying the bulb around to the back of the counter, where he reached for a pad of paper.

“Okay?”

“I’ll custom make them for you. Exactly like this one?”

“You’d do that? I mean, yes—exactly. Of course, the coloring swirls can be different, but similar colors and sizes.” Still in awe, she reached for her wallet. “I’ll pay in advance.”

He held out a hand. “No need, dear. When you come back to get them is fine.”