She rolled her eyes. Only because he’d never had to. She glanced at the kitchen clock. It wouldn’t take her long. “Sure, I can do it.”

She took down the dates and times and his credit card information, then told him she’d forward the itinerary to him when she was finished.

“What was that all about?” Aiden asked after she’d pocketed her phone.

“Seth’s company is sending him to Chicago for training next week.”

“He’s going to miss your grand opening?”

“Unfortunately, yes. The trip came up last minute, and his boss expects him to go.”

Aiden took a sip of coffee, his silence speaking louder than words.

Sophie turned to rinse off her plate.

“Why was he giving you his credit card information?”

“I told him I’d book his flight for him—I’m kind of the family travel agent.” She meant it as a joke, but it fell flat. “The company he works for is a new start-up. They don’t have someone on staff to handle that kind of thing.”

“And when are you going to find time to do that? You have a busy day ahead.”

Sophie stuck her plate in the dishwasher and glanced at the clock again. “I can do it right now if you don’t mind waiting a bit.”

He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to change his mind. “I’ll take Pippa for a walk. She’s been cooped up a lot lately, and I need to call Ross about some work-related stuff.”

After Aiden slipped out the back door with Pippa, Sophie went to work on her laptop. It didn’t take her long to find the best deal, and within twenty minutes she had Seth’s flights booked.

She’d just forwarded the itinerary to her brother when Aiden returned. They loaded Pippa in the car and headed to the shop. She’d forgotten to charge her phone last night so she plugged it in.

Aiden was quiet. He’d wanted to have the sanding finished before Leonard arrived with the bookcases, but that wasn’t going to happen now. They’d have to hang plastic sheeting to keep the dust off the new shelves. Leonard’s crew probably wouldn’t be happy about having to work around them, but it couldn’t be helped.

Tension hovered between them in the car, and it stemmed from Seth’s phone call. Sure, she babied her siblings sometimes. But growing up with an emotionally absent father and chronically ill mother, they’d had to count on her. Aiden couldn’t understand that when he’d had a present father and no siblings.

“Is everything okay back home, with the business?” she asked.

“Yeah, Ross just had a couple questions about the schedule. I usually handle that kind of thing.”

“Has he been overwhelmed with you gone all week?”