“A little, I think, though he’d never admit it. I’ll definitely have to leave Wednesday morning. Our other skydiver’s on vacation next week, and we have a jump scheduled that afternoon.”

Her phone buzzed, and she glanced down to the console where it was charging. A notification on the screen showed a text from Joshua.

Good morning. Praying all goes well today with the bookcases. Have a great day!

She glanced at Aiden, who was looking at her phone. His gaze swung back to the road, face unreadable.

She hadn’t given Joshua a single thought since she and Aiden had had their heart-to-heart last night. As far as the other man knew, they still had a date Friday.

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet,” Sophie said into the silence. “I’ll call him today.”

Aiden shot her a thin smile as he put on his blinker but didn’t say anything. The level of tension had gone up another notch. This morning was not going the way she had hoped. First Seth and now Joshua.

Of course, Aiden could hardly blame her for not contacting the other man yet. It had only been a matter of hours since they’d decided to give their relationship a try—and she’d spent almost all of them sleeping. But at the same time, it couldn’t feel good to see a friendly text from another man on her phone. A man who was supposed to take her out soon.

She reached for Aiden’s hand and offered him a tentative smile. His big hand engulfed hers, giving a reassuring squeeze, and his own smile warmed a few degrees.

Relax. She was worrying for nothing. They were both on edge because of everything they had on their plates at the moment. He was here helping her through a crisis and probably stressed about his business back home.

Once they arrived at the shop Aiden went to work on the drywall while Sophie hung plastic to keep the dust down. She’d already let Leonard know what they’d be working around today. Aiden hoped to have the ceiling painted by midafternoon, which would allow the bookcases to be installed in the main room.

Once the shelving crew arrived, chaos broke loose. The high-pitched whine of cordless screwdrivers joined the scratching sound of Aiden’s sanding and the chatter of the crew.

In between answering questions Sophie worked in the office, pricing nonbook merchandise: necklaces and earrings made by area artisans, locally made candles, magnets, bookmarks, and pens. She stocked a wooden rack, to be placed near the register, with luxury stationery, journals, and planners. She’d put a lot of thought into her selections, and she was proud of the unique appeal and diversity of her merchandise.