The office. Sophie couldn’t seem to stop the little twinge of jealousy. He’d chosen that business over her. Still, maybe it was time to put it in the past.

“How is the business going?”

“Really well. It’s grown steadily every year, and last year profits were up 11 percent over the year before.”

Business ownership was now something they had in common. And knowing the challenges of a new start-up, she couldn’t help but be a little proud of him. “That’s impressive. You still enjoy it?” Sophie drove around another large puddle. They hadn’t passed a single car.

“I do. And I think you’ll enjoy running your own business.”

“Hope so. What’s your role in the business, exactly?”

“I used to do a little of everything. But we’ve acquired more help recently, and each team member is more specialized now. I mostly do tandem skydiving. And the last couple years I’ve been working on some safety innovations off the clock.”

“Sounds interesting.” Aiden hadn’t done particularly well in school. She knew he sometimes felt stupid as he struggled through some of his classes, but he was anything but. Aiden was an out-of-the-box thinker. It didn’t surprise her that he was tinkering with gizmos and gadgets.

Something hit the side of the car. She hoped this hadn’t been a terrible mistake. They were far enough into the drive that it made no sense to turn back now.

“Have you heard from Jenna and Grant?” he asked after a tense moment passed.

“They arrived safely and are attending a beach party tonight.” She frowned at the inclement weather. “Must be nice, huh?”

“In a couple days you’ll never know there was a storm but for the cleanup. The two of you still seem close.”

“She’s my baby sister.”

He went quiet as Sophie navigated something in the road, which turned out to be part of a beach umbrella.

“So a bookshop . . . Tell me how that came about. I remember you being something of a bookworm back in the day.”

“Reading’s always been my favorite pastime. I can’t imagine anything better than talking about books all day long.”

She didn’t mention the months she and her mom had spent planning the shop she’d one day own. Too personal. Opening this shop felt like a sacred assignment. One she had to get right. And this storm wasn’t helping matters.

“You made such good grades. I always thought you’d go to college. You dreamed about getting into Duke.”

“How do you know I didn’t go to college?”

He was quiet so long, she glanced over.

He cleared his throat. “I looked you up once on Facebook.”

Her heart squeezed uncomfortably. “You did, huh?”

“Moment of weakness. I thought for sure you’d get in to Duke.”

“I did.”