Her breath slowly leaked out. Ever since they’d announced his name, she’d been plagued by guilt. “I feel as if you should be sharing this moment with Ross. He’s your partner, the one who entered you in the contest.”

“I’ll celebrate with Ross when I get home. For now . . . I feel like the moment happened exactly as it was supposed to. And I can’t think of anyone I would’ve rather shared it with.”

Her stomach tightened at the sincerity in his eyes. In his voice. Sometimes the things he said brought her to her knees. And the way he looked at her now . . . Was there more than affection flickering in those deep blue eyes? More than warmth in the gentle caress of his fingers?

“Here we are.” The server lowered a tray, making Sophie and Aiden withdraw from the table, from each other.

Sophie avoided his eyes as the server set down another tray in front of him. They kept having these moments. What did it mean?

What could it mean when she was putting down roots here, and he was leaving in a few days? Best keep a rein on these runaway feelings before she lost her heart all over again.

chapter twenty-two

The next day Sophie and Aiden were finishing up the last coat of paint in her shop when the lights flickered on.

Sophie stopped painting. Her eyes connected with Aiden’s. “Electricity!”

He grinned. “Now we’re talking.”

Catching the mood, Pippa jumped up on the barricade, yapping.

“It’s so exciting, isn’t it, sweetheart? Yes, it is.” Sophie pulled to her feet and grabbed her crutches. “Hopefully it’s back on at the house too.”

“I’ll bet it is. Won’t it be nice to have coffee in the morning?”

“Not to mention a hot shower.”

“Amen.”

Sophie hobbled over to the wall and flipped on a couple more lights. The Coastal Blue looked beautiful in the artificial lighting. She couldn’t wait to see it set off by the bookshelves’ honey pecan stain.

She gazed around the room, beginning to see what it would look like in its final form. Can you see this, Mama? It’s going to look just the way we planned. I wish you were here with me.

Her phoned buzzed with a new text, and Sophie pulled it from her pocket.

Jenna wanted to know if she’d handled the jury duty notice. In fact, Sophie hadn’t. So she headed down the hall and went to work on that, Pippa on her heels. It took some doing to locate the right phone number, then find someone who was willing to look up Jenna’s juror number. Sophie had explained the circumstances to three different people before finally finding someone who would help her.

Thankfully, calling the recording and giving the appropriate responses only took a minute. She texted Jenna and let her know it had been handled.