“Boy, oh boy, can that man write a love story.” Alanda fanned her face.

“He hits all the right notes. I plan to keep a whole end cap for his books. Ellie says they’re popular with locals.”

“And the tourists, no doubt. Everyone loves a good beach read. I’ll have to introduce you to some of our local authors too.”

“I plan to feature them in a special section, and I’m hoping to schedule book signings with them also.”

“I’m sure they’d love that. Oh, I’m getting all excited just thinking about it.”

“Me too.” Excited and scared half to death. Because if she couldn’t pull off this opening, she was going to be letting down a lot of people—not the least of whom was herself.

*  *  *

Aiden peered over his shoulder at Sophie. She’d continued cutting in the paint after the mayor left, but she was unusually quiet. And he didn’t think it was the focused kind of quiet. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” The sound of the brush and roller filled the silence for a good minute before she spoke again. “That’s not entirely true. I guess I suddenly realized how much there is yet to do.”

“And how many people are counting on you to do it?” He suspected the mayor had intended just that.

Sophie straightened, sporting a little smudge of blue on her cheek. “Am I that transparent?”

“You shouldn’t let the mayor stress you out. You’ve got this. We’re almost back on schedule.”

“But what if something goes wrong? What if the shelves don’t get finished in time, or the wood floor is in terrible shape, or—?”

“Don’t borrow trouble. ‘Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?’”

She gave him a wry look. “Did you just quote Scripture at me?”

“Hey, there’s a reason I have it memorized. If I’ve learned anything it’s that worrying does nothing but stress you out.”

Her shoulders slouched with the weight of the world. “There’s so much on the line. Did I ever tell you my mom used to dream of opening a bookstore here in Piper’s Cove?”

“I didn’t know that, but I knew she grew up here.”

Sophie went back to painting, but he watched the wistful smile curve her lips. “She worked at a bookshop in New Bern throughout high school and loved it. She was determined to save up enough money to open a store herself—she wasn’t really interested in attending college. But she got pregnant with Seth and me, and then she married Daddy, and they moved to Raleigh for his job. I think she still hoped to open that shop one day. But then she got diagnosed with MS when I was in grade school, and that was that. I hate that she never got to live out her dream.”