By the time she gathered her items to leave, he was already looking forward to Saturday. That was the day they would meet again when they discussed his company’s expansion plans in Boston.

“I take it you’re registered with the state of Massachusetts now?” he asked her when he walked her back on deck to leave.

“Yes. Everything is done electronically these days and I got my paperwork in a week.”

“Good. You haven’t changed your mind about working for me as my broker, have you?”

“No, and you haven’t changed your mind about hiring me?” Bryce asked him.

“No.”

“Good, because I’ve been doing my research already.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “Now, why am I not surprised.”

She chuckled as she glanced at her watch. “I need to go.”

He wondered why the rush. Did she have a date for later? Was it the guy who’d come into the café that morning? He bit back asking why she was in such a hurry to leave. Instead he said, “Okay. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

She smiled over at him. “Thanks. I will.”

* * *

“SURPRISE!”

Bryce threw her hand to her chest in total disbelief. The last thing she’d expected when she arrived for lunch at Ashley and Ray’s home was to find balloons and a cake.

She looked at Ashley and Vashti. “Surprise? What for? It’s not my birthday or anything.”

Ashely laughed. “No, but you’ve been studying hard for that exam and you aced it, so we decided to celebrate your achievement. You did it, girl, and Vashti and I are proud of you!” she said, giving Bryce a hug. Vashti gave her one, as well.

“We got a bottle of wine, although neither of us will be able to share a glass with you. We’re drinking apple cider.”

Bryce didn’t want to get all emotional, but she was definitely feeling it. Vashti had been her best friend forever, and since moving to town and marrying Ray, Ashley was someone who’d become a dear friend to her.

“Don’t you dare start crying, Bryce,” Vashti warned.

Bryce smiled. “I won’t but this is so special.”

“Because you’re special. I made sandwiches for lunch and a fruit tray. The weather is nice, so we can sit out on the patio and smell the apples,” Ashley said, maneuvering around the room pretty easily for a woman who would be giving birth to twins in a month’s time.

Ray had purchased the two-bedroom, two-bath home a year after moving to the cove. It was a beautiful house and ideal for one person. There was a screened-in porch on the back that faced an apple grove. The grove was beautiful and the scent of apples filled the entire house.

Over lunch Ashley told them the house that she and Ray were having built on the ocean was supposed to be finished before the twins were born. “Ray and I want to lease this place instead of selling it. When that time comes we’ll contact you to handle it for us,” she said to Bryce.