Her thoughts kept straying back to yesterday and Ethan’s invitation to spend Saturday morning with him. It definitely wasn’t a date. No way. Even if Ethan was easy on the eyes—very easy—she wasn’t going to date him.

And Ethan, well, he wasn’t in a good place to start a relationship. He was confused to say the least. He didn’t even know if he wanted to continue to be a firefighter or not. How did that happen? Did he just wake up one day and question all of his life choices? Or did it have something to do with those angry red scars on his wrists and hands?

She’d noticed that he never mentioned them or what had caused the injuries. Not that she could blame him. Whatever had happened must have been awful. Her heart ached for him.

“What has you so deep in thought?”

The familiar voice had Hannah glancing up to find Lily standing there, studying her. Hannah quickly glanced down, as though if she looked at Lily too long, she’d be able to read her thoughts—thoughts about Ethan.

Heat rushed to her face. “I…I was just going over plans for the Easter egg hunt.”

“Uh-huh.” Lily took a seat next to Hannah. “Looked more like you thinking about a certain someone.”

The warmth in her cheeks intensified. “I wasn’t thinking about Ethan.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized she’d made a big mistake. “I wasn’t.”

“Really?” Lily grinned at her. “Funny how his name popped right into your mind.”

“I…uh…” She floundered for a reasonable excuse. And failed.

“Sure looks like you and Ethan have hit it off.”

“We’re helping each other. Nothing more.” Why did it feel like the temperature in the café had climbed dramatically? Hannah reached for her iced tea and took a large gulp.

“Uh-huh.” Lily grinned at her.

“Would you quit saying that?”

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that he’s good-looking.”

How could I not notice? He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on.

“And he’s a good guy,” Lily said. “Look at how he dropped everything to help his aunt.”

He’s certainly gone above and beyond.

“And look at how Peaches has bonded with him. You know what they say about animals being good judges of character.”

It’s true. Peaches adored Ethan. And it appears the affection goes both ways.

“And—”

“Stop.” Hannah didn’t need Lily spouting off all of the reasons Ethan was a good catch for some lucky lady—just not her. “Sounds like you should be dating him.”

Lily waved off the idea as she shook her head. “Oh no. Not me. He only has eyes for you.”

“He does not.” She frowned at her friend. “It isn’t like that.”

“Okay. Relax. I was just giving you a hard time.”

It was time to talk about anything but her relationship with Ethan—erm, their business relationship. “I have all of the RSVPs for the shower this weekend.”

“Oh good. I need the number of guests in order to sort out seating and everything.” Lily removed her digital tablet from her purse and started making notes for the upcoming celebration.