He shuffled his feet. “Well, I guess I better go get that delivery done.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

Josh offered her one last friendly smile before strolling toward the door, and Preslee admired his rear end as he went. Not bad. Not bad at all.

She should probably thank her father for the nice view since he’d been the one to hire Josh a few weeks before. Not that he’d had much of a choice. With her father unable to work after his accident, they’d needed the help. Even though the antique shop still had one delivery guy—a married, middle-aged man named Greg—moving heavy antique furniture was a two-person job. They’d needed someone to help with the physically demanding aspects of the business.

Hopefully, for the long term. Because, while she hated that her dad had gotten injured, there was a plus side to it. It had forced him to slow down. He was getting up there in age, and she worried constantly about his safety and well-being. With Josh now working in his place, she no longer had to. Well, at least until the bones in her dad’s wrist fused back together. Then he would probably be right back on top of that ladder pulling another one of his daredevil balancing acts.

Ugh. Preslee rubbed her temples.

She hoped that by the time her dad’s injury healed, she’d finally be able to convince him to retire and allow her to take over the family business. After all, it wasn’t like she didn’t know what she was doing. As the unofficial manager of the antique shop, she’d been taking care of the paperwork, accepting orders, scheduling deliveries, and handling the everyday business side of things for years. She could do it blindfolded with both hands tied behind her back…if only her dad would let her.

And if he ever actually handed over the reins, she already knew what her first order of business would be. Without a doubt, that would be making Josh a permanent, full-time employee. He’d been doing a great job since he’d started. The guy had a serious interest in antiques and knew a lot about them. That kind of vast knowledge would come in handy whenever she needed to attend estate sales and auction houses in her father’s place. Which only made Josh an asset to the business…and, to her delight, a perfect match for her.

Had her father done that on purpose? It wasn’t normally like her dad to play matchmaker. Especially with his own daughter. If anything, he’d always done the exact opposite. Like when she had begun dating in her teen years. Her dad had thought it funny to greet each of her dates at the door, give a few intimidating glares, and wave the two of them off as they’d left.