Following the map on her phone, she turned left onto Gerberau, a smaller cobblestone street. It was picturesque, she had to admit. Cute little stores, cafés, a bakery, an Indian restaurant, and a chocolate shop lined the street. She passed a Turkish restaurant that an artist had decorated with a mural of the gate she’d just passed through and a bearded monk tapping beer. To her right flowed a Bächle, one of the narrow canals that lined the streets in the Old Town.

Finally, she caught sight of Paper Love, her uncle’s store. Two carousels offering greeting cards had been pushed beneath a blue awning to protect them from the rain.

She headed toward the white-framed glass door with its brass handle, but before she had taken even two steps, an irresistible aroma teased her nose.

Susanne looked around.

Ooh! Right across the street was a little coffee shop. Almost without a conscious decision, she detoured, stepped over the gently gurgling Bächle, and walked across a mosaic embedded into the cobblestone sidewalk.

Two minutes later, she held the tallest coffee the shop sold in her hand. She took the first sip right then and there. Ah. Liquid manna. Now she was ready to face the disaster that was her uncle’s store.

With renewed determination, she strode toward Paper Love.

“Watch your step!” the woman from the coffee shop called after her.

Susanne tried to slide to a stop, but it was too late. Instead of the cobblestones, her foot hit only air—and then crashed down into the clear water of the Bächle.

The very cold water of the Bächle.

Coffee splashed over her hand, soaking the sleeve of her wool coat and the right leg of her slacks.

“Ouch! Goddammit!” She withdrew her foot from the shallow canal and blew on her scalded fingers, all the while trying not to drop the coffee or her umbrella.

“Are you okay?” the coffee shop woman asked.

“Yeah. Just peachy.” If she gritted her teeth any harder, she would have to call her sister for dental repairs. She stared down at the sodden mess that was her left suede ankle boot.

Her stay in Freiburg was definitely not off to a good start.

Cursing, she crossed the street and shoved open the door to the stationery store with too much force.

The bell above the door jingled frantically.

She closed her umbrella and rammed it into the stand by the door, then used her now-free hand to tug on her coffee-stained slacks. She grimaced. So much for dressing for success to make a good impression on her first day.

She let the door close behind her and paused to take in her temporary place of work.