In light of the sweater disaster she’d been recruited to help with—and the smiling reference she’d made to a dinner date with Steve the prior night—Beth may have realized he and Christi had a history and had morphed into matchmaker mode. As his mother had told him long ago when his best friend in high school kept trying to fix him up with his girlfriend’s sister, people in the throes of romance liked to spread the wealth.

Trouble was, he didn’t need any encouragement with Christi. It was getting harder and harder to resist her charms.

Like now, as he watched her slumber—her features relaxed, at peace, unguarded.

However, she would not appreciate being gawked at while in such a vulnerable state. Nor was that his style.

He lifted his hand and jingled the keys.

She stirred at once, sending another sheet of paper wafting toward the floor. Knuckling her eyes, she righted herself. “What time is it?”

“Eleven twenty-five.” He cleared the huskiness from his voice.

“Shoot. I lost an hour.” She powered down the laptop and began to gather up her papers. “I’ll have to finish after I get home.”

“You ought to sleep instead.”

She dismissed that suggestion with a flip of her hand. “A highly overrated luxury. I’ll catch up on my z’s after the festival.” She tapped the papers into a neat pile and grinned at him, animation erasing the last vestiges of sleep from her features. “I have big news.”

“Must be positive.” He retreated a few feet and sat in the chair across from her.

“Yep. Marci emailed me earlier this evening. The teasers she’s been putting out have been generating a huge amount of interest and questions. Area media have been calling her, and she’s even heard from two outlets in Portland that want to do stories—including a TV station. Isn’t that awesome?”

Yes—but not as awesome as the flush of excitement that had chased away Christi’s pallor and added exponentially to her appeal.

Not thoughts he should be entertaining at this hour of the night, with their chaperone asleep.

He pushed them aside and concentrated on her question. “To be honest, I’m not surprised. Marci knows how to get attention in the press. She saved the lighthouse on Pelican Point.”

“I know. I’ve heard that story from multiple people. She’s legendary in these parts.”

“She’s also a savvy marketer. But without unique material, it’s hard to get noticed—and you provided that. The masterclass festival is a one-of-a-kind event. For this area, anyway. Far more noteworthy than the standard farmers’ markets and sandcastle contests found all along the coast. I expected the press to eat it up.”