Okay, I wasn’t going to do that. I glanced at my cell phone. He still had a good ten minutes.

I could always find something to look busy, even if it meant refilling all the sugar cellars again, though I had already done it yesterday. Together, Lucy and I had managed to catch up on all of Ariel’s work, so I couldn’t even hide out in the storeroom to kill time.

I idled at the counter, scrolling through my phone. Chad’s face popped up on Instagram, captioned No place like home with the sailboat and beach umbrella emojis.

I exhaled, then swiped up so fast that his face went spinning into the ether.

Next I checked my bank account, happy to see that my savings account had grown since last month. Tom was still a long way from retirement, but when he was ready, I hoped to have enough to take over Busy’s for him. While he’d already dropped hints to me that it would be staying in the Busy’s family, I still wanted to make him a fair—no, generous—offer.

When I grew bored, I studied Levi. Surreptitiously, of course, so he wouldn’t notice. From under lowered lashes, pretending to still look at my phone, I lost myself in the quiet grace of his hand moving across the paper. His eyes were intent on his work, nose scrunched up as he bent closer to the page. His arm moved more feverishly, sending the pencil in short scratches.

My phone chimed. Penny’s name popped up on my screen.

Levi jerked his head up, frowning at the interruption. His face cleared after a second and he got up. “You waiting on me?” He loped toward me, coffee cup in his hand. He’d been nursing the same one for hours, until Lucy had insisted on a free refill.

“A little bit,” I admitted. “Don’t wanna push you out the door, though.”

He laughed. “No worries. I’m the only one here, and I’d feel bad if I made you stay just for me.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the cup he held out. “You didn’t have to bring me the—”

“I was heading here anyway.” His cheeks were pink. “Figured I’d save you the trouble.”

He settled his bill, insisting on paying for the refill.

“It was free.” I rifled in my apron to find the key to the antiquated cash register. When the cash drawer sprang open with an obliging twist of the brass key, I tucked his five inside, counted out three dollars in change, and then closed the drawer. The little metallic click resonated in the silence.

His smile grew flustered. “Seriously, I can’t accept—” He put one dollar back in his wallet, but left the others on the counter.

I raised a challenging eyebrow at Levi. “I’m all locked up for the night.”