She was so absorbed in her sketches that she didn’t hear Adam come in until he was right in front of her, casting a shadow over her notebook.

“Hey,” she said, feigning annoyance. “You’re blocking my light.”

He tipped his head to take a look at what she was doing. “That’s really good. I didn’t know you could draw like that.”

“Anyone can draw a bunch of straight lines, Adam.”

“You’ve got the whole 3-D thing going on. That’s amazing. I can picture how the store will look.”

Flattered by his praise, she glanced up to find that he was wearing the glasses she found so attractive on him. “Did you finish with the reservation system?”

“Not yet. I need at least another day. Maybe two. I’m rewriting the entire program.”

“How do you do that, exactly?”

“You really want to know? You’d probably find it deathly boring.”

“Maybe so, but I’m interested in the logic behind it.”

“You are? Really?”

“Hasn’t anyone ever been interested in how you approach your work?”

“No. Never.”

“Well, I am.”

That seemed to please him. “I’ll tell you all about it sometime. Are you done here?”

“For the most part. I was just doodling.”

“We’ve already established that those are far more than doodles.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ve got a couple of hours before the evening festivities.” He stretched dramatically. “I’m sort of worn out after working all day, and I was thinking that you must be, too.”

He looked anything but worn out, but she played along because she liked where this was going. “How about we go across the street for a little rest before our big night out?”

“You might be able to talk me into that.”

Rolling her eyes and smiling at him, she closed the notebook and stashed it in her purse, shut off the lights and closed the door to the gift shop. In the lobby, Sarah was sitting behind the registration desk.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Adam said to her.

“I will, too,” Abby said.

“Thanks to both of you for your help around here.”

“My pleasure,” Adam said.

“Mine, too,” Abby added. And it was a pleasure to be back in the business she had loved so much. Mapping out shelving and planning for inventory had filled her with excitement and anticipation. While living in Texas, she’d missed the thrill of running her own business. She’d been bored and often lonely, which had added to her problems with Cal, who’d been so busy he hadn’t noticed her discontent.

“What’re you thinking about?” Adam asked as they crossed the street to the Beachcomber and scooted in a side door that led to the stairs.

“How much I’m looking forward to having the store open. I missed it while I was away. I hadn’t realized how much until today.”