Perfect. Lending her flour for that would surely show her that he had no ill will toward her bakery. “Why don’t I lend her four bags just to be sure she has enough? They’re heavy. I’ll carry them across the street for you.”
Sally was robust. As a handywoman, she kept in pretty good shape despite her age. Rob had seen her carry some pretty heavy boards around. Nevertheless, a sneaky smile spread across her face. “What a great idea. I’m sure I couldn’t carry all four.”
In the end, Sally lugged one bag while he carried the other three. She led him around the building to the door on the side of Sandcastles, which opened directly into the kitchen.
As he stepped inside, he noticed the kitchen was old but had a rustic charm. The sweet smell of cookies hit his nose, and his stomach grumbled.
The color was high in Claire’s cheeks as she turned from where she’d been pulling the cookies out of the oven. She had an apron tied around her waist, and he noticed that it accentuated her curves. He forced himself to look her in the eye as he gallantly offered her the bags of flour.
“I hope four is enough for your purposes.”
“I don’t want to put you out. I wasn’t going to ask to borrow any, butsomeone”—she glanced at Sally over Rob’s shoulder—“ran off before I could stop her. I mean, it’s not like I’m so unprepared that I need to borrow flour.”
So Claire hadn’t sent Sally over on purpose? Darn, for a minute there he’d thought he’d made some progress with the feisty baker.
Rob set the bags of flour down on the counter. “It’s no trouble. I had extra. Sally told me yours got wet.”
Claire nodded. “In the storm yesterday.”
“Right.”
Tension hummed in the air between them, and Rob was uncertain what to say. Here was a great opportunity to broach the subject of the sale and the possibility of working together, but the frown on Claire’s face stopped him.
Sally was watching them like a hawk watching a wounded baby rabbit. “Claire has that big cupcake sale on Saturday. You have your big opening then, don’t you, Rob?”
“I do.” What was Sally up to? Rob supposed he didn’t mind. He could use the help since he wasn’t doing a good job himself.
“Well, since you’re both trying to get customers down here and you’re set up across the street from each other…”
“I hardly think people will want to shop in both stores, if that’s what you’re getting at.” Claire peeled the oversized cookies off the tray with a rubber spatula and set them carefully on a cooling rack. They were golden brown with sugar crystals on top. Rob’s mouth watered.
“I disagree.” Sally reached for a cookie, touching it tentatively to see if it was too hot. “I think after choosing the bread they’re going to have at supper or keep in the kitchen for sandwiches, people are going to want to relax with a coffee and pastry. You guys could cross-promote. Would be better for both of you.”
Claire hesitated, and for a moment, Rob thought she might be considering it. “That might have been a good idea a few weeks ago, but now there are only two days, and it’s just not enough time to set anything up. Besides, all my time is taken between now and then. I don’t have time to plan anything. Unlike some people, I can’t just leave my shop willy-nilly.” Claire shot Rob a pointed look.
Ouch!The only reason he could leave was because the shop wasn’t open yet. Once it was, he would be tied to it as much as Claire was tied here. Even though he owned a chain of stores, he worked just as hard as anyone, especially in this particular store since he would be the manager. But he could tell that Claire had made up her mind. There would be no point in pushing because that would only make her dig her heels in more.
He raised his hands in surrender. “You might be right. There isn’t a lot of time to make a plan. I hope the flour helps.”
Claire’s demeanor softened. Almost reluctantly, as if the words were dragged from her, she murmured, “Thank you for the flour, and that was a nice thing you did for Addie yesterday.”
Rob shoved his hands in his pockets, suddenly self-conscious. “It was nothing really. I mean, I know how heart-wrenching it is when a loved one wanders off, so when I heard she’d gone missing, I had to volunteer to help. Plus, I’d met Addie the day before, and she’s a real firecracker. I would hate to think of her coming to any harm.”
Claire nodded. They were silent as her gaze held his for just a fraction of a second. In that fraction, Rob felt like he’d made some progress.
Sally broke the silence, her voice pointed. “Rob is widowed.”
Despite his resolve to keep his past to himself, he’d found himself opening up to the town handywoman enough to tell her that much. But why was she blurting that out now?
Claire shot Sally a look then muttered. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Claire is divorced.”
Color washed into Claire’s cheeks. “Sally!”
The old woman grinned, seemingly pleased with herself. “I thought you ought to know. To make it easier to work together. No jealous wives or husbands around to grumble if you two need to work late.”
Surprisingly bashful, Claire turned away. She didn’t look at Rob.
