Brooke waved away his concerns. “Come in. We were just saying how amazing the support has been for Saturday’s auction.”
Noah looked around the room. “Are all these items going to be auctioned?”
Pastor John nodded. “These are only some of the donations. There’ll be at least another ten deliveries before auction day.” He held out his hand. “I’m John, the local pastor in Sapphire Bay.”
Noah returned John’s handshake. “Noah Devlin. I’m staying in Acorn Cottage.”
“You must be the chief executive of Wilson Enterprises.”
“News travels fast.”
“You’ve got no idea,” John said with a smile. “I was talking to Mabel and she mentioned she’d seen you.”
“I visited the market on Saturday but got sidetracked by Brooke’s candy store. For such a small town, there’s plenty to see.”
“We try to provide something for everyone.”
“You’ve certainly done that. I came to tell you that Wilson Enterprises would like to donate some gifts for the auction, but they won’t arrive until Friday. Will that be a problem?”
John shook his head. “That will be fine. Cassie has created a master list of the items going under the hammer. Whether they arrive here or at one of our drop-off locations, the list will be updated straightaway. Are you coming to the auction?”
Noah reached into his pocket and showed them a silver piece of paper. “Mabel sold me the last ticket this afternoon. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Megan winked at Cassie.
The mysterious executive from Manhattan had just gone up a notch or two in Megan’s books.
“We’re almost finished here.” Pastor John looked at Cassie. “Why don’t you show Noah The Welcome Center? It will give him an idea of what we need to keep everything running. You could even tell him about the tiny home project.”
John was every bit as savvy as Noah when it came to gathering support for a project. He needed more than their community’s involvement if the tiny house project was to happen. And in Noah, he could see a way to promote the concept of affordable community housing to the world.
Noah smiled. He looked as though he knew what John was doing. “I’d love to hear more about the projects you’re developing.”
Cassie handed Sam the project plan for the auction. “Would you be able to update the electronic copy of the plan?”
“No problem. I’ll send everyone an update, too.” She looked over Cassie’s shoulder at Noah and grinned. “It’s great seeing you again.”
“You too, Sam.”
Before everyone started reminiscing about her birthday dinner, Cassie moved toward the door. “We’d better have a look at The Welcome Center before they serve dinner.”
Noah smiled at Pastor John. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll see everyone else later.”
“It could be sooner than you think,” Megan said cryptically.
Cassie grabbed Noah’s hand and pulled him out of the room. She wasn’t sure he would appreciate a freshly baked cake once he realized why Megan had made it.
“Is there something I should know?”
When they were halfway down the corridor, Cassie let go of his hand, then looked behind them. “Megan baked you a cake, but it comes with a catch.”
“Let me guess. She wants to know more about me before I whisk you away to Manhattan?”
“Not quite,” Cassie said with a smile. “She wants to know why you’re still single.”
Noah laughed. “Tell her I’ve been waiting for the right person to come along. Do I still get the cake?”
“Only if you promise to share it with me.”
