“It must feel good knowing you’re making a huge difference in other people’s lives.”
“It does, especially when I’m designing prosthetics for children.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “We’ve even had requests for pink and purple sleeves that cover an entire prosthetic. Our design team had fun creating a colorful range of limbs for teenagers, too.”
Jackie smiled. “It must be a real talking point amongst their friends.”
Aidan took a deep breath. “I imagine it is.”
Andrea hurried across to their table. “Sorry to interrupt, but I just had a call from Paris. She wanted to remind you about the next order of dried flowers. Can you still pick them up this morning, Jackie?”
“I can. I’ll let her know I haven’t forgotten.”
“That’d be great. Can I get you anything else to eat or drink?”
Jackie and Aidan shook their heads.
Andrea smiled. “In that case, I’ll get back to the kitchen.”
Aidan looked over Jackie’s shoulder at the book group. “It looks as though everyone’s enjoying themselves. I didn’t realize a book group could be so exciting.”
Jackie shrugged. “I suppose it depends on the book you’ve been reading. Are you going to Andrea and David’s wedding?”
“I wouldn’t miss it. You’ll have to save a dance for me.”
She winced. “As long as you don’t ask me to waltz, we’ll be fine. I took some dance lessons once, but all I did was stand on my partner’s feet.”
“You’re in safe hands with me. I don’t know how to dance either.”
Jackie grinned. “After watching the rest of the wedding party, I was thinking everyone knows how to waltz and foxtrot.”
“Maybe they do in Sapphire Bay.”
Jackie’s grin widened. “You could be right. The people here are different from other places I’ve lived.”
“Have you lived in a lot of places?”
“More than I can remember,” she said evasively. If Aidan knew how much she’d moved with her mom, he’d wonder how she ever got an education or did anything other than survive.
“Have you ever wanted to do something else besides being a florist?”
A knot of apprehension settled in Jackie’s stomach. She worried her dream might sound trivial compared to what Aidan was doing. “I’ve thought about opening my own knitting store, a place where people can gather and share their love for the craft and enjoy each other’s company.”
Instead of being amused by what she wanted to do, Aidan nodded thoughtfully. “You’d be turning something you enjoy into a new career.”
“I’m not sure it’ll ever happen, but I’d like to think it could.”
Aidan smiled, his gaze warm and reassuring. “You have a talent for creating beautiful things, and that includes knitting. There’s no reason it couldn’t work.”
As they continued to talk, Jackie found herself lost in the conversation, enthralled by the way Aidan opened up to her. There was an undeniable connection between them. If it were anyone else, she might hope their newfound friendship could grow into something more.
But that wouldn’t happen. Aidan wasn’t staying in Sapphire Bay, and she wasn’t leaving.
CHAPTER4
By Monday afternoon, Jackie was still thinking about her conversation with Aidan. He was doing something he loved, something that was making a difference in his life and other people’s. She enjoyed working with Paris, she really did. But being a florist wasn’t something she’d dreamed about. Before she moved here, she hadn’t even seen many floral arrangements.
For so long, she’d consoled herself with the fact she was earning enough money to have a comfortable life. In Sapphire Bay, she’d found the peace and security she’d always craved. Just thinking about risking everything she’d worked so hard for to open a knitting business made her feel sick.
But each time she walked past the empty cottage beside Shona’s quilting store, she imagined what it might be like to do something amazing with her life. Unfortunately, amazing came at a cost, and she couldn’t afford to do more than imagine what the store could become.
