“Sold to the owner of The Starlight Café,” Andrea said with a grin.
Jackie’s eyes widened. “Are you buying this because you genuinely need a sweater or are you doing it to make me feel better?”
“I always need another sweater, especially at this time of the year. Besides, David’s taking the boys and me out to dinner tomorrow night. It’d be nice to wear something new.”
With a smile, she handed Andrea the sweater. “Pay me when it suits you. Kathleen’s giving me another four sweaters tonight. If you change your mind and want one of the other ones, we can switch them around.”
“That’s awesome. Thank you.”
As Jackie took another sip of coffee, she looked around the store. “If Pastor John hadn’t been so generous with the furniture, I’d still be hunting through second-hand stores and searching the Internet. Because everything’s almost ready, I’m considering opening the store a little earlier.”
“That’d be well worth it,” Andrea said. “Everyone in town notices a spike in sales from early November because of the pre-Christmas rush. What about your website? Will that be ready in time?”
“I’m sure it will be. Emma Devlin’s designing a Shopify store for me. She created Ben’s for him when he rebranded The Christmas Tree Farm.”
“His website’s fantastic. So, what do you have planned for the grand opening?”
Jackie hesitated, taken aback by the question. “Well, I hadn’t really thought about it. What if I just opened the store quietly?”
Andrea shook her head firmly. “Definitely not. This is a huge accomplishment, and you deserve to celebrate it properly. Let’s brainstorm some ideas to make your grand opening special.”
“As long as special doesn’t come with a huge budget, I’m happy to do it.”
“We don’t need a lot of money to organize something that’ll attract people to the store,” Andrea assured her. “Do you have a pen and some paper?”
As they sat together, sipping coffee and discussing plans for the grand opening, Jackie felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude for her newfound stability, the support of her friends, and the chance to create something meaningful in Sapphire Bay.
CHAPTER14
Aidan sat behind his laptop at The Lakeside Inn, staring at the job offer on his computer. The hum of people talking in the entryway faded into the background as he processed the reality of what was in front of him. He took a deep breath and allowed the scent of freshly brewed coffee to calm his nerves.
He’d met the owners of the company at a start-up expo earlier in the year. He was impressed with the technology they’d developed to give spinal injury patients the ability to move like everyone else. Unlike other products in development, their exoskeleton was lightweight and easily adaptable to whatever situation their clients needed. They’d had an interesting conversation about the industry they were both in, but he hadn’t thought anything of it.
Until the phone call he’d had with their managing director yesterday. After restructuring their company, they were offering him a job that could take his career to a whole new level.
A few minutes ago, the job description they’d promised had arrived. He’d be leading a team of twenty-five bio-mechanical engineers and IT specialists. He’d earn significantly more money than he did at BioTech and have the use of a company apartment in Miami for a year.
Unfortunately, it would also mean leaving behind the redevelopment of his team’s research area in Sapphire Bay and the camp for children who wear prosthetics—a project that held a special place in his heart. And, more importantly, it could mean the end of his relationship with Jackie.
Last night, even before he’d seen the job description, he’d tossed and turned, torn between his career and how he felt about her.
An early morning run hadn’t helped, either. He’d thought that once he saw the job description, it’d be an easy decision. Nothing could motivate him more than the work he was doing with BioTech. But, as well as providing a job description, they’d outlined the progress they’d made in their clinical trials. And it was astounding.
Pushing back his chair, Aidan stood up. He needed advice from someone who wasn’t as emotionally involved in the decision as he was. He wouldn’t speak to Jackie. Not yet anyway. If he spoke to David, he’d be understandably upset. If he left the company, Aidan wasn’t sure what would happen to the projects he was working on.
There was only one other person he could talk to. Hopefully, Pastor John could help him weigh the pros and cons of working with a new company. Because there was more at stake than the relocation costs to Florida. If he left BioTech, he’d be ending any chance of discovering if Jackie was the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
Pulling out his phone, he called the church. If John was busy doing something else, he’d throw on his running gear and try to work through what he was going to do.
Because, right now, he didn’t have a clue.
* * *
As Aidan approachedJohn’s office, the weight of the decision he had to make settled heavily on his chest. He knocked gently on John’s open door before stepping inside.
“Hi, John. Thanks for seeing me.”
John smiled and moved around his desk. “You caught me at the right time. Shelley’s making sure everything’s running smoothly with the new program we’ve started, so I’ve got time to talk. Would you like a coffee?”
