“Please, he’s here for a week. We aren’t even dating.”
“I hear potential.” She stretched all the way across the counter so she could peer into his face. “And the chemistry?”
Brad looked up. “Don’t jinx it.”
“So therewaschemistry.”
Brad popped up, holding the tea hat. “Lucy!”
Lucy appeared like a spirit. “You found it!” Then, “Did you kiss?”
The girl was good. And from the look on Brad’s face, right on the nail. Leah gasped. “Didyou?”
“Story time is over.” Brad plunked the tea hat on Lucy’s head and veered toward the front door to let the kids in.
A gaggle of children with mothers, fathers, and even grandparents in tow paraded into the children’s section. There was a rush to grab extra chairs and pillows to sit on, but the overflow happily cemented Leah’s plans for a studio space in the old parlor. “Perhaps your knitting lab isn’t such a bad idea,” Brad muttered.
“Studio,” Leah corrected him.
It took all three of them to get everyone gathered, settled, and served. Lemonade was poured (and spilled), cookies were passed, and Lucy got story time going as Brad stood nearby with a mop as soggy as the expression on his face. With the teddy bear tea party successfully underway, Leah took her now-cold coffee back to her office stopping to peek in at the supplies Luke had left in the parlor. Looking at the tidy stacks of materials he’d tucked in a corner made her sad. He was as meticulous as he was talented. And a good kisser, she thought gloomily. There was nothing like a good first kiss. Even though there was little chance ofthathappening again.
When the tea party ended, there was a rush of picture booksales, and then the store settled into a satisfying lull. “I need a nap,” Lucy said.
“You deserve one. Great job today,” Leah told her.
Willet Smith came in to drop off more vegetables from his garden. “You’re spoiling us,” Leah said.
“Heirlooms today,” Willet said, thrusting a misshapen yellow tomato across the counter. “Golden Queens. Try them with a little salt and olive oil.”
“I’ll try one now.” Ugly as it was, she could smell that just-off-the-vine sun-filled scent of a summer tomato. Leah sank her teeth into its flesh, groaning with pleasure. Juice running down her chin, Willet was halfway out the door before she could thank him.
Happily, she set the basket of tomatoes on the counter and made a sign out of an index card:Willet’s Queens, $1.00. Then she selected another and brought it to Brad, who was still hiding out in her office. “You up for our sales meeting?”
Brad, who’d been appalled at the detritus and commotion of the kids, had only somewhat recovered. “Let’s get it done,” he said. “Then I’m taking lunch break.”
“Try this,” she said, handing him Willet’s heirloom.
“If this isn’t the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“But delicious!”
Brad rolled his eyes. “Let me guess. He still has not bought a book.”
“He brings us vegetables.”
“Fruit,” Brad corrected. “If I may remind you, you’re in thebook business.” He flipped his laptop open. “The man should buy a book. If it kills me, I’m going to sell him one.”
The sales figures were decent, if not huge. As a start-up, Leah knew that she would be lucky to come in a little behind the first month. Breaking even would be considered a success. They were just shy of doing that.
“You should be proud,” Brad told her, after they’d reviewed his spreadsheets. “These are solid numbers for a brand-new small business.”
Her biggest expense, however, was her hires. “As much as it behooves me to say it, I don’t really see where you can shave off payroll. As it is, you already stagger Lucy and me with only a little overlap. But I suppose you could rotate us.”
Leah couldn’t do that to him; she’d promised him full-time work. And especially not after all Brad’s help. Lucy was just a kid, and Leah only employed her part-time. It reminded her of Eudora.
“Did I tell you that Mrs. Shipman rejected me?”
“That nice old lady you were so keen on rejected you?”
