Page 12 of Coastal Reflections

She and Penelope and Harper laughed and cheered as they ate their food. It was a great concert, and they weren’t the only audience members who were having a wonderful time. The whole restaurant was full of enthusiasm, and the applause was loud after every number.

When the concert was over, the band left the stage and the room became suddenly hushed. For a few moments, people continued to talk in whispers as if the concert was still going on. Michelle realized suddenly that she was sweaty, and she took off her leather jacket and hung it on the back of her chair.

She’d just finished doing so when Theo stepped into the dining room, running his fingers through his hair. Michelle felt differently about his fingers now that she’d seen how skilled they were on the guitar. Her heart started to beat faster as she noticed how handsome he looked in his dark jeans and navy bomber jacket.

She hurriedly looked away, but it was futile because Theo made a beeline for her. He leaned against the edge of the stage, smiling down at her.

Always leaning, she thought, trying to summon her old prickly reserves against him and finding that she was unable to.

“Guess you had to prove me wrong, huh?” he teased, crossing his arms and grinning at her.

“What do you mean?” she asked primly.

“I mean, I’d said you were too boring to come out here to the concert, and you said it was true and you had to work. But now here you are. So I’m guessing that you decided you wanted to prove me wrong and show me that you are fun and social.”

Harper snorted, and Michelle’s mouth popped open in indignation. She rolled her eyes internally, thinking that she couldn’t win either way with this man. Theo was right—that was exactly what she’d been thinking, but she was most certainly not going to admit it. She wanted to snap at him and ask him why he insisted on being so infuriating all the time. Instead, she leaned back in her seat, acting nonchalant.

“Actually, I’m working,” she said, smiling serenely. “We’re interested in perhaps having live music at The Birchwood House sometime, so I figured it would make sense to check out one of our local bands in person.”

Theo raised his eyebrows skeptically, but in the next moment he shrugged and grinned slyly, letting it slide. “Well, I hope you had a great time, whatever the reason why you were here.”

Michelle blinked at him, forcing a smile. Had he seen through her fib? Heaven forbid he ever find out that she was actually curious about seeing him perform. And she certainly wasn’t about to tell him how impressive and attractive she’d found him!

CHAPTER SEVEN

Elaine pushed open the door of Townsend’s Bakery, smiling as the bell jangled cheerfully overhead. She was greeted by the delicious smells of sweet pastry, and by Iris, who waved at her excitedly even though she was in the middle of helping another set of customers.

She lingered in the back of the shop, glancing at the pastry case and wondering what to order. A second later, the door of the kitchen swung open and Shep came out, smiling at her.

“Good morning, Elaine,” he said, wiping his flour-dusted hands on a damp towel. “What brings you in so early?”

Elaine caught Iris staring at Shep in disbelief, and she held back a chuckle. Shep never came out of the kitchen to greet customers, no matter how busy the bakery was. She appeared to be an exception, and the thought made her heart glow with happiness.

“Oh, various things.” She smiled at him, noticing the way his blue-gray eyes warmed as their gazes met. She liked how messy his gray hair looked. He always reminded her a little of a bear that had just woken up from hibernation, and she felt pleased knowing that, in this case, he’d roused himself from his cave just for her.

“You know, I can still deliver the pastries to The Birchwood House later today,” he told her. “I’m planning on it. I hope you didn’t feel you had to come out here and do that for me. I know that was our original deal, but well, I have to be out by you later today anyway. And besides, the exercise is good for me.”

Elaine had seldom heard Shep string together so many sentences at once, and she felt a little as if she’d just been handed an enormous bouquet of flowers.

“Oh, I know. I didn’t come here to get the pastry order,” she said. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to assume it’s all ready yet. You’re not due to deliver it until this afternoon, so I wouldn’t want to rush you. Like you said, it’s early in the morning. I just—well, I had other things to come into town for.”

Shep’s eyebrows lifted quizzically. “At seven a.m.”

Elaine laughed. “Well, it’s a beautiful morning, even if it is a little cold. I wanted to go for a walk, and once the library opens, I might get a book.” The library didn’t open for another couple of hours, so her excuse was a flimsy one. “Besides, I thought I’d pop in and buy a pastry for myself.”

“Oh, well, certainly, but you could also add one to your order for the hotel. I’d be happy to throw in something extra for you.”

Elaine pursed her lips, teasing him by acting a little pouty. “It seems like you want me to stay far away from your bakery. If I wasn’t smart, I might think that you didn’t want me around.”

Shep’s mouth popped open but no words came out. Elaine felt a little bad for putting him on the spot, since she knew that banter was not his thing. The other customers had already left the shop, and out of the corner of her eye, Elaine could see Iris grinning quietly.

Elaine chuckled inwardly. Iris seemed to be her cheerleader during all her interactions with Shep. Iris always seemed determined to push Shep toward interaction, especially interactions with Elaine.

“I’m joking, Shep, don’t worry.” Elaine chuckled and put her hand on his arm, letting her fingertips linger there for a moment. “And as far as pastry goes, I think I’d like an apple cinnamon scone, please. Those look absolutely mouth-watering.”

Shep smiled, looking relieved. “You got it.”

While he went to wrap up her scone, Elaine felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a text from Audrey. Elaine gasped when she read what it said and quickly slipped her phone back into her pocket. She stared into space for a few seconds, her heart hammering in her chest. Then she pulled her phone out of her pocket again and stared at the screen, her heart racing.