“That was quick,” Scott commented.

“I’ve had lots of practice,” Kara replied, smiling. “Selling fresh flowers is an area we’re considering expanding into more too.”

Kara set the vase in the middle of her small dining room table and took a step back to admire the bouquet for a moment. “Perfect,” she declared. “These are lovely. Thank you for giving them to me.”

Scott nodded and pulled out his phone to check the time. “Well, if you’re ready, we have reservations for seven,” he said. “I hope you like Italian; I made a reservation at Pepos.”

“I love it,” Kara replied and followed him out the front door. “Maeve only likes butter on her noodles, so I tend to eat my pasta that way too. It’ll be a real treat to have Italian food with some flavor tonight!” she added with a chuckle.

Scott laughed, and Kara smiled over at him, enjoying the joyful flutter it created in her stomach as they made their way to his car and off to the restaurant.

Chapter Thirteen

With her hands firmly planted on her hips, Jamie’s mother stood for a moment in the doorway, glaring at him before entering the room. Pulling herself up to her full height, she stopped so she was standing squarely between the oversized leather chair that Jamie was reclining in and the big-screen TV he was watching. After effectively blocking his view and ensuring that she had his full attention, she announced, “If you wanted to take Maeve outside to play for a while, I’m sure she would enjoy that.”

Jamie grimaced at her, ignoring the hopeful look on Maeve’s face as the little girl looked up from her coloring book in the corner of the room. “Maybe later,” he said. “The game is on right now. Surely there’s something else she can do for an hour or so.”

His mother pursed her lips. “She’s just three, Jamie; she’s not capable of entertaining herself for long periods of time yet. And you’re her father. I thought you told us that spending time with Maeve was one of the reasons you were thinking of moving back to Larkin Bay? If that’s the case, I’m sure you can turn off the game for a while and spend some time with her.”

Jamie rolled his eyes and took a long drink of his beer before glancing over at Maeve, whose eyes had widened as she watched the exchange. “I’ll do it later,” he replied, “after the game is over.”

“It’ll be her bedtime when the game is over,” his mother protested.

Jamie ignored her and turned his attention back to the TV. Evelyn sadly stifled a sigh and stepped over to the table to hand Maeve a few of the crayons that had rolled off its edge and onto the floor. The girl looked up at her and smiled her thanks.

Evelyn's heart melted.

“Come on, Maeve,” she said, holding out a hand, “let’s go outside and see what we can find to do together. It’s a beautiful evening for a walk.”

Maeve jumped up eagerly, took her grandmother’s hand in hers, and quickly pulled her from the room. She didn’t glance back at her father as he was watching TV, and he didn’t spare her a look, either.

Scott pulled Kara’s chair out for her and, after she was seated, placed her napkin in her lap. She smiled at the old-fashioned gesture and looked around the restaurant. “Everything looks so fancy,” she said. “I haven’t been here in so long, or out for any adult dinner, for that matter. I forgot how nice it is.”

“Where do you usually go?” Scott asked curiously.

“Usually someplace where the food is served in cardboard containers and the floors seem to be permanently sticky,” Kara replied with a grimace. “I can’t remember the last time I dined out in a place where there were candles and cloth napkins on the table.”

Scott laughed.

“I’m just going to settle back and enjoy being pampered in a real, grown-up place,” Kara said. “Thank you for agreeing to come out with me tonight.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Scott replied, taking the wine menu from the sommelier and, after checking to see if Kara preferred red or white wine, quickly ordered a bottle of a California merlot.

“Well,” Kara said to Scott brightly after another formally dressed server had poured each of them a glass of ice water and set a breadbasket along with a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the table between them. “It’s lovely here, and the waitstaff certainly seems very attentive.”

“They are. I’ve never been here, but I’ve heard only good things about it,” Scott replied.

“I’ve been here a few times, but not often. After a day of juggling Maeve’s needs and the garden center, I’m usually too tired in the evenings to even think about getting off the sofa, never mind getting dressed up and going out. And it seems most nights, if I do find the energy to go out, I usually just head down to Sullivan’s Place.”

“But if you go there, don’t you just end up working more?” Scott asked.

Kara laughed. “Sometimes, if it’s busy. I’m not that good at just sitting still, and I like to help Mark out whenever I can.”

“He seems like a great guy, and it looks like the two of you are very close.”

“We are. Part of that’s because we’re twins, and I think it’s also because of our mom passing away when we were so young. Although Mary took us in and mothered us, we always knew we couldn’t live on her goodwill forever, so we’ve worked hard to help each other become independent.”

“So Mary is your—aunt?” Scott asked, tilting his head to one side.

“No, she’s a family friend. Mom knew her when she was young. She was our babysitter for a while, and after Mom passed away, she just swooped in and took care of Mark and me until we were old enough to manage on our own. Her daughter, Rachel, was just a baby at the time, and Mary’s husband had just moved on, so I think we were a project as well as a distraction for her.”

“That must’ve been very hard on everyone.”

Kara nodded. “It was. But she was a godsend to Mark and me. I don’t think we would have made it through those first few months after Mom passed without her telling us to get up, get dressed, and go to high school.”

“She sounds like a wonderful person.”

“She is. But she wasn’t the only one. The whole town stepped in to help when Mom died. We had food delivered for years, and school supplies turned up in bundles the week before the term started, along with gift cards for new clothes and shoes.”

“That’s incredible. I grew up in the city. When my parents passed, my team reached out and I got a few phone calls. But there was no sense of community or ongoing support like you had here.”

“Yep, it's pretty unbelievable looking back on it now, really. And I don’t think it happens in many other places; that’s another reason I’m reluctant to sell the garden center to a property developer. If I did, I’d feel like I was letting the town down.”

Scott nodded. “That’s understandable. It was pretty special.”

They both studied their menus in silence for a long moment before Scott looked over at her. “You should know, Courtney did show me the offer. She wanted my opinion as her partner.”

Kara set her menu down and looked over at him.

“Honestly, I was surprised. It’s a considerable sum of money they’re offering you and Mark.”

“I know. It would allow me to give Maeve everything she could ever want—piano and dance lessons, private school, a horse—everything and anything. That’s why I haven’t asked Courtney to write the letter to turn it down yet. Part of me thinks I’d be crazy to walk away from so much money. But still, a larger part of me also feels that I owe it to the town to do just that.”

She leaned back as the server returned to the table and filled Mark’s glass with a small amount of fragrant red wine. After Scott had sampled and approved the bottle, they watched silently as the sommelier poured them both generous amounts.

Kara picked up her glass, sipped her wine, and suddenly felt shy again. Here was this gorgeous, famous man sitting so quietly and composed across the table from her. He must be wondering what he did to make things go so terribly wrong that now he was stuck having dinner with a country bumpkin like her, she thought, then straightened in her chair and frowned as she shook off the sudden insecurity.

I’m just as good as any famous celebrity.

“Isn’t it nice just to sit in such a lovely place like this and enjoy a normal conversation without being bothered every few minutes by strangers?” Scott asked her.

“Um, sorry?” stammered Kara as she set down her glass and looked over at him, her eyes widening in surprise.

“Oh no, it’s me that should be sorry,” he replied, his mouth turning downward. “When I played professional ball, a lot of people would come up to me when I was out and try to engage me in all sorts of conversations.”

“Oh?”