Claire resisted the urge to pinch herself and check if she was dreaming. “You would do that for me? You don’t even know me.”
He squeezed her hand. “Not yet, but I plan to.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Claire would have been hard-pressed to believe it at the time, but now, three weeks later, she could see that the pipes bursting in Sandcastles had a silver lining. It had opened her up to trusting Rob. That became a cornerstone of their working relationship.
Since then, Claire had worked from a small corner of Bradford Breads. Her profits were carefully listed in a ledger next to the cash register, and every Friday, Rob paid her promptly for the sales she’d made. Her regulars griped about not having their usual tables to eat breakfast at, especially if the weather outside was too dreary or blustery to sit out at the sidewalk tables. Very soon, they would have nothing to complain about.
The best part was that insurance had paid for most of the repairs. Claire didn’t have to take out a loan, and the dent in her savings wasn’t too bad either.
She’d hired Ralph that same day to begin work on the pipes. He was giving them a complete overhaul. She suspected he was giving her a break on the price. Supplying him with cookies, brownies, and cupcakes every day might have had something to do with that.
It was busy having both of them in the bread shop, but Hailey kept things running smoothly. Rob had insisted on paying her extra because it was more work. Claire didn’t argue. She knew Hailey was worth every penny.
They operated surprisingly well together, too, she mused as they strolled along the Marginal Way, a habit they’d formed while speaking of business. He loved the calming effect of the ocean every bit as much as she did. It felt less formal than dinner together—which they’d also shared several times—but the fact that they were coming up there to brainstorm joint marketing strategies for her bakery reopening in another week made the well-worn path something indefinable. Their talks were starting to feel less like business and more like dates, especially when they veered to more personal matters.
Claire still hadn’t confessed to Rob that she had been the girl he kissed so many years ago. She hadn’t worked up the courage. But sometimes, as they walked on the narrow path, their hands brushed, and she wondered, What if…?
“You know the last thing I want is to take business away from you.” Rob sounded hesitant, which jarred her back to the conversation at hand: an idea she had to integrate their two bakeries a little more.
“I know. That’s why we would exchange goods.” She paused at the bottom of the cliffside path. The wind whipped her hair in front of her eyes. She tucked it behind her ear instead and craned her neck back to look him in the eye. “I think it’s a good idea. I would make sweet breads like banana bread, chocolate zucchini bread, that sort of thing. In exchange, you give me loaves of your bread to use for sandwiches in my shop. I noticed you don’t offer drinks in yours, only bread, so customers are more likely to stay and have a meal in mine. If we put stickers on the bags saying those things come from each other’s shops, I’m sure we’ll find curious customers who travel across the road for more.”
“You already make bread,” he pointed out, his face expressionless.
“And I hate it,” she confessed. “I’ve never done a good job at it, and for the amount of work it takes, I’d rather bake a batch of croissants. I could use the bakery case space for pastries. Besides, I’ve tasted your bread. It’s much better than mine ever was.”
Was it her imagination, or was that a blush creeping up Rob’s neck?
“My daughter suggested the idea,” she added. “She says it will be good for marketing to have each other’s products so integrated in our shops.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “I’d like to meet Tammi someday. She sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders.”
Claire beamed. “She does. She’s very smart. Takes after her mother.”
“Then I very much look forward to meeting her.” Rob spoke the words with a distracted air as he approached one of the large cedar trees dotting the path. Without warning, he took Claire’s hand in his and tugged her along after him, into a secluded area off the path next to the tree.
It was the same place he had kissed her when she was a teenager. Claire’s stomach swirled with butterflies. She bit her lower lip, uncertain.
His eyes were warm on her face. “Do you remember this place?”
“Of course. I’ve lived here my whole life.”
“Well, I haven’t, but I remember it very well.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I once kissed a very special girl in this spot.”
The butterflies swelled until they felt like songbirds. “I know,” Claire confessed.
One of Rob’s eyebrows quirked up. “Oh, so you remember now.” It was statement more than question.
“I never forgot.”
He squeezed her hand. “I never forgot either. It’s partly why I came back to Lobster Bay, hoping to find you again.”
Claire didn’t know what to say. She was afraid to breathe and ruin the moment.
“But you know, there is something I regret about that night.”
Claire stiffened. “What is that?”
“That I didn’t do this a second time.” He leaned down and kissed her.
Maxi strolled along the Marginal Way with Jane. There were only a few people on the path ahead. A group of teenagers, a family with a baby in a stroller, and a curvy woman and tall man. Did she recognize those two people?
“I think I’m going to do it,” Jane announced.
Maxi glanced sideways at her friend. “Do what?”
“Put my mom in a memory care facility. I’ve had time to visit a few now, and there’s one a couple of miles away that seems like just the fit for her. All I have to do is find a way to break it to her and hope she doesn’t hate me for it.” She paused, wrapping her arms around her middle. “Of course, she’ll forget as soon as I tell her, so at least there’s that.”
“You have to think about what’s right for both of you. It isn’t fair to you to be her caretaker, and it isn’t fair to her to have a caretaker who has her attention elsewhere half the time. Your mom might need to adjust, but I’m sure she’ll be better off this way. What did your sister think?”
Jane bit her lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I haven’t told her yet.”
Maxi faltered, almost tripping over a rock. “What? Don’t you think you should?”
Jane sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to. Not that she’ll care one way or another.”
Maxi remembered how hard it had been for Jane when Andrea had left town. Jane had idolized her older sister. “You should give Andie a chance. I know you two are estranged, but this could bring you together. I’m sure she cares.”
Jane pressed her lips together. Maxi could see the urge to contradict her welling up behind Jane’s closed-off expression, but her friend hated confrontation. She swallowed the protest. When she laid a hand on top of Maxi’s arm, stopping her, Maxi assumed it was to change the subject.
Fine. Maxi could take a hint.
“Isn’t that Claire and Rob?” Jane’s eyes almost bugged out of her head.
Maxi followed her gaze to the figures up ahead. They had caught up a bit because the pair had stepped off the path and were under the base of a big cedar tree. The man, almost certainly Rob, was kissing the woman, definitely Claire.
Maxi grinned. “It looks like they’re finally getting along.”
Jane snorted and elbowed Maxi in the side. “Maybe we should give them their privacy.”
“Only if we’re allowed to tease her about this afterward.”
Jane laughed and linked her arm through Maxi’s, steering her around to walk back the way they came. Maxi couldn’t believe she saw Claire kissing someone, maybe even for the first time since her divorce. The two bakers were perfect together. She and Jane had seen it from the beginning. Everyone should have someone to take comfort
in.
Like James? The warm feeling dimmed a bit as she and Jane walked back toward the beach. She and James weren’t what they had once been, but Maxi was taking steps to enliven their marriage. She didn’t want it to turn stale and resentful. She was making good progress on that front. At least she thought she was.
“If you’re going to put Addie in a facility, what will happen to Tides?” Maxi asked.
“I’ll still run it, I suppose. It’s a family legacy. I sort of promised Mom I would.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?”
Jane hesitated for a moment too long, giving away her misgivings. “I’d rather not, but there’s no one else. The fate of Tides is entirely on my shoulders.”
Maxi squeezed her friend, offering what support she could. “As long as you remember you don’t have to be in this alone. If you need us, you will always have me and Claire, even if she has a boyfriend now.”
They both laughed, lightening the mood. Maxi resisted looking over her shoulder to spy on the couple in question. Their lives might be changing, but that didn’t mean it was a bad thing.
Maybe it was a chance for a new beginning for all of them.
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If you liked this book, then you’ll be happy to know that the adventures Lobster Bay aren’t over. Are you wondering if Jane is really making the right decision or if her sister will come back and help her out? What about Maxi… is James really finally ready to let her realize her artistic dreams, or is he just trying to “keep her busy” so she doesn’t find out what he’s really up to?
Find out as the adventures in Lobster Bay continue:
Changing Tides (book 2)
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Join my newsletter for sneak peeks of my latest books and release day notifications:
https://lobsterbay1.gr8.com
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Also by Meredith Summers
Lobster Bay Series:
Saving Sandcastles (Book 1)
Changing Tides (book 2)
Making Waves (Book 3)
About the Author
Meredith Summers writes cozy mysteries as USA Today Bestselling author Leighann Dobbs and crime fiction as L. A. Dobbs.
She spent her childhood summers in Ogunquit Maine and never forgot the soft soothing feeling of the beach. She hopes to share that feeling with you through her books which are all light, feel-good reads.
Join her newsletter for sneak peeks of the latest books and release day notifications:
https://lobsterbay1.gr8.com
This is a work of fiction.
* * *
None of it is real. All names, places, and events are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to real names, places, or events are purely coincidental, and should not be construed as being real.
* * *
SAVING SANDCASTLES
Copyright © 2020
Meredith Summers
http://www.meredithsummers.com
All Rights Reserved.
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No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner, except as allowable under “fair use,” without the express written permission of the author.
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