He nodded.“Apparently when I said I was headed to the cafe, it cemented the fact that you and I are an item.”He grinned.“So if the rumor about us is true, that we’re dating, would you like to go out with me? Dinner?”
“I…uh…”She hadn’t been expectingthatquestion. And here he was giving her all this help. She couldn’t turn him down, could she? She bit her lower lip. Did she want to go out with him? Dating had been the furthest thing from her mind for ages. But now…what could one little date hurt?
“I can see your mind racing. It’s okay if you don’t want to. I just thought—”His smile dimmed.
“No, I’d love to.”
“Excellent. When? My schedule is wide open.”
“Wednesday night?”She’d have to wrap up early here, and she was crazy busy, but a night off with just adult conversation and no spreadsheets sounded pretty darn good to her.
“Wednesday it is. Where would you like to go?”
“If you don’t mind casual, I love going to Jimmy’s out on the end of the wharf. It’s right on the water. They usually have some kind of live music.”
“Sounds great. Can I pick you up? Here? Or at your house?”
“How about I just meet you there?”She wasn’t sure she wanted Emily to know she was going out, though she wasn’t planning on hiding it. Not exactly.
“I can do that.”He stood.“And I’ll get you that quote you asked for.”
“Thanks, Austin. For everything you did today. For your help.”
“My pleasure.”He crossed the floor with long strides and disappeared out the door.
She sat and stared at the door after he left. A date. Was she ready for a date? Her life was so impossibly busy now with the cafe, the expansion of Parker’s, and Emily.
She pushed up from the table. But it was one little date. What could it hurt?
Chapter 7
That evening Austin sat with Jesse on the wide porch of The Cabot Hotel. A breeze pushed the humidity away, and they sat overlooking the bay, watching the boats sail past. They’d both grabbed beers at the bar and had come outside to enjoy the view. Austin leaned back in the Adirondack chair—surprisingly comfortable—and stretched out his legs.“This is nice.”
“It is. We have a few bars here in Moonbeam, but sitting outside like this is more…peaceful. And since I didn’t have a dinner cruise tonight, it’s nice to take a little break.”Jesse took a sip of beer.“So, did you help Livy today?”
“I did. We set up a TalkTime page for Parker’s and one for Sea Glass Cafe.”
“Oh, she decided on a name for the cafe, huh?”
“She did. But she swears the town will call it Parker’s Cafe.”
Jesse grinned.“She’s probably right.”
“And she wants a quote for me doing some work on her website. Update it. Possibly set up an online ordering system.”He frowned.“But I get the impression she doesn’t have much cash to spend.”
“Probably not. I’m sure they sank a bunch into the expansion.”
“I’d do it for free if she’d let me.”He shrugged.“I’ve got the time.”
“You always were the helper person.”Jesse shook his head.“I think you volunteered for just about everything in college. I doubt if she’ll let you do it for free, though.”
“Never hurts to help people.”
“No, it doesn’t.”Jesse nodded.
“Mr. Woods, I saw you come in. Hi, Jesse.”Emily hurried up to them.
“How come Jesse is Jesse, and I’m Mr. Woods?”Austin asked, smiling at the girl.
