Jane picked a pistachio muffin off the tray and broke it in half. “Andie said she had some kind of idea, but she wouldn’t say what it was, so I don’t know if it’s anything good.”
Claire pursed her lips. “Well, at least she’s trying to help now.”
Maxi patted Jane’s hand. “Don’t give up. Something else will come along.”
Jane sighed. “I know. It’s just disappointing.” She bit into the muffin and chewed for a few seconds. “At least I have a good website now.”
“Oh? So Mike made the website? I’ll have to check that out. He did a good job?”
“Yep. He put in everything I wanted and did it really quick too.” Jane bent down and patted Cooper’s head. “Thing is, he won’t take any payment. Just breakfast every morning at the inn.”
Claire and Maxi exchanged a look.
“He’s been coming over every morning?” Maxi leaned forward. “Tell us more.”
“There’s nothing really to tell.” Clearly Maxi thought there was more going on between her and Mike, and Jane wasn’t sure how to address that. Jane suddenly felt flustered, tongue-tied.
Luckily, Hailey saved Jane from having to answer more questions. As she carefully stepped over Cooper to top off their coffees, Maxi’s attention switched to the young single mother.
“Hailey, I was cleaning out some of the closets at home, and I found these old toys from when my daughters were kids.” Maxi rummaged in her giant tote bag, pulling out pencils, sketches, notebooks, erasers. Finally, she pulled out a little pink gift bag and presented it to Hailey. “Do you think Jennifer would like them?”
Hailey peered into the bag. “Yes, she loves dolls. That’s so nice of you to think of her.”
Maxi shrugged. “Well, it’s not like my girls are going to use them, and I hate to see them go to waste.”
Maxi’s expression was somber. Why was she cleaning out her house? Jane knew that her friend cherished the childhood memories of her kids and was surprised to see her giving things away. Though she supposed one couldn’t hold on to that stuff forever, and it wasn’t unusual for her to bring gifts for Jennifer. Maybe it helped Maxi not feel so much like her nest was empty to know that the dolls went to good use.
Maxi started putting things back in her bag, and Jane saw that as the perfect opportunity to take the focus off herself. She turned to Claire. “Did Maxi tell you what my new guest, Chandler Vanbeck, said about her sketches?”
Claire looked at Maxi. “No? Who is Chandler Vanbeck, and when did he see your sketches?”
Maxi waved her hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. They fell out of my bag when I was at Tides trying to come up with ideas for the wedding.”
“It’s not nothing,” Jane said. “Andie said that Chandler is a renowned art critic. He saw Maxi’s sketch and said it was quite good.”
Claire sipped her coffee. “Well, that’s no surprise. We all know Maxi is a fantastic artist.”
“Oh, come on! It was just a rough sketch. He was probably just trying to be nice.” Maxi tried to brush it off as if it was nothing, but Jane got this feeling that she was actually pleased and proud.
“I think you should do something with your artwork. Maybe have an art show or something. Don’t you think, Claire?” Jane turned to look at Claire, but her friend’s attention was riveted on something behind Jane. Jane turned to see Rob Bradford coming over from his bread store across the street.
“Hi, ladies,” Rob said, his kind smile lighting his face. He nodded to Jane and Maxi, and then his eyes locked on Claire as if she were the Hope Diamond. He skirted around the plants, came over to the table, and kissed her on the cheek, causing her face to turn scarlet.
“Hi, Rob. How’s the bread business?” Maxi asked.
“Pretty good. I was just going out to run some errands. Do you need anything, Claire?”
“No, thanks.”
Rob raised his brows at Jane and Maxi. “Anyone else?”
“Nope, I’m good,” Maxi said.
“Me too,” Jane added.
“Okay, I’ll leave you ladies to your coffee.” Rob walked off, hands in his pockets, whistling.
“He comes over and asks if you need errands run?” Maxi said. “Looks like things are really cooking up with him.”
