“I…I don’t know.” Her voice wasn’t any louder than a breath. “I still want to go back to Paris. I don’t think it’s fair to you to not be honest about that.”
He rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “Thanks for your honesty.” He sighed and dropped his hand. “I have to go. Ella is expecting me over at Essentially Ella’s in a few minutes. But we need to talk more about that soon.” Stepping away felt like he had torn himself into two pieces.
“I’d like that.”
He slid into his jacket and stepped toward the door.
“Wait!” Robin came around from the display case and slipped something into his pocket. “A treat for later. I know it’s not your regular day to help me out, but will you come and help me with the Adamses’ anniversary cake on Sunday?”
Heat flooded him. “You betcha. I definitely will.”
Outside, the snow still fell in tiny flakes.
He pedaled toward Essentially Ella’s, his thoughts a tangled mess.
He was at a crossroads. Should he sign on with Tucker Newman and become a high-stakes smoke jumper? The alpha male in him stood to attention when he thought about this path. And if Robin really was going back to Paris, he needed something to do where he didn’t drive by the bakery every day and think about what might have been.
There was a tug in his spirit toward Deep Haven. He pictured himself staying. Really building a life here, joining in instead of remaining on the sidelines.
Not to mention whatever was developing with Robin. He was reluctant to leave her, to ask her to wait or to leave the business that meant so much to her. And what about his volunteer hours at the youth center? Those kids meant a lot to him.
But what kind of job was there for him here?
All he knew was truck driving and odd jobs. Those things were fine, a great career even, for others. But he was searching for something more. Something meaningful.
What would God call him to?
He steered his bike up to the building housing the Footstep of Heaven and Essentially Ella’s. The house used to be a home and now had been converted into two commercial spaces. The bookstore occupied one half and the soap shop the other. Ella Vassos used to live above her shop before she married her husband, former playboy and millionaire Adrian Vassos. The two had built a home nearby and, as far as he knew, the apartment over the store was currently empty.
Walking into Essentially Ella’s was a new experience each time. Ella made most of her product in the back room, and whatever scent she was working with permeated the air. Some days it smelled like the ocean, some days like the piney woods of the north. Today, she must have been working on a Valentine’s Day product, because a distinct scent of rose-and-chocolate drifted over him.
Ella came out from the back room, wiping her hands on a towel. “Ah! Sammy. Good to see you. I have the delivery boxed up right here.” She rested a hand on a large box on the counter. “Is this too big for your bike?”
“Nope. That will fit fine.” He thought about the construction supplies he’d strapped on for Robin and bit back a smile. He’d loved the look on her face when she realized he’d carried all of that on his bike. “Straight to Pet Haven Veterinarian Clinic? Or do you want it delivered to Lena’s home?”
“The clinic please. Thanks for doing this. I’m so swamped I barely have time to make dinner, let alone deliveries.” Ella reached up and secured her blonde hair into a ponytail. “How are you these days?”
“I’m doing fine. Can’t complain.” He lifted the box off the counter. “Need me to drop anything off at the post office?” Along with her storefront here in Deep Haven, Ella ran a web store for her product.
“Adrian took that for me yesterday.”
“Did I hear my name?” Adrian came out from the workroom at the back of the store, his long hair pulled back, an apron over his dress shirt and chinos. The apron readMake Soap Not War.
“I was just saying you went to the post office yesterday.” She turned back to Sammy. “Thanks for taking this to Lena. I wasn’t going to make it there today, and I know she has clinic hours right now. All those prospective clients.” Ella smiled.
Adrian put an arm around Ella. “When I was at the post office I heard that someone donated all the funds to buy costumes for the community theater’s spring play.”
Sammy stilled. His hands heated.
Ella smiled up at her husband. “I accused him of buying them since I had told Adrian about the need last week when I came back from practice. But he swears it wasn’t him.”
Adrian threw his hands in the air. “Why would I come home and tell you about it like that?”
She winked at him. “Maybe your ego needed a boost.”
“Babe.”
“Okay, fine. It’s just hard to picture other people here in Deep Haven having the kind of money to just drop on something like that.” Ella looked to Sammy as if to have him confirm her thoughts. He was saved from offering an opinion as Adrian offered one of his own.
