Page 76 of The Cherry Blossom Boathouse

Juniper.

Sophie’s heart stuttered. No. It couldn’t be.

She bolted upright, grabbing Luke’s discarded T-shirt and yanking it over her head as she scrambled to the window. Through the gap in the curtains, she could make out three women on the dock, phones raised as they snapped photos of her boathouse.

She squinted to make out their faces. Among them was a woman with bright purple hair.

Oh God. Sophie’s stomach plummeted. That hair was unmissable. It really was Juniper Skye.

“No, no, no.” Sophie pressed her palms against her eyes. This couldn’t be happening.

She heard the front door open downstairs, followed by the sound of Luke’s voice.

“Can I help you folks with something?”

“Oh my God, it’s the hot builder!” Juniper declared. “Can we get a selfie with you?”

Sophie groaned. It was getting worse by the minute.

“Do I know you?” she heard Luke ask.

“Oh, we’re three of Sophie’s top-tier crowdfunding backers,” Juniper replied. “We’re just here to admire the bookshop renovation!”

“Crowdfunding?” Luke asked, sounding confused.

Sophie moved faster than she knew she could, yanking on some jeans and dragging fingers through her tangled hair. She clattered down the stairs, heart in her throat, nearly tripping over Coral who was watching the proceedings with suspicious eyes.

When she arrived at the front door, the tableau before her was exactly as awful as she’d feared. Luke stood rigid on his dock, arms crossed over his chest, expression carved from granite. Facing him were three eager booklovers, all staring at her boathouse like it was a tourist attraction, completely oblivious to the tension rolling off the man in front of them.

“Sophie!” Juniper squealed, spotting her. “It’s really you…in the flesh!” She ran forward, crushing Sophie in a hug. “It looks amazing!”

Sophie forced her face into something approximating a smile. “Wow, guys. What a…surprise.”

“We were passing through on our literary road trip,” Juniper continued, “and just couldn’t resist stopping by! I hope you don’t mind the early call, we were only planning to pass by and take pics, but wow, having you here is a bonus! And your Harbor Hottie,” she added, peering shyly up at Luke, who was currently refusing to look at Sophie.

Oh no.

“How’s it all going?” Juniper asked Sophie. “Maybe we can take a sneak peak inside? I could do a TikTok live; you could get even more backers! I mean, four thousand is great, but with even more you could spruce the place up.”

“I—” Sophie began, but Juniper was already turning to Luke.

Sophie tried to catch Luke’s eye, but he still wouldn’t look at her.

“It would be great if you could appear in the live, too,” Juniper said. “The BookTok community is dying for an update and having the famous Cherry Blossom builder included would be the cherry on top! You know the post I did about being a crowdfunder got hundreds of thousands of views, Sophie? Not as many as your original post, of course. Oh, and just to warn you, you’re gonna have an army of book lovers visiting—great for tourism, no?”

Sophie glanced between Luke’s stony face and her eager backers.

“I should get to my tours,” Luke said, voice cold. “You’ve clearly got a lot to discuss with your…backers.”

“Luke,” Sophie said quietly, reaching for his arm, “I can explain—”

But he was already turning away, shoulders stiff as he strode back toward his boathouse.

“Did we come at a bad time?” Juniper asked, her smile faltering for the first time.

Sophie watched Luke’s retreating back, a hollow feeling spreading through her chest.

“No,” she heard herself say, though her voice sounded far away to her own ears. “It’s fine. Let me just…grab my keys, I can show you around.”