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“Half the coffee-cart proceeds?” Art asked, coming down from the snug, where he’d been sharing a table with Viv, each focused on their own work, while I took care of some paperwork. The teen followed him down the stairs, eyeing us with an unreadable expression.

“Nae! Half ownership of Hame & Away!” Shona growled. “I told them right where they could put their contract. Sent them packing.” She rounded on me, and I flinched at the intensity of her fury. “And it’s all thanks to you!” she cried.

“I’m… sorry?” I stammered, resisting the urge to throw my hands up to protect myself.

“Och! Nae! Dinna be sorry. If it wasnae for ye, I’d have signed that contract! Yer words kept echoing in my head so I read it three times over. I owe ye! Coffee fer life!”

I laughed. “That’s not necessary. It was just a hunch. But what are you going to do about the cart?”

Shona shrugged and made a disappointed face. “I guess I’ll have tae drop the idea. I don’t have the funds to buy the used cart I found.”

Viv cleared her throat and shied back when we all looked at her. “What about a microloan?”

Shona frowned. “A what?”

“Oh, I’ve heard of those!” Art said enthusiastically.

“I read an article about it for school. They’re mostly for women starting small businesses. You have to write up a business plan and a bunch of people lend you a few dollars each until you reach your goal. Then you pay those people back a few dollars at a time when you can spare it.”

“Och!” Shona’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Is that for real?”

Viv shrugged. “That’s what the article said.”

“Ye’re amazing, too! Coffee for life fer ye as well!” Shona cried, clasping her hands together. “I’ll report back, but this could be the answer!” And with that, she was gone as quickly as she’d arrived.

“That was really cool of you, Viv,” Art said, patting her shoulder.

Standing a little taller, she turned to go back to her computer, but not before I caught her proud grin.

“That meant a lot to her,” I murmured to Art, leaning in so she wouldn’t hear me.

“What?” he asked, looking perplexed.

“That you noticed her contribution and acknowledged it,” I said. “It makes a difference, you know?”

He studied my face for a moment. “Thank you for pointing that out. I appreciate it.”

Stretching up on the tips of my toes, I placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “You’re a good man, Arthur Winslow,” I whispered into his ear.

“So you’ve said before,” he replied, grabbing me and pulling me into a firm hug before I could move away. “And you,” he said, kissing my forehead tenderly, “are an amazing woman, Margaret MacIntosh. I love watching you in action.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning.

“I mean what you did with Shona today, and with Viv right now. You have a real gift, you know?” He nodded thoughtfully as he held my gaze, his eyes shining with even more pride than he’d just bestowed on Viv.

My heart thumped once hard in my chest. I should tell him. Right now. If ever there was a moment, this was it. I opened my mouth and snapped it shut. Or I could test the waters a bit to see how he might react. Then I’d know how to best present it.

Tut, tut, child, Grandma chided from her favorite spot on the shop counter, her cigarette dangling loosely from its absurd holder, over an inch of ash hanging precariously off the end. Did the poor man not just tell you not to manage him? Gravity won the battle over the ash, and she vanished, cursing under her breath as she brushed it off her royal-blue cocktail dress.

“I’m just observant,” I said. “And I like to help people when I can.”

Art shook his head. “It’s so much more than that. You really see people. It’s amazing to watch. You spot things in people that they don’t always know about themselves. And you’re never shy about telling them, but you do it in such a way that they don’t get defensive or upset.” He grinned at me and kissed the tip of my nose. “It’s just one of the many things I adore about you.”

My heart thumped hard again for a completely different reason as he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me gently.

“I see you too, Meg MacIntosh. Maybe not as clearly as you see others. But I see how strong and smart you are. Your intuition goes far beyond what I entirely comprehend, but I don’t need to understand how you do it to know it’s incredible, and I’m a lucky, lucky man because I get to witness your magic firsthand.”

My eyes widened. He meant it figuratively, but maybe telling him the truth about my abilities would be easier than I feared.