Page 43 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

Vivian laughed, but she didn’t question him further. “What brings you to the supermarket this morning?”

“I’m just here to buy some green juice. I find that it gives me a lot of energy.”

She grimaced. “You would be the kind of person who bought green juice.”

He laughed. “It’s quite delicious, actually. Well, if you like that sort of thing. I do.”

“Good for you.” She chuckled.

He noticed that her cart was full nearly to bursting with food supplies, which he guessed were for the pub. She didn’t have that many items in the cart, but many of them were large bags. She had bags of salt, flour, sugar, and coffee. He was pleased to note that she was buying the coffee he’d recommended to her.

“It’s a lot, isn’t it?” she said with a smile when she noticed him looking into the cart. “And if you can believe it, this isn’t even that much. I’m still going to put in a bulk order for all these same things later this week. But I wanted to restock on these items here today to ensure that we don’t run out at the pub.”

“Smart.” He nodded. “It’ll take me just a couple of minutes to buy my green juice—would you like me to help you carry your purchases into the pub?”

“That’s very nice of you, I appreciate it.” She smiled at him, and he thought he detected an added sparkle in her eyes, which made his heart lift hopefully.

He could hardly believe he was offering to help, since it would set him behind on his schedule. He might even end up being late for his first appointment. He had never been late in all his years of work. He didn’t even glance at his watch to check the time, however. He wanted to help Vivian carry her items into the pub, especially because so many of the bags she had were large and heavy.

“Did you end up finishing your inventory the other night?” he asked her as they began to walk through the store together.

She shook her head. “Almost. I meant to go back and do the last of it after our impromptu cupping, but then I got distracted.” She cleared her throat briefly.

“I’m sorry I distracted you.”

“Not at all.” She smiled warmly. “It was quite enjoyable.”

“I enjoyed it too.” He almost blurted out that he had been thinking about it while he was standing there in front of the cookie display, but he quickly thought better of it.

Vivian made her way to the register and started to check out her groceries. Terrence hurried over to the refrigerated end cap where he knew he could find the green juice he liked. By the time he’d finished paying for it, Vivian was finished with her purchases, and he walked with her to her car.

“The pub’s about a seven-minute drive from here,” Vivian said. “You still want to meet me there?”

“I do,” he said, nodding. He liked that she knew the time it took to get to the pub from the supermarket. It showed how efficient and punctual she was. “I’ll see you in seven minutes.” He winked and started toward his car, feeling a spring in his step that hadn’t been there on his way into the supermarket.

He drove to The Lighthouse Grill and met Vivian in the back parking lot by the service door.

“This shouldn’t take long with two people,” she said gratefully as he started to help her unload the groceries.

“Many hands make light work, as my grandmother used to say,” he said with a smile.

They started to carry the first load of bags into the kitchen, making their way toward the storage room. They were halfway across the kitchen when Alexis appeared, smiling broadly.

“Good morning, Mom! Hi, Terrence.”

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Vivian said, giving her daughter a sideways hug, since she only had one arm free. “You’re here early.”

“Well, I heard that we had a delivery.” Alexis’s eyes glinted mischievously.

“Really? I didn’t tell anyone I was—” Vivian started to say, and then stopped when she saw a gorgeous bouquet of flowers resting on the counter.

It was clear that was the delivery Alexis had been referring to, because the young woman practically danced over to the bouquet.

“Aren’t they lovely?” she gushed. “Such a beautiful flower arrangement.”

“They are lovely,” Vivian stammered, looking shocked. “But what are they doing here? And who are they for?”

Based on the way Vivian was blushing, however, it seemed she suspected that they were for her.

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