Page 47 of Moonlit Harbor Nights

Vivian shuddered. “You would be the kind of person who eats bran muffins.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I will give you a bite of this bran muffin, and then you will understand. It’s delicious.”

She smiled at him, imagining him handing her a bite of the muffin. Then her imagination quickly shifted to a picture of the two of them out on a date together, and she felt her chest flood with jitters.

“I’d better order,” she said breathlessly.

“Yes, don’t let me keep you.” He nodded gallantly.

Vivian stepped up to the counter, feeling suddenly fluttery and skittish. She ordered the brownies for Alexis, and then nearly forgot to ask for her honey lavender latte. She glanced at Terrence as she walked over to the end of the counter, where the drinks were put out.

He reminds me of someone from another time,she thought.I can’t say that I dislike it. He’s such a gentleman. But—he’s so—well, I mean bran muffins! Really.

Terrence got his bran muffin and brownies and came over to Vivian.

“Once you have your latte,” he said, “could we sit together for a moment?”

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, but she nodded. His question did nothing to soothe her jittery nerves. “Um, certainly. I’ll just—oh!” At that moment, her latte was placed onto the counter. She picked it up and turned back to Terrence with a smile. “Where would you like to sit?”

“How about over there in the corner?” he suggested.

Although the whole interior of Seaside Sweets Bakery was decidedly charming, the corner was one of the less attractive places to sit, and Vivian wondered why Terrence wanted to sit there.

Does he have some kind of weird preference for darker spaces?she wondered, and then scolded herself.Don’t jump to conclusions, Vivian. Not being sure how you feel about him isn’t an excuse for imagining the worst.

They went over to the corner table together and sat down. Terrence held his bag of pastries awkwardly on the table in front of him, and Vivian took a sip of her latte. She was momentarily distracted by the sweet, velvety taste, but then Terrence cleared his throat as if preparing to make a speech.

“What did you want to speak with me about, Terrence?” she asked gently as she set down her drink. She could feel her heart beating faster.

“I have, um, something I need to say to you.” He cleared his throat again. “I hesitated before bringing this up with you, but I feel that I need to broach the subject. And us both being here together this morning made it all feel like kismet.”

She cleared her throat, wondering what on earth he was going to say. Was he about to ask her out on a date? If so, he was extremely nervous about it. He looked decidedly unhappy.

“What is it?” she prompted, when his pause had gone on too long.

“I believe that you should not trust Alan Gifford.”

Vivian froze. She blinked at Terrence, wondering if he had really said what she thought he’d said. She wanted to blurt out, “That is absolutely none of your business, Terrence,” but she held her tongue.

“Why would you say that?” she asked slowly. She wondered if Terrence simply didn’t like Alan because they were both trying to win Vivian’s affection.

Terrence picked up a napkin and dabbed at his forehead. “I know it seems like a far-fetched… concern, but I know that Alan is a good friend of Judd McCormick. Alan spends a lot of time with Judd at the golf course and at the McCormick brewery as well. And!” He leaned forward, his tone low and conspiratorial. “Don’t you think it’s a bit strange that he’s been inquiring so frequently about the pub’s secret sauces? I mean, he comes to The Lighthouse Grill so often. He never used to go there, and now all of a sudden he acts as though it’s his favorite restaurant.”

Vivian squared her shoulders, immediately feeling defensive.

Does Terrence not realize that Alan is interested in me?she thought.Or does he

just think that Alan’s interest isn’t reason enough for him to be stopping by more often?

She felt offended that Terrence didn’t seem to think that she was interesting or attractive enough to warrant a man coming by the pub more often just to spend time with her. At the back of her mind, she knew that Terrence himself had been coming to the pub more often, quite possibly just to spend time with her, but she ignored those half-formed thoughts and remained indignant.

“Alan and I are good friends,” she said, putting the emphasis on the word “good” rather than “friends.” “He comes by the pub to talk with me. Just because he’s interested in the sauce he likes so much and because he’s friends with someone who has a grudge against my family doesn’t mean that I can’t trust him. Plenty of good people are friends with people who have done hurtful things—he probably has no idea what Judd has tried to do to the pub.”

Terrence cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “I didn’t mean to say anything offensive, Vivian, really I didn’t. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

Vivian shook her head. “Like you were looking out for me when you nearly made us cancel our Christmas event because of some stupid heating vents?”

Terrence’s jaw dropped and remained open. The small oval made by his mouth made him look a little bit like a startled fish.

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