Expecting a Miracle. Jackie Braun

that slogan. I didn’t realize it was yours. For that matter, I didn’t realize you’d worked…in advertising.”

      She got the feeling he hadn’t thought she’d worked at all. “I don’t at the moment. I left my job at Danielson & Marx four years ago.”

      “Danielson & Marx.” He whistled low. “That’s the big-time. Do you miss it?”

      “Sometimes,” she replied. She hadn’t shared that truth with anyone, even her closest friend. When others asked the same question, she told them how content she was and how busy with committees and her crowded social calendar. It was easy to tell Gavin the truth, so she continued. “I especially miss the creative process. It’s not easy to sell consumers on an idea or product with only a few words or images.”

      “I’m betting you were good at it.”

      She smiled, thinking of the four Addys she’d racked up during her relatively brief career, and admitted, “I had my moments.”

      He tucked his hands into the front pockets of his cargo shorts. “So, why did you quit?”

      She bent down and plucked a blade of grass. As she tore it into small pieces, she said, “Well, I was getting married and…and…”

      She released the last shred of grass and dusted her hands together without having completed the thought.

      “Priorities changed,” he allowed.

      Lauren nodded, although she could now admit she hadn’t been the one to change them. She’d gone along to get along. She wasn’t proud of that now.

      “Maybe you’ll get back into it at some point,” he said. “With a big agency like that on your résumé not many places would turn you away.”

      “I could do that.” Her portfolio was anything but mediocre. Lauren had been good at her job and had taken pride in her work.

      “But?” He smiled, as if he knew she had something else on her mind.

      Once again she found herself baring her soul. “What I’d really like to do is start my own agency, something that specializes in causes rather than goods and services.”

      “There’s not a lot of money in that, but then you probably know that. It sounds like you’ve given the idea some thought.”

      “I have. But it needs more,” she conceded. The idea had been back-burnered for a couple of years now, growing stale as Lauren had grown more complacent.

      “This is a good place for thinking. And when you’re ready to start out, I’m sure you have enough contacts you could probably pull that off,” he replied.

      She’d almost expected him to shoot down the idea. She had little doubt her parents and Holden would have, which perhaps explained why she’d never shared her dream with any of them.

      “Thanks.”

      Gavin’s brow crinkled. “For what?”

      “For…for letting me paint the cottage.”