“And he’s growing on you, isn’t he?” Cordelia said knowingly. “I suspected that would happen or at least I was hoping it would, so he’d stay close by.”
“Please don’t count on it, Cordelia. I’m not sure I can keep a third dog,” Liz lamented.
Cordelia immediately looked disappointed. “I would so hate it if he moved away,” she said with a sigh, then forced a smile. “I suppose placing him with the right family matters more than whether I get to spend a little time with him occasionally.”
Seeing the older woman’s disappointment, Liz knew right then that Archie wasn’t going anywhere. “We’ll take it one day at a time. Unless the perfect owner comes along, he’ll stay with me.”
Cordelia gave her a sly look. “Someone told me they saw him with that handsome young man, the new high school football coach. They said Archie seemed to take a real shine to him.”
Liz laughed. “He did, but Aidan can’t take on a dog right now.”
A speculative expression crossed Cordelia’s face. “I had a conversation with Nell after church the other day. Word is that you might have taken a shine to the same man. Any truth to that?”
Liz felt heat climbing into her cheeks. “Cordelia Ames, please tell me you are not going to start matchmaking, too,” she chided. “Believe me, there are more than enough meddlers in this town already.”
Cordelia regarded her with an unrepentant look. “It’s hard to say how many nudges it might take before people do what they’ve been wanting to do all along.”
Liz was about to protest that she didn’t need any nudges, at least not in Aidan’s direction, but several chattering customers came into the store. She clamped her mouth shut. Arguing with a customer, no matter the topic, couldn’t be good for business.
Thankfully, Cordelia seized on their arrival to give Liz a bright smile. “You have a good weekend, you hear. And I’ll look forward to a visit with you and Archie sometime after the holiday when you have the time.”
Liz shook her head as Cordelia left the store, clearly satisfied that her mission was complete. It was hard to say, though, if her real mission had been arranging that visit with her former pet, assuring that Archie stayed with Liz permanently or poking her nose into Liz’s business and giving her a less than subtle shove in Aidan’s direction. No matter which, Liz feared it was going to take all her concentration not to fall into the sneaky woman’s trap.
Come to think of it, with Liz already promising to keep the dog and to take him by for a visit, Cordelia was batting an impressive two for three.
After his Saturday morning run, Aidan showered, then sat on his balcony with a cup of coffee, enjoying the soft morning air. It struck him as a picture-perfect start to the holiday weekend. To lend credence to his assessment, he noted that Main Street and Shore Road were both crowded with shoppers and with locals pausing literally in the middle of the street to catch up, while drivers waited more or less patiently.
There wasn’t a parking space to be had, which made him grateful that most places he might want to go were within walking distance. Customers had been leaving Pet Style and the other stores laden down with packages. He counted that as a good sign for Liz’s business. The fact that he was suddenly interested in how the weather might impact Pet Style’s sales was a little too telling for his comfort.
At one o’clock, tired of his own company, he went downstairs to Sally’s to grab a sandwich for lunch, but the café, too, was jammed. Sally signaled to him that a booth in back was about to open up, then led the way there even before the dishes could be cleared.
“I’ll get back to you in a few minutes. Anything I can bring you to drink when I come?” she asked, her expression harried.
“Iced tea would be great,” he said.
“Sweetened?”
Aidan had forgotten that most people around here preferred it that way. “Unsweetened, if you have it.”
“Of course we do,” she said. “Hang in here. I’ll get back to you when I can. Haven’t had a day like this in months, so I’m not complaining.”
“Take your time,” Aidan told her. “I’m in no hurry.”
When she finally made her way back to him, she dropped down wearily on the seat opposite him. “Two minutes off my feet, that’s all I ask.”
He grinned. “Are you suggesting I should take my time ordering, maybe discuss the specials?”
“Smart man,” she said approvingly. “I recommend you order the crab cake sandwich with coleslaw and fries before we run out, but could you please ponder that for a few minutes?”
He laughed. “You got it.”
She studied him for a minute, then asked slyly, “Have you dropped in on Liz today?”
The question probably should have surprised him, but he’d already grown used to how fast news of relationships—real or perceived—rocketed through town. “No, why? I imagine she’s as swamped as you are.”
“Exactly. And since she’s never been through a holiday crush before, I imagine she didn’t think to bring her lunch. How about I fix her one of those crab cake sandwiches, too, and you can take it by when you leave. I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”
Aidan nodded at once, probably a little too eagerly if the satisfied expression on Sally’s face was anything to go by. “I can definitely do that,” he responded.
Sally chuckled, her expression smug. “Thought you might grab the chance. I had to see for myself if the rumors were true.”
“What rumors are those?” he asked, though it didn’t take a genius to figure it out.
She gave him a pitying look as she stood up. “Oh, please. Don’t try that innocent act on me. I’ve been around too long. I’ll get right on those specials. You can take your order next door while you’re at it and vacate this booth so I can cram in more customers—how’s that?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Aidan said. “I’ll wait for you at the register.”
She patted him on the shoulder. “Good boy. I like a man who can take a hint.”
Maybe what she really liked, Aidan thought as he headed to the register, was a man so easily swayed into going along with her devious plans. He was beginning to see what Liz had been trying to tell him about Chesapeake Shores being a haven for well-meaning matchmakers. For the moment, though, that suited him just fine. Sally had just shoved him in a direction he’d been wanting to go all day without being willing to admit it.
* * *
Liz was trying valiantly to keep her cool as she rang up sales, answered questions and tried to guide people toward merchandise. She’d always considered herself to be decent at multitasking. With a roomful of elementary school students, she hadn’t had much choice. They, however, could be ordered into a time-out when she started to feel overwhelmed. The customers and the unruly wave of questions just kept coming. She had no choice but to keep smiling and cope.
Not that she wasn’t grateful. Today was going exactly as she’d hoped it might. She’d just had no idea how exhausting success might feel a few hours into it. Her cheeks actually ached from keeping that smile in place.
To top it off, she was starving. She hadn’t thought to bring so much as an apple with her today. Until now, she’d always had time to at least call in an order to Sally’s, then run over to pick it up. Not that she would have had two seconds to eat something today, unless it could be consumed through a straw while she was ringing up sales and putting things into uncooperative plastic bags