It's dangerous to jump to conclusions. Just when you think you have it all figured out, love can take you by surprise
Excerpt
One Tuesday morning in the middle of July, Jo Ferguson moved the spatula half an inch to the right in the window of "Essential Kitchens" and stood back to admire the effect. Her cousin, Mary, had called the display "Summer in Tuscany," and Jo had to admit it looked good. The bright sunny blues, yellows and reds of the ceramics were enough to tempt anyone to try their hand at grilled meats and luscious salads. Anyone but Jo of course.
It was nine thirty in the morning. The early coffee drinkers had gone and the shoppers hadn't yet arrived. Jo perched on a stool at the coffee bar and pulled out her file. There had been ten people in this morning. Barely enough to cover the cost of the coffee, let alone the electricity, maintenance and the thousand other things that drained money from the business.
She tucked her hair behind her ears, settled her glasses firmly on her nose, pulled out her calculator and began to make notes on a fresh sheet of paper. Unless she was much mistaken this place was just not viable. Mary had asked her to do a business assessment during her summer visit, and so far it didn't look good. She would never get another business loan unless the figures picked up.
Jo looked up at the sound of the musical chimes hung above the door. A tall man stood in the doorway looking around hesitantly. He looked to be somewhere in his thirties, just a few years older than Mary and Jo. Jo knew only too well how intimidating the rows of utensils and pots and pans could be. She pushed her papers aside and slipped off the stool.
"Good morning," she said with a sympathetic smile.
"Good morning," he replied. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and gave a funny kind of shrug. "I'm looking for a book about cooking."
This she could do. She called up the marketing strategies she'd studied in school but never really used, because she'd always worked behind the scenes. Mary had to have a hundred books in her racks. This guy hadn't ask for anything specific, so probably didn't know exactly what he wanted. He wouldn't know Jo had no idea what she was talking about.
"I can certainly help you there," she said. "Anything in particular?" She made a couple of quick mental assumptions and moved to stand beside the "One pot meal" section. That's where Mary had told her to start if she ever wanted to learn to cook.
As he took a couple of steps towards her, Jo couldn't stop her eyes from doing a quick tour. He was tall, well built. His jeans were worn but clean and his blue shirt was rolled at the cuffs to show strong, tanned forearms. A small gold stud glittered in one ear. His hair was dark, perhaps a little long, but well cut. He looked--good. There was no other word for it. She felt a little tick of interest.
"Actually, I wanted something for a child." He smiled at her and his dark eyes crinkled at the corners. He had the most amazing eyes. She swallowed the little nudge of disappointment and made herself smile back.
