Page 13 of A New Chapter in Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #7)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Terrence walked slowly through the storage rooms of The Salty Spoon, a clipboard held in his hand.

His favorite pen was tucked carefully into the pocket of his shirt, with the cap securely on.

He had never once gotten an ink stain on one of his white shirts, and he wasn’t about to start today, even though he was feeling unusually distracted.

Normally nothing could shake his focus while he was doing a routine health inspection, even if he was inspecting an establishment that he trusted, like The Salty Spoon.

But although it had been a couple of days since he’d gone to pick Vivian up on her way home from Providence, he’d been unable to stop thinking about her and the moment they’d shared.

He had been wanting to check on her and make sure that she was feeling all right, but he didn’t want to come off as overbearing.

He was also worried about coming off as over-eager.

He felt concerned that she was still feeling rattled after her accident, but he felt more concerned that she was feeling remorse after their spontaneous kiss.

He couldn’t help feeling that it was a bad sign that she hadn’t reached out since their drive back to Rosewood Beach.

For a moment, he’d allowed himself to hope that, after so many months of him being left to wonder if they could ever be more than friends, Vivian was at last open to the idea.

He’d soon shut down those thoughts, however, especially after not hearing from her.

He’d come to the conclusion that she’d simply been caught up in the moment, and he tried to be grateful that the kiss had happened at all.

With a sigh, he finished checking the last item on his checklist. The Salty Spoon was in great condition and well-run, as usual, but he did want to give them a warning about one of the lightbulbs in the back hallway, which was flickering and would need to be replaced soon.

He went back out to the front of the restaurant to go over his results with the owner. She was a friendly woman who immediately made a note about the lightbulb and offered him a complimentary Reuben sandwich.

Terrence accepted the sandwich gratefully, along with a portion of fries, and he ate his meal at one of the little tables near the front of the restaurant. Even then, his thoughts kept hovering around Vivian and the kiss that they had shared.

Once he’d left The Salty Spoon, he made his way over to the general store to pick up a few things.

Since he’d run into Vivian there a few times before, he couldn’t help hoping to run into her again.

He kept telling himself that was silly and to not get his hopes up, but he involuntarily looked for her around every corner as he made his way to the general store.

Once he stepped inside the familiar, sweet-smelling building, he was delighted to see that the general store had started carrying his favorite pastry, snowballs.

He used to have to walk to a nearby convenience store to buy them, but now he would be able to buy them there along with his usual groceries and tools.

He paused for a moment in front of the display of baked goods and smiled.

Snowballs always made him think of a night at The Lighthouse Grill that he’d shared with Vivian, when Jacob Dorsey was fixing an emergency issue with the air vents and he and Vivian had wanted to be on hand in case something went wrong.

He’d offered her snowballs, since he’d just gone to pick some up, and it had been a fun time of talking with her and getting to know her.

That was when he’d first begun to get a sense of how worthy of admiration she was, and when she’d begun to wear down his persnickety shell with her friendly, vulnerable attitude.

He realized, as he stood there reliving the memory, that he missed her. It had only been a couple of days since he’d seen her, but he felt a strong desire to talk with her and see her face.

I’ll need to speak to her at some point, he thought, shaking his head. I want to ask her what that kiss meant. But I need to go into that conversation without the expectation of being anything more than friends.

He continued to look for Vivian as he walked around the general store, purchasing a few other items in addition to the box of snowballs. He didn’t see her inside, however, and as soon as he’d left the general store, he considered making his way over to The Lighthouse Grill.

He hesitated on the street corner for a few moments, feeling torn.

Finally, he decided against it. He and Vivian were friends, and they lived in a small town together.

They would talk eventually about what had happened between them, but he didn’t want to rush her into the conversation before she was ready for it.