Summer Breeze by Nancy Thayer Read Free Book Online Page B

inexpensive tables she’d found on sale at Target or Walmart. The furniture didn’t matter to Louise; it was the displays that counted for her.
    But the furniture mattered to Bella. She loved those old elephants. When Bella was in college, she’d taken a few courses in interior design and art history, although she’d had no real idea what sort of job this might lead to. She was well aware of her father’s unspoken hope that one of his children would follow his lead and become a teacher. Her older sister, Beatrice, had married young and now had three children. Ben had gone into science, and her younger brother, Brady, also seemed a scientific type, when he didn’t seem like a typical loopy adolescent. Bella was fond of children and she worshipped her father, so in her junior year she declared her major in education and became a third-grade teacher. Teaching had been pleasant enough, but for her it wasn’t the passion that it was for others.
    On this quiet morning as she walked around the shop, she admittedto herself that her mother wasn’t as absorbed with Barnaby’s Barn as she’d been before she broke her leg. Louise had joined a bridge group and a book club; both met once a week. It had invigorated her, Louise confessed, to be with friends her own age, to discuss ideas, to use her mind at cards. She’d started collecting brochures about European cruises.
    What did that mean for Barnaby’s Barn? Bella wasn’t sure. Her mother hadn’t yet said she wanted to close it.
    Did Bella want to take it over?
    If she did, she would certainly change it. Right now it looked tired to her, outdated. The best thing about Barnaby’s Barn for Bella was that it was where she had first met Aaron Waterhouse, when he entered the store in December looking for a Christmas present for his niece.
    The bell above the door tinkled and a plump white-haired woman entered, wanting advice about a gift for her granddaughter. Bella smiled and gladly went to work.
    At noon, the bell tinkled again, and Aaron walked in. He wore khakis and a red rugby shirt and moved with his usual tightly controlled energy. “Lunch!” He held up two white paper bags.
    “Aaron, how wonderful.” Bella slid out from behind the counter to kiss him lightly. “I didn’t think I’d see you until tonight.”
    “You have to eat, I have to eat, perfect solution. Let’s sit outside.”
    “Oh …” Bella thought quickly. “The shop, the phone …”
    “We’ll sit on the bench under the tree. If a customer comes, you can go in. Take the phone with you. If it rings, answer it.”
    Bella kissed him again. “That’s what I like about you. So practical.”
    He nuzzled her neck. “Is that the main reason?”
    She allowed herself a moment’s surrender to desire, leaning against him, before pulling away. “You know it’s not.”
    Beneath an old apple tree Louise had placed a wrought iron bench; they settled there. Aaron took out his offerings and set themon the bench between them. “Cheddar with chutney. Turkey with honey mustard. How about we take half of each? Chips. Juice.”
    “Chocolate?” she asked.
    “You’ll have to wait and see,” he teased.
    They ate lunch, chatting companionably. Bella leaned back on the bench, gazing up at the pure blue sky. “I’m glad you got me out here. This is the first perfect day of summer.”
    “Summer doesn’t actually begin until June twentieth,” Aaron told her.
    “Stop that.” She slugged his shoulder in pretend irritation. “Feel the air. Look at the sky. It’s summer!”
    “Look at the flowers. The lilac bush is still blooming. And over there, peonies. Both late spring plants.” He was trying not to grin, but this was a game they played often. Aaron couldn’t help it; he had a mind that retained absolutely every fact in detail. When they played Trivial Pursuit or watched Jeopardy! , he never missed.
    Bella nudged his foot with hers. “You have no soul,” she carped, but they both knew she was lying.