Abigail took a deep breath and glanced up at her friends. “You’re probably wondering what’s going on.”

“I sure am.” Roxanne looked concerned.

“But if you don’t want to talk about it, we’ll understand,” Ingrid said.

“On the other hand,” Roxanne said, “talking is very therapeutic. Venting to sympathetic listeners over a bottle of wine beats sobbing your eyes out in your lonely apartment. Just my two cents.”

“Rox has a point. And wine.”

“I don’t feel like sobbing. I feel like screaming.”

“Then come up and scream,” Roxanne said. “We can take it.”

“I won’t scream. But I wouldn’t mind venting, now that you mention it.” She locked the door and started up the stairs.

“Venting is excellent when you’ve had a fight with your boyfriend,” Ingrid said.

“Except we didn’t fight.” She might have raised her voice a time or two, but he never had.

Roxanne looked puzzled. “Then what’s going on?”

“What’s going on is that Luke, in his typically polite way, just tore my dream to shreds.”

“Damn, girlfriend.” Roxanne wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her into the apartment. “You sound pissed.”

“You would be, too, if the man you lo—” She gulped. “I mean like.”

“No, you had it right the first time. You’re in love with him.” Roxanne turned to Ingrid. “Agreed?”

“Definitely.”

Abigail sighed. “Yeah, might as well admit it. I love the jerk, which makes it all worse.”

“If he’s been a jerk to you, then he’s dead to me.” Ingrid handed her a tumbler full of wine. “Drink up and tell us all about it.”

Over way too much wine, Abigail explained her great idea and Luke’s immediate dismissal of the concept. “I offered him a full partnership and he didn’t even have the courtesy to say he’d think about it. Or the good sense. It’s a great offer, right?”

“It’s a great offer.” Ingrid refilled her wine glass. “But—”

“But he can’t see that! I know!”

“He already has a business, though,” Roxanne said.

Ingrid nodded. “That’s what I was going to say.”

“But he’s just starting it. It’s not like I’m asking him to give up something he’s thoroughly into.”

Roxanne picked up her wine glass. “I’m probably the wrong person to comment. I love being a sole proprietor. I can’t imagine taking on a partner or worse yet, agreeing to be a partner in someone else’s business.”

“I can see how you’d feel that way, but Luke already acts kind of like a partner in my business. We’ve worked together for several weeks, now.”

“Not quite the same as being co-owners.” Roxanne took a sip of wine.

“Maybe not, but I think it would work out well for both of us. Instead he said it wasn’t right for him and wasn’t right for me, either. How would he know?”

Ingrid swirled the wine in her glass. “Maybe I had the wrong idea about why you hired him. I thought he was supposed to offer guidance so you could get a better handle on running the business.”

“Well…yeah, but if he’s really good at that part, and I’m really good at the baking, then—”

“Sweetie, that’s short-term thinking.” Roxanne put down her glass and leaned forward. “This may sound morbid, but what if he agreed to be your partner and then something happened to him?”

Her insides twisted.

“I can see you hate the thought and I don’t blame you. But delegating the business side to someone else leaves you vulnerable. You’d likely lose your bakery, too, because you wouldn’t know how to run it by yourself.”

She stared into her wine glass. She of all people knew that life was unpredictable. Dealing with her grief after her parents’ death had been hard enough. Handling the details of wills and probate had been worse, in a way. It had dragged on for five long years because until then she’d kept herself blissfully ignorant of such matters.

Before Luke had come into the picture, her business had been in dire straits for the same reason. She’d embraced blissful ignorance and made herself vulnerable.

His advice and support had helped turn things around, but…Roxanne had a point, damn it. Which meant Luke might have one, too. Now there was a bitter pill.

She glanced up at Roxanne. “The thought of creating a spreadsheet gives me hives.”

“I’d offer to teach you, but I think you’d learn faster using the book I have. The explanations are super simple.”

“Could I please borrow it for a little while?”

“You bet.”

* * *

A funny thing happened the next morning when Abigail took Roxanne’s book down to her office. Creating a spreadsheet on her computer gave her a thrill. She and Luke had organized her receipts into neat manila envelopes and she brought a stack of those down.

Entering data took concentration and she messed up a few times, but Roxanne’s book helped her fix her mistakes. She hated to admit it, but turning the paper receipts into something she could scan at a glance was sort of cool.

She worked all day and past her usual bedtime. The following day she used any spare moments to pop into her office and continue entering data.

At closing time, Ingrid asked how things were going.

“Not too bad. I wouldn’t say this is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I can tell. But I think it’s great that you’re diving in.”

She took a deep breath. “I need to. Until I talked with you guys, I just wasn’t getting it. This is my business, which means keeping track of the finances. I can’t hand that off.”

“No, you can’t.” Ingrid gave her a hug. “Just remember that Roxanne and I are there for you if you need us.”

“I know you are and that’s awesome. But I need to climb this mountain by myself.”

“I understand.” She hesitated. “What about Luke?”

“I’m still thinking.”

“Gotcha. See you tomorrow, then.” She grabbed her coat and left.

Luke. Abigail’s chest tightened. She missed everything about him. He had the best smile.

And the best laugh. It could be either happy or toe-curling sexy depending on his mood. Sometimes he was teasing and sometimes tender. His joy when he’d found out Delilah would stay with him had been…epic.

Then there was Delilah. That cute face, those expressive eyes. Her enthusiasm for life.

What to do about Luke? Nothing for now. She had data to enter. Once again she worked past her usual bedtime and again throughout the day on Tuesday.

After the bakery closed, she got a call from the hardware store. Delilah’s tag was ready. She’d completely forgotten ordering it.

She picked up the red metal heart and then stood in the hardware store staring at it and blinking back tears. Delilah’s name was engraved on the front and Luke’s name and number were on the back.

She’d intended it to be part of a Valentine’s gift—a big heart-shaped oatmeal raisin cookie for Luke and an identification tag for Delilah. He’d talked about getting her one so she’d never be lost again. Now what to do with it? Tucking it in her pocket, she went back to Pie in the Sky.

That night she finished the data entry. She printed it out, two copies for added peace of mind. It was in the computer and on a backup drive. After all that work, she didn’t want to lose a single digit.

Triumphant, she held the printed version in her hand. She’d done it, by God. She’d climbed the mountain and taken control of her finances. It was a huge victory.

And hadn’t Luke promised it would be? Hadn’t he said she’d be happy once she’d accomplished this?

He’d been right. And she’d been wrong. Humbling, indeed. Her misplaced anger had created the divide that separated them. Owning up to that wouldn’t be easy. She sighed. One challenge down, one to go.

Valentine’s Day dawned clear and cold. The shop was crazy busy with all hands on deck, but she made sure that sales were recorded and inventory tracked. The new regime was in place. Ingrid’s Love at First Sight coffee drink brought in a boatload of money.

Abigail gave Doug and Yolanda big hugs at the end of the day and sent them home. Then she collapsed into a bistro chair across from where Ingrid was sitting with two mugs of Love at First Sight coffee.

“Because we deserve it.” She raised her cup. “To you, Abigail.”

“To you, Ingrid.”

“Roxanne and I are going over to the Guzzling Grizzly for the Valentine’s bash tonight. Want to come?”

“No, thanks.”

“I’m just curious. Did you get Luke a gift?”

“I got Delilah a gift.” She described it.

“Aw! That’s precious. You need to take it over there. Doesn’t have to be today, I guess.”

She gazed at her friend. “I think it does. I think it’s time for this girl to admit she’s been wrong.”

Ingrid went into spasms of joy. “Drink your coffee and get out of here, then. But what are you giving Luke? I mean, aside from the obvious, lots of nookie.”

“I’ll show you.” Leaving the table, she went into her office and came back with the heart-shaped bakery boxes they’d special-ordered because they looked so classy.

“Bakery items are always a hit.”

“It isn’t a bakery item.” She opened it and showed Ingrid the contents.

“Oh, my God, you do know that man. Okay, now leave, leave right now. I’ll finish up here.”

“Okay. Thanks.” She hurried upstairs to fetch the tag and hopped in her SUV. What if he wasn’t home? She could text him. No. She wouldn’t have the slightest idea what to say in a text.

The drive seemed to take forever, but at last she pulled up in front of his house. Smoke drifted up from the chimney. He was home.

Delilah’s bark sounded from inside the house and he came out on the porch with her by his side. He was so beautiful she teared up. They were both beautiful. She’d almost blown her chance at something wonderful.

When she climbed out, Delilah dashed toward her, tongue out, tail going a mile-a-minute. Luke called her back, but she paid no attention.

Abigail tucked the box under her arm and crouched down. “I’ve missed you, girl.” Her voice was a little wobbly as she stroked the dog’s silky head. “Missed you so much.”

Then she stood and faced the man standing on the porch. He hadn’t bothered to put on a jacket. He had to be cold, but he held his ground.

As well he should. She walked toward him, Delilah prancing by her side. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

He didn’t respond, but his gaze locked with hers. She couldn’t read it.

“You were right.”

He cleared his throat. “About what?”

“Me taking control of my own finances, my own business.” She climbed the steps and held out the box. “This is for you. You can keep it or throw it in the fire. I have another copy plus a backup on my computer.”

He took the heart-shaped box and opened it. His eyes widened. Then he pulled out the printed sheets. “You did this?”

“Yep. Roxanne loaned me her book, but I did it all myself.”

“Congratulations.”

She could read his expression, now. His eyes glowed with warmth and…dared she believe something more? “Thank you. I, um, have something else, something for Delilah.” She took the tag out of her pocket, put it in her palm and held it out to him.

He glanced down. His throat moved and he looked up again. “Abby…”

“I know you were thinking of getting one, but if this isn’t right, or you’ve already—”

“I haven’t.” He sounded a little hoarse. He tucked the spreadsheets back in the box, took the metal tag and put that in before closing the flaps. “Do you want to come in?”

“That would be nice.”

He opened the door and waited for her to go through. Delilah followed, beside herself with excitement.

After walking in, he set the box on the coffee table before turning to her. “Before you say anything else, there’s something you need to know.”

Her stomach churned. He looked so serious. Had her behavior ruined what they had, after all? Was he going to ask her to leave? Well, she would, but she wouldn’t give up hope. They’d had something great and they could still—

“I needed time to think, but if you hadn’t come out here tonight, I was planning to come to you on Saturday.”

“Oh.” To break up with her for good? Anxiety made her tremble.

“I don’t want to be your business partner, but—” He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m hoping we can still build a life together.”

She stared at him at bewilderment. He wasn’t angry with her. Instead he—

“I love you, Abby.”

Her vision blurred and she pressed a hand to her chest. She was shaking so bad she didn’t know if she’d be able to get the words out.

But she had to. He needed to hear them. ”I…l-love y-you, t-too.”

“Thank God.” In two strides, he was there and his mouth covered hers.

That was all it took for her world to make sense—the warmth of his love, the shelter of his arms…and the magic of his kiss.