Dogwood Hill

On the drive back to New York, he returned a slew of unanswered calls from his former teammate Frankie Losada, who’d been leaving messages for the past couple of days.

“What’s up?” Aidan asked when the call connected.

“Well, when I first called, it was to talk you into going to the big opening-night party at a new club in SoHo. A-list all the way. I figured we’d meet some very sexy ladies. When I called again, it was to tell you that model you used to date, Donatella, was asking about you. The last five times were to try to figure out why you weren’t taking my calls. It’s not like you to fall off the radar.”

Aidan smiled at the evidence of Frankie’s never-ending quest for pretty women and a front-of-the-tabloids social life. Aidan had rarely been interested in that scene. When he had shown up, it was usually because Frankie, who protected his blind side on the field, had twisted his arm.

“I told you I was going down to Maryland to look into a coaching job.”

“At some backwoods school that hasn’t won a game in how long? Five years or something?” Frankie scoffed. “I thought you had to be joking.”

“Not joking, Frankie. I took the job.”

His friend fell silent, then said, “Man, I think you need to take Coach up on that offer to get you counseling. That knee injury did something to your head.”

“I do not need counseling,” Aidan said. “I need to work. I need to feel as if I’m doing something worthwhile.”

“New York is chock-full of worthwhile causes,” Frankie argued. “Why do you think we’re up to our eyeballs in appearances when we aren’t at practice or playing games? Coach is all about good deeds.”

“My celebrity ended the day my career ended,” Aidan reminded him. “When I’m not throwing winning touchdowns, I’m just some normal guy who used to play ball.”

“Are you having some kind of pity party? Do I need to get you back out on the town, set you up with a new woman to prove you’re still the man here in the city?”

“Look, I’m on my way back to the city to pick up my stuff. How about dinner tonight? You can see for yourself I’m perfectly rational.”

“Dinner’s good. Want me to give Donatella a call, invite her along?”

“Only if you want to date her,” Aidan said adamantly. “I’m not interested in going down that road again.”

“Up to you, man, but she is h-o-t, if you know what I mean.”

“I always know what you mean,” Aidan said, his own thoughts going to a little blonde chatterbox, who was hotter without trying than Donatella ever dreamed of being. “See you tonight. I’ll call for a reservation at Luca’s.”

“Hot damn!” Frankie said. “I love that place. You can’t move without bumping into a real babe.”

“I like the food,” Aidan said.

“You keep telling yourself that,” Frankie said. “You might talk all noble, but you like the women just as much as I do.”

There had been a time, Aidan thought, when that had been true, right up until he’d realized how shallow many of them were. Not a one could hold a candle to Liz. Her presence in Chesapeake Shores was like a huge signing bonus, though he had a hunch he’d have to work awfully hard to earn her affection. And with his plan to stick around for only a year, maybe it would be best if he didn’t even try.

* * *

Two weeks later, Aidan had moved his belongings into a one-bedroom apartment overlooking Main Street. It had not escaped his notice that Pet Style was just downstairs, assuring routine encounters with Liz, who’d proven to be as disconcerting and intuitive as she was beautiful.

Now, on his second morning after settling in, he was standing by the open sliding glass doors in his living room enjoying the view across the town green and breathing in the clean fresh air. The green’s open space was surrounded by blooming beds of red tulips. He glanced into the distance and spotted Liz heading his way, juggling a purse and a couple of huge boxes. As she neared, the boxes tumbled from her arms, spilling out an assortment of pet toys. She dropped her purse in a misguided attempt to grab the boxes and, when everything scattered, a mild curse crossed her lips, immediately followed by a guilty expression and a quick look around.

Aidan grinned, set down his cup of coffee, jogged down the steps out back and around the side of the building. He reached the green before she’d picked up even half the toys. He found her cell phone several feet away in the dew-dampened grass, along with a lipstick and several brightly colored pens. He gathered them up and joined her.

She gave him a startled look. “Where’d you come from?”

“Up there,” he told her, gesturing toward his apartment and the open sliding doors that led to a tiny balcony.

“Oh, dear. You didn’t...” A blush tinted her cheeks bright pink.

“Hear you?” he said innocently.

“You did, didn’t you? I normally don’t use that kind of language. Really. I was just exasperated with myself for trying to haul all of this on foot. I should have driven to work, but it was such a nice morning, I decided to walk. I love this time of year when the air is soft and scented with spring flowers.”

Aidan continued gathering up the packages of squeaky toys and put them into the second box. “If this is store inventory, why didn’t you have it delivered to the store?”

“I did, but I ran out of time to price it yesterday. This coming weekend is the first of the season. I need to have everything on display today. Chesapeake Shores is always swamped for the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. The other store owners have told me that most of their income comes in between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when we’re crawling with tourists. This will be my first summer season, so I want to be sure I start off right.”

“Didn’t you mention that you’d opened just before Christmas?”

She nodded, then sighed. “Big mistake. I did okay over the holidays, but the winter was deadly. I should have guessed it would be, but once I made the decision to move here and open the store, I was anxious to get started. Plus, spaces on Main Street don’t come along that often. When I spotted one for sale, I grabbed it.” She shrugged. “No point in looking back, though. I just have to make this summer season count.”

“Or?”

She regarded him blankly. “Or what?”

“Will you quit? Do something else? Move away?”

She looked taken aback by the alternatives he’d mentioned. “I can’t let myself think like that. This has to work, and that’s that.”

“So failure’s not an option?”

“Absolutely not.”

He admired her determination. In an odd way, it reflected the lecture he’d given himself when he’d decided to take the coaching job. He picked up the last of the toys, then grabbed the two boxes.

“I can carry them,” she protested.

“So can I. Lead the way.”

After a momentary hesitation, she crossed the street and opened the door of her shop. Aidan took a quick glance around at the colorful array of everything from pet accessories to toys and some organic pet food. There was even a fancy Victorian-style doghouse, large enough for the adult Archie would become, in one corner.

“That is for a dog, right? It’s not a playhouse?”

Liz tilted her head slightly and studied it with a smile on her lips. “I suppose it would work okay for a toddler, but no, it’s meant for a dog. Believe it or not, it’s another one of those outrageously expensive items that seem to be selling. It’s a custom design by Mick’s nephew Matthew. I’m sure you must have met him at Sunday dinner. He’s an architect like Mick, but he started this as a fun sideline. I’m taking them on commission or he’ll custom design them for people if they want one that looks just like their home or something like that.”

“Good grief.”

She laughed. “I know. Crazy, isn’t it?”

Aidan glanced at his watch. It wasn’t yet seven-thirty, surely too early for the store to be opening.

“Do you have time for a cup of coffee at Sally’s?” he asked impulsively.