LITMIR.BIZ

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she was lonely and wanted me home.” Her gaze traveled around the room, then settled back on Logan. “She has plenty of friends but I’m all the family she’s got here in Vine Beach.”

      “Well, it’s nice that you’re back anyway. It takes someone special to put a career on hold for a family member.” Logan gave her a direct look. “About high school. I have to ask. Was I awful to you?”

      His question caught her off guard. It was almost as if he had changed the subject deliberately. Being ignored in high school wasn’t awful if the recipient wished she were invisible. And Logan’s claiming back then to hate skateboards was fair since he had been hit enough times as they fell from the locker above.

      So she said, “No,” as she twirled the drink’s pink paper umbrella with her index finger.

      “Good.” Relief punctuated the statement. “On the way here I saw kids dressed like they were up to no good. Reminded me of myself at that age. Not a good feeling to know I was one of them.”

      One of them?

      Pippa bristled at the statement she’d heard far too often in relation to the kids at the skate park, kids who loved Jesus but looked different. As she once did.

      “What do you mean exactly?” she asked carefully.

      “I’ve spent a whole lot of years apologizing for the jerk I was back then.”

      Not the answer to her question. “I would hate to be judged by what I did in ninth grade. Or what I looked like.” The latter was a carefully aimed dig at his assumption that kids’ clothing somehow reflected their hearts.

      “You look like sunshine right now,” he said, then glanced away. “Sorry, that sounded really stupid. Anyway,” he added abruptly, “I appreciate the invitation today. I don’t usually go to these things, but your grandmother can be persuasive.”

      The oddest sensation came over Pippa as she watched Logan Burkett’s obvious discomfort. Apparently anyone could feel out of place given the right set of circumstances. Even the most popular boy at Vine Beach High School.

      The silence between them lengthened until Pippa felt compelled to fill it. “I don’t know too many people in Vine Beach anymore. Just a few old friends are still here. Most have moved on.”

      “Seems that way.”

      Another conversational dead end. Pippa’s eyes swept the crowd and then stalled on the town veterinarian and his wife, both good friends since her teen years. Eric made no pretense of not watching the two of them, although he seemed more concerned with Logan and what he might be doing here. Just as it appeared the veterinarian was headed her way, Granny waylaid him and they began conversing.

      Pippa took a sip to fortify her dry mouth only to somehow manage to jab the end of the pink paper umbrella up her nose. With the back of her hand, Pippa swatted it away and saw it spiral out of sight to land beside a spray of orchids and a stack of Granny’s books.

      Thankfully Logan seemed too preoccupied with the crowd milling around them to notice. Still, heat flamed her cheeks as she took a healthy gulp of juice.

      By the time she managed a somewhat neutral expression, Logan was grinning. So he had seen her embarrass herself. If only the ground would just swallow her up.

      “This is a beautiful home,” Logan offered. “Guessing it’ll be hard to move out when the building is finished.”

      “Actually I don’t live here,” she said. “Granny would like me to, but that feels a little too much like high school, so I’m renting Leah Owen’s beachfront place until the loft is ready.”

      “Which won’t take long,” he said quickly.

      “Oh, I’m not complaining,” Pippa said. “I love living right on the beach. There’s just something about seeing the waves crashing and...” She shook her head as she waved away the statement. “Anyway, it will be nice to live just around the corner from where I work, so I’ll also be happy when I’m settled downtown.”

      “Around the corner?” Logan gave her a look. “Won’t you be living upstairs from where you work?”

      “Oh, yes,” she quickly corrected. “Once the gallery is open. And it will be nice to live there,” Pippa added. “Great architecture will trump sandy feet, I suppose.”

      “The sand’s not that far away. Just a couple of blocks.” Logan paused. “So where are you working now?”

      “R10:14 Skate Park,” she said. “Though I don’t actually work there. I’m a volunteer.”

      “Skate park?” He chuckled. “That’s funny.”

      Pippa stood a little straighter. “What’s so funny about it?”

      His smile faded. “Well, you don’t exactly look like the skateboarding type.”

      “Now I know you don’t remember me from high school. Maybe it was all those times my skateboard fell out of my locker and hit you on your head. I always wondered if you left Vine Beach High the next year because of that.”

      He gave her a sideways look. Slowly recognition dawned as his gaze swept the length of her. “But you’re too...”

      Oh, this was fun. “I’m too what?” At his stricken expression, Pippa elected to give the poor guy a break. “If you were about to say that I am too pretty to be a skateboarder, then I would have to say thank you. If, however, you were about to say something else, then I retract the thanks.”

      “You’ve got me there. And you’re welcome.”

      Logan waved a waiter over and picked up a glass of juice. Before he handed it to Pippa, he removed the yellow umbrella and stuck it in his front pocket.

      Their eyes met, Logan looking amused. And then, just barely, one corner of his mouth lifted in the beginning of a grin.

      “So, about the building,” Pippa said. “Granny has a meeting with you to finalize the details on her calendar, right?”

      “She does, though if you want I can send the details to you via email.”

      “No need,” she said. “Our calendars are synched so the appointment reminder will be there when I get to work on Monday. I’m curious, though. Have you found any surprises during the demolition?”

      “So far, no. The old building is solid as a rock. It just needs a little work, at least upstairs where you’ll be living. Downstairs is going to take more time, but that’s something we’ve already discussed.” Logan’s expression was tentative. “You said you like your view of the ocean in the rental. That reminds me of the idea I had.”

      Granny stepped into view, Vine Beach’s mayor at her side. Apparently the part of the evening Pippa most dreaded was about to get under way. How many times had she smiled until her jaws ached at these events? Too many to count.

      The irony was that while she loved to plan events, she had short tolerance for actually attending them.

      “I’m curious,” she said to Logan. “What’s your idea? Some kind of decorating thing?”

      He gave her a wide-eyed look. “Do I look like a decorator?” When she laughed, he continued. “It’s a construction item.” Uncertainty showed in his expression. “I spied some minor damage from last night’s storm that’s going to have to be repaired. While I was digging around—”

      “Ladies and gentlemen” came the booming voice of Mayor Murdoch. “Can I have your attention? We came here for a reason, and I think it’s time we got started.”

      Logan shrugged as if to indicate his inability to continue. Pippa gave her attention to the mayor, who was accepting a hug from Granny before handing her the microphone.

      “Every one of you is here because you’ve indicated an interest in what the Gallagher Trust is doing,” Granny said. “For this I want

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