Small-Town Girl

“Of course.” Her smile came back, but it pulled tight around the corners. Forced. “It’s my family’s business to know everyone in town.”

“But...do you like him?” Why was Kendall’s heart pounding so hard?

“Honestly I’m not close to Brice Daniels, but I’ve had...dealings with other people in his family.” Claire’s gaze skirted toward the wall that separated Kendall’s office from Evan’s storefront. “Let’s just say they didn’t prove to be dependable.” She closed her eyes tightly for a moment. “But we’re talking business, not gossiping about Goose Harbor locals, right?”

“Of course.”

“My father thinks you have a great idea, and he’s excited to be a part of it. I just stopped by to see if you needed help with anything else.”

“Excited?” The man had not seemed thrilled when she last talked to him. Pleased maybe—at the opportunity to diversify his business dealings—but not excited.

“Well, as excited as my dad gets.” Claire grinned. “He has a pretty monotone emotional scale, so don’t take any offense if he acts like being your partner is as fun as eating broccoli.”

“Good to know.”

“Besides, you’ll deal with me and not him most of the time.” Claire laid her hand over her heart. A gold watch with diamonds around the face let Kendall know that while Claire might joke about her father’s monotone emotions, she was a daddy’s girl. Or at the least, didn’t mind spending her father’s money.

She pulled a piece of paper from her purse. “In that vein, here are some numbers you can reach me at.” Claire handed over the paper—home, parents’ home, cell and office. At the bottom of the page was written GHonaDime4.

Claire kept speaking. “You can call me at any time if you have questions or concerns.” Her eyes widened, as if she had remembered something. “While we’re talking business, you should know that we’ve set up a professional website for you. I’m managing it for now, so let me know if there is anything you want changed or updated. The password is at the bottom of the page so you can go on and add things and we can link your social media so you can have a live stream of pictures and Tweets for advertising.”

Password. So that explained the odd word on the page.

“A website?” Kendall set the paper down and rubbed her temples. While the Atwoods’ enthusiasm was encouraging, it was a lot to take in all at once. Kendall couldn’t help dwelling for a second on the fact that most of her business decisions had been taken away in the deal. What if she’d wanted to plan her own website?

“We want you to be successful, and we’re here to make sure that happens. But, Kendall...” Claire smiled again. “We’re not here to steamroll you or your dream. Got that? At least I’m not. I’m going to be a middleman between you and my father, but I’d also like to be your friend. Those phone numbers I gave you... You can call me for things other than business. Actually I’d like that a lot.”

Kendall nodded but wondered about the wisdom of becoming friends with the daughter of someone she’d gone into business with. Claire seemed nice enough, though, and the guarded look in her large blue eyes made Kendall wonder if—just maybe—it was lonely being the only daughter of a wealthy, powerful businessman. And if anyone knew about feeling alone, it was no-roots-in-life Kendall. Her heart went out to the woman.