Harbor Lights Read Online Free

her as nervous as a teenager meeting the sexy new kid in school for the first time.
    “You’ve accomplished all this in two weeks?” he said, his amazement plain as he took in the fresh coat of paint and the stacks and stacks of boxes.
    She gave him a wry look. The place was a disorganized mess. Still, it did look as if something might happen in here soon.
    “I’d done a lot of my homework, knew the kind of inventory I wanted to carry and where to get it. All I had to do was establish my credit, which thankfully is good, and make some calls to vendors.” She shrugged. “Besides, I couldn’t afford a lot of downtime once I signed the lease. I need to get money coming in if I’m going to keep up with the rent on the shop space and the apartment upstairs.”
    He surveyed the room and the piles of boxes. “What’s your target date for opening?”
    “A week from Saturday.”
    He looked skeptical. “Then you need help.”
    “I can’t afford help.”
    Once again, she noticed a faint hesitation, as if he thought he was going to hate himself for uttering what came next.
    “Then it’s a good thing I don’t need to be paid,” he said eventually, his hands shoved in his pockets, his expression bland. “I have a little time to burn while I wait for Bree. I’d be glad to pitch in.”
    Shanna stilled. Big-city jitters kicked in. Kevin O’Brien was definitely intriguing. And probably safe enough, if his sister owned the florist shop next door. She’d heard the name O’Brien around town, knew that a man named Mick O’Brien, in fact, had been the architect who’d designed and built Chesapeake Shores. The woman she’d dealt with at the management company had been an O’Brien, too.
    “So, are you one of the O’Briens?” she asked. “I’ve read a little about Mick and I met Susie.”
    “My father and my cousin,” he told her.
    That was reassuring, but still, old habits kept her cautious. “I appreciate the offer to help, but I probably should do it myself. I have to figure out the placement for all this stuff as I go. And, as you can see, the shelves aren’t in yet. They’re not coming till tomorrow.”
    He didn’t seem especially disappointed by her refusal. In fact, he almost looked relieved.
    “Okay, then, no coffee from Sally’s, no help in here,” he said easily. “How about the cappuccino machine? Want me to take a crack at that?”
    Not wanting to seem ungracious, Shanna finally nodded. “Sure. If you can get it working, your first purchase is on me.”
    “You shouldn’t be offering to give books away,” he scolded as he studied the instructions, then sorted through the tools she’d spread out until he found the one he wanted. “Though my son will be delighted. Picture books are among his favorite things. I’m sure we’ll be frequent customers.”
    Her heart did an odd little stutter step. She couldn’t have said for sure if it was disappointment or delight. Kevin was an attractive man, after all, but she loved kids. She was hoping the store would draw a lot of them.
    “You have a son?”
    He nodded. “Davy. He’s two.”
    “Well, you or your wife will have to bring him in as soon as I open. I have a huge selection of picture books on order.”
    For an instant, it looked as if Kevin had been frozen in time, almost as if he weren’t even breathing. Then he exhaled slowly and frowned as he concentrated on the cappuccino machine. Shanna could tell instantly that she’d said something wrong, but she had no idea what it might have been. Perhaps it was mentioning his wife. Maybe they were divorced, but wouldn’t she have their child? It sounded as if the boy lived with his dad.
    Then she remembered. When she’d first come to Chesapeake Shores for a visit a year ago, recovering from her own very complicated and shattered marriage, she’d stayed at the inn. It, too, was run by an O’Brien. And the whole place had been buzzing because the owner’s brother had lost his wife in Iraq and