Jane’s office at Tides was on the third floor. It was small, but all she really needed was a desk. Despite the small size, Jane liked it because it had an oval window beside the desk that looked out at the ocean. Jane didn’t have time to look at the ocean, though. She was busy uploading the photos she’d taken of the guest rooms, the dining room, and the other parts of the inn that were in good repair, as well as the sandcastle cake, to the wedding venue website.
She hoped that the angle of a quaint oceanside inn offering lobster-bake weddings on the beach along with sandcastle wedding cakes would be enough to pique someone’s interest.
Jane looked over the form, making sure everything was correct. Was this the right thing to do? It was scary venturing into new territory, but what was the worst that could happen?
As she scoured the rest of the form, she noticed that the coastal wedding–listing website had a section for a link to her own website where the interested parties could reach her to ask for more info to book a wedding.
Darn it! She still had the old Tides website, and now she wanted to create a special section for weddings. Glancing at her email folder, she saw the third website developer had replied. Bad news. They were booked for a month.
She sighed, the old chair creaking as she leaned back. She looked out the window at the ocean. Now what was she going to do? She’d googled web designers in the area and come up empty. She supposed she didn’t have to use someone local, though. Maybe she should expand her search.
A golden blur running on the beach caught her eye. Was that Cooper? She leaned forward, recognizing the tall figure of Mike as he threw a stick to the dog. The anxiety that had been roiling inside her eased. Just seeing the dog calmed her, as it probably did for many people. Maybe Claire was right and having a dog at the inn could be a benefit that would attract animal lovers.
But there wouldn’t be any inn if she didn’t get a website designer. Wait a minute… hadn’t Mike said that he was a freelance programmer? Programmers made websites, didn’t they? Jane pushed up from the desk and hurried outside.
Cooper spotted Jane coming down the beach from two hundred yards away and made a beeline toward her, water flying off his fur as he ran. Jane crouched as the big dog practically bowled her over. She petted his wet and salty fur.
Beyond Cooper, Mike waved, jogging to catch up.
“Cooper sure has taken a liking to you,” Mike said. “Fancy meeting you out here again.”
Jane stood and looked down at Cooper, whose adoring brown eyes gazed back. “The feeling is mutual.” Cooper nuzzled her hand, and she stroked his ears. “Actually, it’s not a coincidence that I ran into you out here.”
Mike’s lips quirked in a grin. “Oh?”
His smile held a hint of flirtation that made butterflies swarm in Jane’s stomach. This was crazy. She wasn’t interested in Mike that way. She hadn’t been interested in anyone that way since her husband and wasn’t about to start now. “I was looking for you because I remembered you mentioned that you were a computer programmer.”
“Yeah, that’s what I do back in Seattle.” Now Mike looked intrigued and maybe a bit confused.
“Well, it so happens that I need a website for Tides.” Jane turned and pointed back toward the inn. “I was wondering if that’s the sort of work you did, and if so, would you be looking for extra work while you’re out here?”
“Yeah, I could do that. I’m pretty experienced with websites.”
“Great.” Jane kicked at a small white shell that had rolled up in the surf. Now for the hard part: the payment. Did freelance web designers charge a lot? Could Jane afford it? She didn’t have much of a choice. If she didn’t get the website in place, there would be no weddings booked, and not having an online booking system was a deterrent for guests who wanted to reserve a room online. “Great. What would you charge?”
Mike’s gaze flicked to the inn, his expression uncertain, as if he could see how it needed repairs from here. “Charge? Well, to be honest, I’m not used to charging individual people. I usually work for companies, but I heard that Tides serves a hell of a good breakfast.”
What did breakfast have to do with websites? “Yeah, we do.”
“How about you just pay me with breakfast?” At Jane’s skeptical look, he raised his hand. “No, no, I’m serious. I don’t know how to cook, and I’m tired of cereal. You’re not far down the beach, and I could get my morning walk in then stop for breakfast. That would be worth it for me.”
“I hardly think a few breakfasts would pay your fee.”
“You let me worry about that. Honestly, it’s not a lot of work, and it would be more of a burden for me to have to come up with the invoices and so on for taxes. This would work out a lot better for me. When do you want to go over what you need?”
Somehow Mike made it sound like she was doing him a favor when she was sure it was the other way around. Jane couldn’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth. “I need something as soon as possible, so could we meet tomorrow? I’m busy in the morning, but I’ll have our cook, Brenda, whip up something special for you, and maybe we could meet around eleven thirty?”
Mike rubbed his belly. “My mouth is watering already. Tomorrow it is.”
“Great. See you then.”
Jane stuck out her hand, and they shook to seal the deal. She headed back to Tides, her heart a little lighter not only for seeing Cooper but for securing a great deal on getting the website done.
Mike watched Jane walk back to Tides, his hand still warm from their handshake. He was looking forward to the idea of working on the website, and not just because he’d get a hot breakfast. Spending more time with Jane definitely appealed to him. He didn’t really need an extra job, but he could create websites in his sleep. She’d been right about the breakfasts not covering his fees—he charged a lot—but he didn’t care about the money. He’d sensed that Tides wasn’t doing that well and didn’t want to take her money.
Cooper trotted along behind Jane.
“Cooper, back here!” Mike whistled for the dog, who stopped short, his attention wavering between Jane and Mike.
Jane turned and waved.
Mike picked up a stick and threw it, making the decision for the dog, who immediately raced in the direction of the stick.
Mike headed back toward his cottage throwing the stick, Cooper racing ahead then bringing it back. He was due to visit Gramps in an hour, and he wanted to go in and shower first. But Cooper needed to burn off some energy. Being cooped up in that small cottage all day wasn’t good for him. He wouldn’t be happy in Mike’s apartment in Seattle, that was for sure.
“Mr. Henderson! Yoo-hoo!”
The woman Mike had rented his cottage from was standing on the deck waving him in. And not in a friendly nice-to-see-you way either. Judging by the rigid position of her body and the sour look on her face, she was not happy about something.