12

Bennett nodded and turned to the rack of aprons.

Harper concentrated on the counter, blocking the vision of his broad shoulders stretching the tattered sweatshirt to the point of ripping. She needed to focus. She didn’t have time for distractions—especially distractions who were in Ohio for a limited run.

Flipping through the tin recipe box, she mentally listed the steps of her master plan. Again. Anytime a juicy distraction threatened to pull her from her path, she reminded herself of what she had ahead of her. She was responsible for her dreams—and no man-distraction would derail her. Not this time. She would not repeat Italy.

After interning in Rome, she returned to Columbus and completed her master level courses five years ago. Since graduation, her own design firm was her sole focus. Her time in Italy taught her what she was willing and not willing to sacrifice for her passion. After a year freelancing in Nashville, she spent the last three years working for one of the most groundbreaking design firms in Columbus. She sought her position with the group because of their diverse projects. She wanted to be involved in all aspects of spatial design. Not simply home interiors, but landscape architecture, holiday installations, and creating the perfect party space. Harper loved to create beauty—to translate what she saw in her mind to a three-dimensional reality. With the side projects she had picked up over the last few years, designing for the seemingly endless string of festival themes for Gibson’s Run as well as several high-end parties for targeted clients, she nearly had enough saved to open up her office. And, she wasn’t about to let some manly distraction divert her from her goal. No matter how manly the distraction was. She’d done that once. Never again.

“I’m aproned up, Coach. Now what?”

She couldn’t suppress the giggle bubbling in her chest. “Well, I’m not sure the ruffles will do much good to protect your sweatshirt.”

Bennett had selected Lulu’s favorite “You Doughnut Know How Much I Love You” Valentine’s Day apron speckled with glittery red, white, and pink doughnuts and trimmed with wide eyeleted ruffles.

A twist of a grin lifted the corner of his mouth. “At least the color scheme works.”

“OK, let’s get our bake on.”