“And give Gram heart failure?” he asked, feigning a scandalized tone.
“I’m sure she’d approve of a change here and there to make the menu more modern, as long as you don’t alter the traditional dishes too much. Why don’t I run the idea past her when she and my grandfather show up for their inspection of the place?”
“Sure,” Luke said readily, oddly pleased that she wanted to take the initiative. “I wonder what’s kept them. I expected them to be nosing around long before now.”
“I imagine they’ve stopped to visit with the entire family en route. She’ll want to show off all the O’Brien businesses. It’s impressive how intertwined your family is with this town. They’re an important part of the business community as well. Taken together, it goes far beyond your uncle creating Chesapeake Shores.”
“True on all counts,” he said. “And no one in my family is short-winded, either. It could be late afternoon when they finally get around to me.”
“Or just now,” she said, nodding in the direction of the pub.
Luke spotted his grandmother and Dillon on the sidewalk. She was giving the door a frustrated jiggle. Luke stood up.
“Over here, Gram! We’ll be right there.”
“No need,” Dillon called back. “We’ll join you. I’d like a closer look at the bay from here.”
He guided Nell across the busy road, then patted the remaining spot on the bench. “You sit. I’ll just wander closer to the water.”
“Why don’t I walk with you?” Moira suggested. “I wouldn’t mind sticking a toe in to see if it’s as freezing cold as the sea is back home.”
As they went off, Luke glanced at his grandmother. “Have you been giving him the high-priced, all-inclusive O’Brien tour? It must seem to an outsider as if we own the whole town. Moira was just saying something very much like that.”
She laughed. “So far, we’ve only been to Bree’s and Shanna’s. Dillon made all the appropriate noises of approval at the flower shop, then bought out half of Shanna’s supply of books about this region. Thomas will be over the moon to have another convert to his cause.”
“Does Dillon seem to like it here so far?” he asked, then saw the sparks of delight in Gram’s eyes. “Or do I even need to ask? Has he already agreed to stay longer?”
“He has,” she said. “It wasn’t even a discussion. I just suggested it, and he agreed at once. We’ll have to work out the details at some point, especially with Moira’s schedule.” She met his gaze. “I don’t suppose you’ve been wise enough to try to persuade her to stay, have you?”
Luke shook his head. “Don’t push. I’m just growing used to the fact that she’s here at all.”
She frowned. “You’re not happy about it?”
“I’m delighted about it,” he said. “But I don’t know what will happen next. I don’t even have time to stop and think much beyond tomorrow or the pub opening at the end of the month.”
“Have you thought about what you’d like to happen?”
“Maybe, in a pie-in-the-sky kind of way,” he admitted. “But it’s not so simple.”
She reached over and clasped his hand. “Yes,” she said solemnly. “It is exactly that simple. It’s only when your head gets in the way of what your heart wants that things get complicated. If you take no other advice from me, Luke, take this. Listen to your heart.”
He smiled at her obvious conviction. “I would if I could hear it,” he said. “Right now all the noise in my head is drowning it out. I have lists of my lists these days. Once I’m past this opening and that part of my life is on an even keel, I’ll be able to hear more clearly.”
“As long as there’s not another excuse then, and another after that.”
“No,” he promised. “There won’t be. I spent a lot of my life just drifting along, but now the path before me is straight and I can just about see to the end of it.”
“Is it Moira who’s waiting there?” she asked.
He smiled. “Could be. I’ll know for sure when I get there, won’t I?”
“Okay, then,” she said with satisfaction. “I see our guests are heading this way. Let’s go over and take a look at this pub of yours. I have to admit that I’m beyond curious.”
Luke took her elbow and led the way. “I hope you won’t be disappointed.”
“As if I could ever be disappointed at anything you’ve poured your heart and soul into. What did Moira think?”
“She thinks it’s amazing, of course,” he said with a grin. “And since she’s never hesitated to speak her mind, I’m taking it on faith that she meant every word.”
As soon as Moira and Dillon had joined them, Luke unlocked the door and stepped aside. Since the crew wasn’t back yet, he let them enter without worrying about hard hats. It hardly mattered, though, because just as Moira had done earlier, his grandmother took one step, then halted.
“Oh, Luke, it’s going to be fabulous,” she said enthusiastically.
“You can tell that from here, just inside the door?”
She laughed. “I could tell it the instant I saw that color on the back wall. Did you not notice it’s the one I have in one of the guest rooms at the cottage? I chose it because it brings the sea inside.”
He turned to Moira. “Your room?”
She shook her head.
“Mine,” Dillon said. “And Nell’s exactly right. It’s the perfect color.”
“I told you,” Moira said delightedly. “Now you’ll have to accept that my taste is impeccable.”
Luke slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. “Never doubted it. Why do you think it’s already on the wall?”
“But I know you have at least two gallons in other shades sitting in the back,
