“If that’s true, where’d you get the money to start that restaurant? Did you sell off an acre or two back then?”
“No way. The land wasn’t mine then and my parents would never have agreed to sell. I’d worked hard and saved every extra penny. It turned out I had a head for business. I made a few investments with my savings and they paid off. It gave me enough of a nest egg to start the restaurant.”
“How old were you then?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Holy mackerel!” he said, impressed.
She smiled at his reaction. “Step one in the evolution of Abby Dawson,” she agreed. “Then I got married. My husband was pastor to a very wealthy congregation. I told you earlier that my restaurant caught on. It catered to a very upscale clientele. I got used to keeping up appearances. That completed the evolution to Abby Miller.” She wrinkled her nose as if she found that Abby distasteful.
“What was so terrible about her?” he asked. He knew that having money could change people and not always for the better, but she still seemed pretty down-to-earth to him. In fact, that’s why he remained so intrigued. If she’d been a rich snob sporting a moneyed, entitled attitude, it would be easier to ignore these sparks that kept flaring between them.
“I don’t want to come off trying to sound like some poor little rich girl, but that wasn’t who I am,” she explained simply. “I had a lot of time on my hands after the divorce to think about that. I realized I’d truly been happier back here with a family that didn’t have much except the land around us.”
“In that case, I’m surprised you want to develop it,” Seth told her.
“Believe me, I gave it a lot of thought. Seaview Key needs something if it’s going to thrive. I’m in a position to make that something happen in a responsible way.” She regarded him earnestly. “I’m going to do this right, Seth. There wouldn’t be much point in coming back for the serenity I remembered and then seeing it ruined.”
“So, scrubbing floors has gotten you back to basics,” he suggested, trying to put what she’d said in perspective.
She nodded. “And I’m hoping that raising the money for this rescue boat will be one way to be part of this community again. A donation might be great public relations, but putting in an effort will probably do more for me in the long haul. I want to be accepted, Seth, not as some benevolent outsider, but as a local who cares about what happens around here.”
He was surprised by the hint of yearning in her voice. “Being accepted really matters to you, then?”
“Sure. Doesn’t it matter to everybody, when you get right down to it? Don’t you care about being a part of the community?”
Seth honestly hadn’t thought about it. He’d come for a visit. Luke had persuaded him to stay. The town had been eager to hire someone with his background as a medic. He’d felt accepted from the beginning.
“I guess I thought if I did my job, that would be enough,” he said.
“That’s because you didn’t burn a lot of bridges when you left,” she said, a rueful expression on her face. “I need to make up for some of the things I said about this town. I couldn’t wait to get away. Other than Luke and my friendship with Hannah, this place held nothing but bad memories for me.”
“And yet you came back.”
“Perspective,” she said. “Maturity. I’m the first to admit I didn’t see the big picture back then.”
He admired her honesty, but he wondered if she wasn’t deluding herself, just as Luke had warned. Had she really changed so much?
“Are you sure Seaview Key is what you’re looking for?” he asked, trying to reconcile it with the sophisticated woman sitting beside him. Was it possible for her to forego the lifestyle she’d obviously had in the Florida Panhandle?
“Can I say it with absolute certainty?” she asked. “No, but I’m hoping I’ve gotten it right this time. I liked the person I was back then a whole lot more than the person I’ve become.”
“You seem just fine to me now,” he told her in all honesty.
She smiled at that. “You’re sweet to say that.”
Sweet? Seth nearly groaned at that. Women didn’t call men they were interested in sweet. Recognizing that made this desire he had to seduce her about as wildly inappropriate as anything that had ever occurred to him before. He really, really needed another one of those annoying lectures from Luke before he did something incredibly stupid.
* * *
Abby saw the expression in Seth’s eyes and immediately regretted her candor. She could practically see the distance growing between them. Maybe it had been a mistake to admit the truth to him. She’d gotten used to having money. Marshall had had oodles of it, thanks to family investments, and she’d made more when she’d sold the successful restaurant she’d started before she’d met him, enough to invest in developing Blue Heron Cove.
In her opinion, money was nice, but she’d realized very recently that other things mattered more. Not everyone saw it that way, though, especially men whose pride kicked in and wouldn’t let them see past the dollar signs that separated them. She’d really hoped that Seth wouldn’t be one of those men. Based on his shocked expression, though, it seemed that he was.
Of course, the alternative, which she’d experienced a time or two, was worse. She’d known men who were interested in her only because of her money. Right after the divorce, a few had hovered, hoping to get her attention. Some had even been audacious enough to mention investment schemes on the first or second date, pretty much giving away the reason for their interest.
“I should be going,” Seth said, getting to his feet.
“Already?” she said, disappointed and not doing a
