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forgiveness for her inattention.
    No, her consternation came from the fact that in spite of her reservations about Harry Starbuck, she could not help but relish the experience they had just shared with the entire congregation. She had been thrilled by the silence that had filled the little chapel as his last note floated to the rafters and out the open windows. And yes, she took some pride in the way she had improvised the hymn to complement his voice and style.
    She was humming softly to herself when Harrison Starbuck fell into step beside her.
    “Lovely day,” he acknowledged as if they had been conversing already. “Weather like this will bring out the tourists earlier than usual.”
    Ah, so he was taking a circuitous approach to bringing up the subject closest to his heart—the idea of buying her property. Well, he wasn’t fooling her.
    “Yes. I’m looking forward to quite a profitable season,” she assured him. “I might even consider expanding the services of the tearoom.”
    To her surprise he nodded thoughtfully. “That’s an idea,” he said almost absentmindedly.
    They walked along in silence for several more steps and Nola was keenly aware of others taking note of Starbuck appearing to walk her home.
    “Was there something you wanted?” she asked finally.
    He glanced down at her as if he’d quite forgotten she was at his side. “Yes, as a matter of fact. May I come in for a bit, Nola?”
    It was the last thing she had expected. Her mouth opened but nothing came out.
    “I’d like to ask a favor,” he added.
    “As I have said repeatedly, my rooms are not available to rent to your actors and my home and tearoom are not for sale. Nothing is going to change that.”
    He blinked down at her and then grinned. “I can see where you might think that’s what this is about, Nola, but actually it’s something altogether different.”
    Nola could not help wondering if there might not be charm schools for men like Harry Starbuck. That smile, that twinkle in his eye, the dimples that punctuated each cheek. No wonder half the women in town were constantly on the lookout for him.
    “So, please may I come inside?” he asked.
    “I have another engagement.” It was only partially true, for Nola had no other plan than to make herself a cold lunch and eat it while she went over the latest batch of bills for the tearoom. She mounted the steps of her house and realized with relief that Starbuck was no longer with her.
    “Pretty please?”
    She turned and saw that he had swept off his hat, placed it over his heart and was on bended knee at the foot of the porch steps. Across the street two women from the churchhad stopped, their gloved hands covering their mouths as they obviously placed their own interpretation on the scene playing out before them.
    “Get up, Harry,” Nola ordered. “This is not one of your plays. People are staring.”
    Starbuck got to his feet but he was grinning as he turned and bowed toward the women across the street. When he turned back to Nola, he gave her a boyish shrug. “Might as well let me speak my piece, Nola. That way you can put to rest the rumors that we’ve started.”
    We’ve? Nola was speechless. “You, sir, are no gentleman,” she muttered.
    “Never took credit for being one,” he agreed amicably as he mounted the steps and indicated one of the wicker rockers that lined the wide veranda. “Shall we sit out here or go inside?”
    “You will state your business and be on your way,” Nola muttered as she plopped herself down in the first rocker, forcing him to take one that was hidden from the street by a trellis lush with rosebuds ready to burst into bloom.
    “Well?” She sat on the edge of her seat, back ramrod straight, gloved hands folded on knees pressed together under the smooth challis of her skirt.
    He lounged, one ankle crossed over his knee, straw hat pushed back to fully reveal his clean-shaven face. “You are a talented musician,” he began.
    Nola