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into the present. “What?”
    â€œLike I just said, I was hoping you could help me out with a couple of things. We want a website for the reunion, and I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind making one. You do such good work. And you did a wonderful job designing the webpage for the chocolate festival.”
    But that had been something he wanted to do. This, not so much.
    â€œWe could put a bunch of pictures from the yearbook up there, along with any current ones we get. Have a place for people to post. You know, that sort of thing.”
    â€œYou could just do that on Facebook,” he said, hoping to dodge this assignment.
    â€œOh, great idea! Could you do that, too?”
    Wait a minute. He hadn’t said yes and already she’d doubled his work, and none of it was anything he would get paid for.
    But how to say no to a pretty woman? Jonathan didn’t have a clue.
    â€œOh, please say yes. I need a tech wizard.”
    â€œI guess I could.” What the heck. She was going to wear him down, anyway, and they both knew it.
    He sighed inwardly. Now he could hear all about how successful his former classmates had been, see pictures of their wives and kids. Yuck.
    Meanwhile, here was Tina, gushing away. “Fabulous! Thank you, Jonathan. You are just...”
    A sucker.
    â€œ...the best.”
    The best geek. Nothing wrong with being a geek, he reminded himself. It had worked fine for Bill Gates.
    â€œI should get going,” Tina said. “I’m late for the committee meeting. But I’m so glad I ran into you.”
    Yeah, him, too. Before he could say anything, sarcastic or otherwise, she was hurrying off down the sidewalk.
    Jonathan continued on toward the bookstore, deep in thought. Lissa would be back for the reunion in August. Now that Rand was married, maybe he stood a chance of at least getting her attention for a few minutes.
    Realistically, that was about all he’d get. She’d been way too popular, and practically everyone else would want to hang with her. Still, he and Lissa had known each other for years. Surely she’d want to visit with him, too.
    But simply visiting wasn’t going to cut it. He had to figure out a way to shake things up, make an impression.
    Hmm. Following that line of thought to its logical conclusion... If he wanted to make an impression, he had to come up with a plan.
    His earlier conversation with Todd Black returned for a visit. You’ve got to hang in there.
    He pulled his smartphone out of his jeans pocket and looked up Winston Churchill’s famous quote. “Never, never, never, never give up.” What chance did he have of winning Lissa’s love? About one in a million. If he didn’t even try? None.
    He squared his shoulders. He was not going to give up. Somehow he was going to find a way to transform himself from zero to hero, find a way to make her see that her truest childhood friend could also be her truest love.
    But how?
    He needed a love coach.

Chapter Three
    A dam was missing from the next Friday-night poker game. “He decided to stay up in Alaska for the weekend and fish after finishing his sales calls,” Jonathan explained to his fellow gamblers.
    â€œShould be good salmon fishing on the Copper River about now,” said Vance. “Especially next week. I may have to take a run up there myself.”
    â€œGoing up to Alaska for a little fishing when the spirit moves you? Business must be great at the bookstore,” Kyle observed, his voice tinged with jealousy.
    Vance shrugged. “It’s okay.”
    With Vance’s lifestyle, it had to be doing more than okay. Vance didn’t talk about his business much. For that matter, he didn’t talk much about his life at all. Jonathan knew he’d been married and had a daughter, and that was about it. Maybe Vance had a rich uncle who died and left him a fortune. Maybe he was a Microsoft millionaire. Jonathan had no idea. When it