“Take a few bites, wait for the kick, then tell us about it.” Malory sat on the other side, handed out napkins.

Dana soothed herself with chocolate, pastry, and cream, and the story tumbled out between bites.

“She wanted me to quit.” Scowling, she flicked her tongue at the corner of her mouth and licked off a bit of Bavarian cream. “It was some visceral animosity going on between us the minute we laid eyes on each other. Like, I dunno, maybe we were mortal enemies in a past life. Or, Jesus, married or something. It’s not just that she ran the library like it was boot camp—that’s bad enough—but she had it in for me, personally. And so did her little yappy dog, Sandi.”

“I know it’s tough, Dana. Boy, do I.” Malory rubbed a sympathetic hand over Dana’s shoulder. “But you were planning to resign in a few weeks anyway.”

“I know, I know. But I wanted to sort of ease out. Cop the little going-away party with the staff, so it all ended on a high note. And the fact is, even with the pay cut, the salary did come in handy. More than. I could’ve used the extra paychecks before I walked.”

“Telling her to cram it should be worth the paychecks. She’s a bitch and we hate her,” Zoe said loyally. “And when Indulgence is up and running, and the bookstore’s the talk of the Valley, she’ll stew in her own envious juices.”

Considering, Dana pursed her lips. “That’s a good one. I just panicked, I guess. I’ve always worked in a library. High school library, college library, then this one. And it suddenly hit me that that’s done, and I’m going to be the owner of a retail business.”

She rubbed her damp hands on her knees. “I don’t even know how to work a cash register.”

“I’ll teach you,” Zoe promised. “We’re in this together.”

“I don’t want to mess it up. I don’t want to mess up the key deal either. It’s just that all this hit me at once.”

Malory offered Dana the last third of her éclair. “Have a little more sugar. Then we’ll go in and start making some serious plans.”

“I’ve got two hours before I have to be home,” Zoe told her. “When we picked up the keys, I asked the real estate agent. She said we could start on some of the basic cosmetic work if we want to risk the time and money. We could paint the porch, say, unless we’re worried the deal won’t go through.”

Dana polished off the éclair. “Okay. Okay,” she said with more enthusiasm. “Let’s go in and look at paint chips.”

AFTER some debate, they settled on a deep ocean blue. The color, they agreed, would make the house stand out among its neighbors and would add a touch of class.

Since they were in the mode, they headed back to the kitchen to talk about decor and space.

“Nothing too country,” Zoe decided as she tapped her fingers on her hips. “We want it comfortable and homey, but, well, indulgent, right? So it shouldn’t be sleek or anything, but it shouldn’t be homespun either.”

“Your upscale country kitchen.” Nodding, Malory turned in a circle, trying to envision it. “Maybe that minty green for the walls. Nice, friendly color. A creamy white for the cabinets. Dana, you’ll be using this space the most.”

“That’s okay, keep going.” She waved them on. “You guys are better at this than I am.”

“Well, what if we had the counters done in rose? Not pink, but stronger, then we punch things up with art. That would flow in from the gallery section. Then we’d set up some of the sidelines Zoe’s talked about having up in the salon. The aromatherapy products, candles. And we do something like Dana’s got in the kitchen in her apartment.”

“We fill it with junk food?”

Malory glanced at Dana and laughed. “No. Books. We do like a baker’s rack or kitchen étagère over there, and we put out books and some of the craft pieces from my gallery, some of the products from the salon. Fancy hand creams and soaps. It unifies this communal space.”

“That’s good.” Dana let out a breath. “It’s starting to feel good again.”

“It’s going to be great.” Zoe slid an arm around Dana’s waist. “You could have those tins and stuff of fancy teas and coffees on the counter.”

“Maybe we could put in a table,” Dana considered. “One of those little round ones, with a couple of chairs. Okay. Let’s write down the paints we’ve got so far, see if we can decide on any others. I’ll head out to HomeMakers and pick it all up.”

“I think paint’s going on sale next week,” Zoe put in.

“Oh, yeah?” Dana’s dimples flashed. “Well, I happen to have an in at HomeMakers. I’ll call Brad and get us a discount today.”

IT helped to have a focus, a goal. Even if it was only several gallons of paint.

If, Dana thought, the library and her life there were now her past, weren’t Indulgence and the building of it her present? As far as the future went, how the hell was she supposed to know? But she intended to think about it and try to find a connection to the location of the key.

It hadn’t been difficult to wheedle a thirty percent discount out of Brad. As Dana wandered the wide aisles of the cavernous HomeMakers, she considered what else she might be able to pick up while she had her old friend’s go-ahead.

Paintbrushes, of course, and rollers. Or maybe they should try out one of those paint sprayers. She studied one, crouching down to ponder the workings of it.

How hard could it be? And it would certainly be faster and less labor-intensive than slopping it on the old-fashioned way.

“Unless you’re thinking about becoming a house painter, that one’s a little much for you.”

Jordan Hawke, she thought as a muscle in her jaw twitched. And she’d thought the day couldn’t get any crappier. “So, Brad took pity on you and gave you a job?” she said without looking up. “Are you going to get to wear one of the blue denim shirts with the little house on the breast pocket?”

“I was in his office when you called kissing up to him for a price break. He asked me to come down and give you a hand because he got caught by a phone call before he could come himself.”

Her hackles rose. “I don’t need help to buy paint.”