Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 57216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57216 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
“I’m just going to say it,” she said, and I wasn’t sure if she was talking more to me or herself right then.
“Okay,” I said, brows scrunched.
“I love you,” she said, then winced hard, like she was waiting for me to reject her or some shit like that.
Like I hadn’t been feeling the same shit for over a month as well. Almost since the first fucking time I felt her close to me.
“Doll, I fucking love you too.”
Shale - 8 weeks
It was the grand reopening.
And I had little nervous flip-flops in my belly as I loaded up the dessert case.
The case, like damn near everything else in the shop, had been updated and expanded. I’d scoffed when I’d first seen it, insisting that I was never going to need to have that many desserts in it at any time, and how wasteful it would be to fill it, only to toss it.
As I glanced out the windows, though, I was starting to think that what was in the case, and the extras in the back, might not cut it. Because it looked like there was a line down the street.
The new Deja Brew could accommodate a lot more of them, too.
I had to admit that Junior’s father, uncles, and cousin had done an exceptional job. They hadn’t changed my original vision of the shop, but simply expanded on it.
The place felt open and airy, clean but inviting, and they’d even set up a “comfy seating area” in a back corner with couches instead of tables and chairs.
I’d been fantasizing about one day seeing people there, hanging out, laughing, talking. Having important conversations. Playing board games. Just… enjoying this place.
That was the dream.
And, it seemed, it was coming true.
“Hey, no crying,” Junior said, standing next to me in an apron because, well, I was going to need extra hands. Barry was shuffling around, making sure everything was stocked as well.
If this day wasn’t a fluke, and business really was going to be much better, I was definitely going to need to hire a staff.
I would want to eventually anyway.
Because as much as I loved Deja Brew, had put my heart and soul into it, had almost lost my life for it, the end goal was always to be able to step back a bit and enjoy my own life.
That was an even more important goal now that I had someone to spend that life with.
“I know. I’m just a little overwhelmed,” I admitted.
Outside on that line, I saw familiar faces.
Junior’s mom and dad, his uncles and aunts, even his cousin Jackson and his sister Willa. Who was a complete workaholic, so it was a big deal that she was taking time out of her schedule to support me.
On top of them, Junior’s Uncle Johnnie’s daughters, Alexis and Bri, were queued up, along with what seemed like a dozen of their closest friends. And their mothers and fathers.
The bikers were there, too.
And, standing there with no fewer than four pitties with them, were Andrés Alcazar and Hope.
“You ready?” Barry asked as he moved to the door, ready to unlock it and open us for business again.
I glanced at Junior, giving him a giant smile.
“Yes.”
The door opened, and people started to mill inside.
Some of them grabbed one of the many menus Jackson had designed and had printed, checking out our selections of drinks and treats as they waited to move their way up in line.
I expected it to be someone in our extended circle to be up first.
I’d been wrong, though.
My first two customers were completely unexpected.
One slight, tall redhead and one silver-and-black-haired plus-sized woman. Both of whom, even without speaking, had a larger than life vibe to them.
This was Gala and Jazzy.
The owners of She’s Bean Around.
“We figured we had to be your first customers,” Gala declared, beaming at me. “I mean, not technically, but we didn’t know you were here before,” she said.
“We love seeing other girlies succeed,” Jazzy said, smiling at me. “Now, I want a large Choco-latte,” she said. “Gala is going for a large drip with two shots because she wants to smell sounds and hear colors. Love this,” she said as she dropped a hundred in the Just the Tip jar.
Just like that, I had my first customers.
And about a thousand after that.
“I think you need to update that import order,” Junior said when we closed the door and all but collapsed onto the couches.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
And thanks to him, for once, I wouldn’t have to have a knot in my stomach as I went to pick it up.
“There they are,” Barry said, coming in from the back with Lucy on a leash. “Try not to be too mad at Mommy. She’s a working woman.”
“You make me sound like a prostitute,” I said as I reached down to pet Lucy’s velvety head. “Did you have fun at Grandma and Grandpa’s house?” I asked.