by Addison Cole
Sunday greeted them with an uncommonly warm fall morning. Lizzie called her father, but he wouldn’t even come to the phone. Blue wanted to drive down to Brewster and give him a piece of his mind, but again, he knew Lizzie needed him there with her.
He spent a few hours finishing up the renovations in her kitchen and then called his brother Gage to confirm that he’d taken care of a gift for Jeremy and Susan and called Trish to touch base and make sure she wasn’t upset that he’d rushed off the phone the other night. She was so excited to hear about Lizzie coming to the wedding that she asked him a dozen questions, all of which he was happy to answer. After Trish gave him the third degree, he and Lizzie prepared to call Duke.
Lizzie fidgeted as they sat down together in the living room.
“The Food Channel Network returned my email—on a weekend, if you can believe that,” she said. “They asked if I was open to discussing acquisition offers, so I told them I’d be interested in hearing their ideas.”
“Wow, that’s incredible. I guess their execs really are interested in your show. The ball’s in their court, and it gives you time to get your ducks in a row, but only if you’re sure you want to do this.”
“If this works, I swear I’ll be the happiest person on earth. I have the best boyfriend in the world, and this would finally get me out from under the exhausting cycle my life has become.”
He heard relief in her voice but still needed to fully believe that she wasn’t considering selling the rights just for him.
As if she’d read his thoughts, she touched his hand and her lips curved up in a sincere, loving smile. “Blue, I want this. I want this with all my heart. As proud as I am for finding my way without any help, I’ve always been ashamed of doing the show, too. Like it’s my dirty little secret. I don’t want to worry that a customer might come into the flower shop and recognize me from the webcast. Or that I’ll take my kids to school one day and someone’s husband will recognize me. Or a teacher. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be?”
It seemed to Blue that relief had swept through him so many times in the last twenty-four hours that he should be floating on a cloud by now. He and Lizzie were definitely on the same page, and her mention of children made him wonder if they were on the same page with that, too.
“That might be embarrassing, but as long as I’m by your side, no one will dare say a derogatory word. If they do, I’ll take care of them.” He pressed a kiss to her temple as he opened the laptop and felt her bristle.
“All my worst fears are coming true.” She stared at the computer screen as she spoke. “My father won’t even speak to me, and people I know are finding out what I do in my off hours.”
He knew Lizzie was nervous about speaking with Duke, but Blue also knew it wasn’t the discussion about statistics and revenue that had her tied in knots. It was the thought of Duke watching the videos, which he would inevitably have to do.
Lizzie’s gaze—and voice—turned thoughtful. “I don’t know why, but this made me remember something that happened with Maddy. When she was sixteen, she went to a party. Of course my parents didn’t know, but when I went to pick her up, she was totally not herself. She finally told me that she’d almost slept with a boy.”
Blue’s jaw clenched tight at the thought of her sweet sister sleeping with a guy at such a young age.
“I always thought I’d be a really cool big sister when it came to those things. You know, pat her on the back, tell her that she was smart enough to make good decisions, and that as long as she was safe, it was her body and her choice. I trusted her.” Lizzie gazed into his eyes. “But I didn’t act that way. I got pissed and said a bunch of stuff I shouldn’t have, because I was scared for her. I couldn’t protect her, and I knew that if she’d done it and other kids had found out, well, you know how cruel high school kids can be.”
He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure she understood.”
“She didn’t, not until she went away to college. After her first semester she finally forgave me and things returned to normal. Not that we weren’t speaking or anything like that, but she was more careful with what she shared with me. I haven’t thought about that night until now, and I think it’s kind of the same thing as what happened between us. You’re worried about what other people say or think, and you can’t fix that.”
“I was a jealous jackass, too. Let’s not forget that.” He pulled her in close and kissed her. “I love you, and I love that you cared enough for Maddy to want to protect her.”
“I’ve always wanted to protect her, but that’s not where I’m going with this. That night taught me that one day I’d have to deal with her giving herself to a guy and I’d have to trust her judgment.” She paused again, her eyes drifting over his face, then holding his gaze. “I guess I want to thank you, Blue, for trusting my judgment enough to be here with me.”
“Lizzie, you don’t have to thank me. I definitely don’t feel like I deserve to be thanked after the way I reacted. And I hope you know that you don’t have to talk to Duke, and you don’t have to go through with talking with the network people, either. You can continue with what you’re doing, and I promise, I will stand by you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I know you will. Now call your brother before I chicken out about revealing the Naked Baker side of your girlfriend to your family.”
Blue chuckled as he called Duke.
“Hey, B. What’s going on?” Duke answered with his weekend voice, which was more effervescent than his professional voice.
“Hi, Duke. I was hoping to pick your brain about acquisitions.”
Lizzie paced nervously.
“Sure, what are you considering?”
“It’s not actually for me. It’s for Lizzie. She’s puts on a webcast and she’s making pretty good money from it, and now the Food Channel Network is knocking on her door.”
“That’s a big deal. FCN is a major player. What’s the webcast?” Duke asked.
Blue explained about the Naked Baker while Lizzie turned a pretty shade of crimson. He reached out to her, but she covered her face and pulled away, as if Duke could see her through the phone.
“Dude, those types of shows are hot right now. Did FCN tell her what they’re thinking? Did they talk numbers?”
Blue was relieved that Duke’s reaction was positive and that he didn’t say something negative about the type of show she was doing. Then again, if he wasn’t Lizzie’s boyfriend, he might not have reacted the way he had, either. “Not yet.” He smiled at Lizzie and mouthed, It’s all fine. Relax.
She nibbled on her lower lip, and it made him want to draw her in close and reassure her, but he had to focus on the conversation with Duke first.
“Well, if she’s really thinking about selling out, send me the financials and her business plan and let me look it over. We’ll make sure she’s got the best proposal she could possibly have before she walks in the door. FCN is here in Manhattan. I know one of their acquisition execs, Carly Christianson. She’s a hard negotiator.”
“Great, something to look forward to,” he said sarcastically. “We’re putting the proposal together, so we’ll send you everything by the end of the week.”
“These types of negotiations can be a bear. Make sure Lizzie’s mentally prepared for it. Networks are known for trying to swoop into the little guys’ houses and take advantage quicker than they can say thank you.”
Blue glanced at Lizzie, who was standing by the window nibbling on her lower lip. He knew that when push came to shove, that tenuous persona would go out the window. “My girl can handle anything.” He blew Lizzie a kiss, and she grabbed the air like she caught it and pressed her hand to her cheek. That small act of love warmed him all over.
“I’ll do some research, pick a few industry brains, and look into comparable transactions and metrics.” Duke was speaking fast. Clearly he’d gone into investor mode. “They’ll look at precedent transaction
s and cash-flow analysis, although I can’t imagine there’s much analysis to do in that regard unless she’s using proxies and doing a boatload of marketing. Online investors usually gravitate toward earnings multiples for business valuation because of its simplicity in the face of scarce comparable data, but I’ll dig into all of that. You get me her financials for the last three years, projections for the next two, and stats: views, length of time spent on site, et cetera, and I’ll handle the rest.”
“Thanks, man. We’ll get it all together.” As he listened to his brother clicking away on his computer keyboard, he imagined Duke watching Lizzie in her apron and heels, purring into the camera, and jealousy scraped up his spine.
One look at Lizzie, and he slayed that green-eyed monster before it had a chance to do any damage. He ended the call with Duke and folded her into his arms.
“Well?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Get ready for the ride of your life, sweetheart. The Ryder boys have got your back.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
OVER THE NEXT week and a half Lizzie and Blue fell into a routine as naturally as they’d come together on their first date. Blue spent the days working at his cottage on the bluff, sending Lizzie sweet texts to let her know he was thinking of her while she was working at the flower shop. Sometimes he stopped by midafternoon to bring her lunch and see how she was doing. She knew he worried about her being upset over her father not speaking to her, and his love was comforting and a reminder that when you love someone, any hurdle could be overcome. If only her father would learn to jump.
The Food Channel Network had contacted her again and scheduled a meeting in New York for Friday. She was excited beyond belief and more nervous than she ever thought possible.
She and Blue had worked tirelessly through the evenings, combing through ledgers, collecting graphs and figures, preparing the strongest proposal they could for the network, and sent the information to Duke. Lizzie fought the urge to call and thank her father for pushing her to earn her degree, which she realized had helped her tremendously over the years. Thanking a man who wouldn’t speak to her would be not only difficult, but heartbreaking.
Blue still wasn’t quite ready to watch her film an episode. She could tell that he was still fighting jealousy, but she also knew how hard he was trying to push past it and support her. She was actually relieved that he didn’t want to watch her film, because the idea of Blue watching her made her nervous. She worried she’d either fall into full seduce-Blue mode or look like she was trying too hard and totally flub up the episode.
Even though he wasn’t comfortable watching, tonight he wanted to help her edit the show she’d taped the night before to get a better understanding of her process. Baby steps.
They sat before the laptop, waiting for the video to queue up. It was one thing to talk about the videos or for Blue to watch them without her in the room, but even though her heart told her that their relationship was strong enough to handle it, she worried that watching a Naked Baker video together could reignite Blue’s discomfort.
Lizzie looked up from the laptop where they were working and stole a glance at the man who had relentlessly pursued her, challenged her, and had, remarkably, remained by her side. She’d never met a man like Blue before, blatantly honest about everything, even his insecurities. She didn’t know a single man who would readily admit that jealousy stood between him and what he wanted, or that his need to protect her, and her reputation, was causing him conflict. She’d always considered herself an honest person, but she was quickly learning that her idea of honesty wasn’t nearly as clearly defined as his. He’d shown her more about unconditional love than her own father had, and it made her love him even more.
He lifted his eyes, caught her watching him, and reached for her hand. She loved his tender touches as much as she loved his heated ones.
“Why don’t you try calling your dad before we get started?” He smoothed his hand down her back. He always seemed to know what she needed.
She had called her father every day since they’d had dinner, and he still refused to come to the phone, which just about killed her. Her mother was trying to act normal, but Lizzie heard tension in her voice and felt the strain of their relationship every time they spoke. Lizzie hated feeling like a disappointment to them, but she’d come this far. She wasn’t about to back down.
“I’m too nervous about you watching the video to call tonight.”
His eyes warmed as he drew her into his arms. He was always drawing her into his arms, even more often now than before he’d found out about her secret. She used to pop out of bed in the mornings, but waking up in Blue’s arms had changed everything. She was in no rush to leave the house, because nothing outside could possibly feel better than being held by the man she loved.
“I told you I’m ready for this,” he insisted. “I’m not going to let you down, and once you see I can watch it, you’ll be less worried about my family finding out.”
“What if your family reacts like my father did?” She had almost begged off attending his cousin’s wedding because she worried about how his family would react, but she knew that wouldn’t be fair to Blue, especially since he was going to such great lengths to overcome his issues with the webcast and to support her decisions.
“Then I’ll be right here by your side setting them straight, but they won’t react that way. Duke is a businessman. He’s so impressed with what you’ve done that he commends you every chance he gets. And all my brothers have a thing for hot women, so they’ll think it’s sexy.” He touched his forehead to hers. “Fair warning…You should prepare to see the jealous boyfriend in me come out if they hit on you.”
“They wouldn’t do that.” She laughed at the thought, even though Jake had flirted with her and every other woman in his path last summer. She’d seen the way Jake and Blue stood up for each other, and she knew that now that Jake was aware that they were dating, he’d never cross that line.
“Not if they know what’s good for them. Call your dad, and then we’ll get started. He has to come to his senses at some point.” He pressed his lips to hers. “Remember, sweetheart, I’m proud of you, Maddy’s proud of you, Sky is proud of you, and your father will be too. He just needs to get over himself first.”
“You don’t know my father.” She pulled out her cell phone and walked to the other side of the room while she made the call. Her mother answered on the third ring.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey. How are you?” Her mother spoke quietly, and Lizzie knew her father must be nearby. It made her sick knowing that she’d put her mother in this position—and equally as ill knowing that her father could so easily turn his back on her.
“I’m okay. I’d be better if Dad would talk to me. Is he there?”
“He is. Hold on.”
She heard her mother cover the phone, but the conversation between her parents was too muffled for her to decipher. When her mother returned to the phone, her sigh told Lizzie everything she needed to know before she said a word.
“I’m sorry, honey,” her mother said.
“It’s okay.” Lizzie closed her eyes against the sting of her father’s rejection. But as she opened her eyes, something inside her snapped. She wasn’t a little girl making bad decisions. She was an adult, and she’d stood by her decisions to everyone else. Why was she practically begging for her father’s approval?
“You know what, Mom? This isn’t okay. I hate to do this to you, but since he won’t talk to me, can you please put me on speakerphone?”
“Honey, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She felt Blue’s hand on her shoulder, and when she gazed up at him, the pride in his eyes drove her on.
“Please, Mom?”
A moment later her mother’s voice echoed through the line. “Okay, you’re on speakerphone.”
“Is Dad in the room?” She knew better than to ask him to answer.
“Yes, honey,” her mother answer
ed.
Blue crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps twitched, his eyes narrowed, and she had a feeling that if he could climb through that phone and shake her father into submission, he would. She drew from his strength and held her chin high.
“Dad, I hope you’ll stay in the room long enough to hear me out. My whole life you’ve taught me to do the right thing. You taught me that regardless of what I had, to always make sure I gave to others. When I wanted to skip going to college and try to make a go of a flower shop, you said that college would teach me things I never realized I needed to know.” She expected to hear her father storm out of the room any second, but she had to say what was in her heart, regardless of what he did or didn’t do.
“And you were right. I learned all about business, and it’s helped me tremendously with my flower shop. And it’s helped me analyze and strategize and provide for Maddy’s education with my webcast. I know you don’t approve of what I’m doing, but I’m still your daughter.” Tears of anger and hurt welled in her eyes as Blue’s arm circled her. “I hope one day that you’ll see I am the same girl you raised, only I’m stronger now and more capable of making good decisions. Decisions that have helped me and Maddy.”
She gulped a breath, ignoring the bite of her father’s silence.
“I love you, Dad, and all I’m asking is that you take a step back and see me for who I am, not whatever misconception you have about who you think I’ve become.” Her trembling hand dropped to her side as she ended the call, and she buried her face in Blue’s chest.
BLUE WISHED HE could walk out the door and pay her father a visit to knock some sense into him, but Lizzie needed him right now. He’d made the mistake once of walking away when she needed him, and he wasn’t going to do that again. Her father could wait. Blue was so proud of her for taking a stand. He couldn’t imagine any father ignoring such a heartfelt plea. But if her father remained distant, there was no way Blue would sit back and let the woman he loved be hurt again.
