I shook my head, popping a grape into my mouth. “I’m not. I can do both. If I continue to draw my salary and dedicate all my evenings and weekends to getting everything going then I think.”
“Whoa,” he interrupted. “Isn’t that a lot to handle?” The worry in his eyes was evident as he took a step closer.
“There’s apparently a lot about me you still don’t quite understand,” I said, folding my arms.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he whispered. “It only seems that if there was another way to do it, you might enjoy it more.”
“I don’t want to ask my father for help, if that’s what you mean. And I’ve got a really nice savings built up that I can use in the beginning.”
“I don’t want you making me any payments until—”
“No special treatment,” I interrupted, holding up my hand. “I want to do this on my own. The whole thing. If I keep the staff, the transition will go smoothly and…”
“You are so damn incredible,” he said, sliding his fingers along the waist of my jeans.
“Is that so?” I smirked.
His expression clearly bemused, he pulled me into him. “Yeah. That’s so.”
“Well, I might need to bunk in your guesthouse a few nights a week. You know to make the travel less cumbersome and all,” I said, looking up into his eyes.
“Guesthouse, huh?” He laughed.
I stood on my toes and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “Yep. You said it yourself. That’s what happens when you live on the islands.”
His eyes were smoldering as he drank me in. I had never had someone look at me in this way, and I absolutely loved it.
“If you are anywhere but in bed next to me…” he growled, bringing his mouth next to my hair.
A spike of desire ran through me as I imagined myself curled tightly next to him in bed, and I wondered if this would ever wear off.
“I prayed for so long that I’d somehow experience joy in my life again,” he whispered, caressing my hair.
My chest tightened at his admission, and I couldn’t help the tears that wanted to escape.
“You’re definitely the answer to my prayers,” he said, taking a step back. “I want to do anything I can to help you succeed in this business. I know once you really get into it, you’re going to love it, and cheese sales and distribution will be a distant memory.”
His prediction made me giggle. I knew he was right. Worrying about cheese displays and product placement wasn’t something that came easily. I tried to act like my world was shattering if cheddar was down, but I honestly didn’t feel that way. It was cheese for crying out loud. Every time I heard that someone on my team had to drop everything or stay late because of a ‘fire drill’ that they had to complete, all I could do was cringe. Really? A fire drill? It’s cheese. No one’s going down with the ship over cheese. Yeah… Maybe I wasn’t destined for the cheese industry. Unless it was in one of my Danishes.
“I hope so,” I said, smiling. “Do you mind if we stop by the shop on the way to the ferry?”
“I already planned on it,” he said, his eyes sparkling.
“Sweet.”
“Wow. You’re spoiling us nonstop,” Brandy chirped as I brought a platter of oatmeal-cranberry cookies by her cubicle.
“Just practicing and Jason and I would gain a hundred pounds each if I didn’t spread the love.” I stopped so she could grab one off the tray.
“It’s nice to see you doing this again.”
“I guess when you really enjoy doing something, it’s impossible to completely ignore.”
“Yes, and I think the word for that is passion,” she chuckled. “So whatcha doing for lunch?” Either she displayed an odd expression on her face, or I was just being paranoid.
“I’m actually having lunch with Aaron.”
“Really? That’s awesome,” she said, grabbing another cookie.
“Why do I feel like you already knew that? And why don’t I want to know how?”
She shrugged and I rolled my eyes. “I’m gonna drop these off in the conference room. Could you send an email?”
“Of course. But they’ll probably be gone before they make it there,” she laughed. “They’re delicious.”
I dropped the tray off on the conference table and quickly walked back to my desk. I double clicked on my email and saw several emails from my father, questioning the latest numbers from the Southern division. It wasn’t a division I oversaw, but when my father saw a discrepancy he always liked to include everyone under the sun. Poor Peter. He was the guy in charge of the South.
I let out a sigh and looked at my calendar. There wasn’t anything too huge coming up in the next month, which was a relief considering everything I wanted to get done at the shop.
An email came over from Aaron wondering if we could move up the lunch. Apparently dad was on a rampage over there, too, and scheduled an impromptu meeting at one o’clock. I wrote a quick reply letting him know that was totally fine and began working on a PowerPoint deck that I’d be presenting to the execs at the end of the week. It was pretty bland, but I tried making it sizzle a little here or there. On one slide, an arrow spun in place three times, and on another page the positive growth number flashed in bright red on the screen. I started laughing as I realized I couldn’t even lie to myself about this job any longer. It didn’t matter what type of special effects I added to this cheese presentation, it just wasn’t cutting it for me.
My phone buzzed, delighting me to no end.
Ain’t nothing but a cheese thang
I started giggling and texted back to Jason.
Seriously? Do you not have anything better to do?
He texted back
Apparently not
I stuffed my phone back in my purse and felt extremely giddy. That was all it took—hearing from Jason, and I had the energy to continue bedazzling my presentation. I spent a couple more hours on it and was pleased with the outcome when my calendar reminder for lunch with Aaron popped up.
I grabbed my purse and went to say bye to Brandy, who was staring at her textbooks. As long as there wasn’t anything pressing, she knew she could sneak in reading and it would be fine with me.
“Off to lunch with Aaron,” I told her. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck,” she said. “He loves you and you love him.”
I smiled at her and walked toward the elevator, hoping that was true. I’d tried my hardest to put a lot of the stuff behind me, and I really didn’t want to bring it up over and over again. What was done was done. Granted, if Jason hadn’t popped up into my life, I might be feeling very different.
I stepped in the elevator and rode it down to the lobby where Aaron was already waiting for me. He was dressed in an impeccably tailored suit, and I noticed more than one woman turn to take notice.
“Good to see you,” he said, giving me a brotherly hug.
“Great to see you too. Ready for a quick dad’s-on-my-ass lunch?”
Aaron started laughing as we walked through the lobby to the outside world. Breathing in the fresh air felt good for the soul or at least my soul. I didn’t want to squash the dreams of my brother or Brandy for that matter. Whatever floats whosever’s boats.
“Sandwich shop okay?” I asked, pointing across the street. “They’re usually pretty quick.”
“I love that place. Their salami is the best.”
We placed our order and found seating outside. I was sipping my iced tea wondering what to say.
“Everything going well at work?” I asked.
“Yeah. Same old, same old. But I enjoy it,” he said, leaning back on the chair.
Right. He’s been at this longer than I had. Maybe I’d learn to enjoy it.
I nodded.
“You?” he asked.
“I’m not really feeling it,” I confessed.
“It takes time and if it doesn’t I’m sure dad would be fine with you moving into a different role at another—”
> “Weeell,”I interrupted him. “I’m thinking I’m not really into it as in the whole corporate thing.”
He pushed his lips into a thoughtful position and stretched out his legs.
“I kind of wondered about that,” he replied after a few seconds.
“Yeah?”
He nodded. “What are you thinking of instead?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what Jason may or may not have already told him.
“I’m thinking of owning a nail salon,” I replied. “There’s one for sale down the street.”
His brows furrowed in a confused expression.
“Aha,” I said. “Jason’s already told you.”
Aaron’s confusion quickly turned to amusement. “Jason was right. You really are something else.”
“That’s not the first time I’ve heard that, and I honestly don’t know if I’m supposed to be thrilled with that assessment or not.”
“Coming from the both of us, it’s a compliment,” he said, grinning. “Trust me.”
Our sandwiches got delivered, and I scooted closer to the table.
“So you think it’s a good idea? Owning the coffee shop and making my own pastries and stuff?” I asked, suddenly wanting his approval.
“I think whenever an opportunity presents itself to merge what you like to do with a way to make a living, it’s something that can’t be ignored.”
“That’s a yes?” I asked, smiling.
“That’s a yes.” He grabbed his sandwich and took a bite, but I noticed his gaze drifting behind me.
I turned quickly and saw Brandy walking down the sidewalk.
“Brandy,” I called.
She turned and waved and kept on walking.
“That’s weird,” I said.
“What’s weird?”
“I would have thought she would have come over to say hi. I wonder if she’s on her way to see the guy she hinted about awhile ago…”
“You are speaking in tongues,” he laughed. “She hinted about seeing someone?”
“Yeah. She got setup on a blind date and Jason and I went with her because she wouldn’t do it alone. And she was pretty miserable about it.”
“Who made her go?”
“I did.”
He started laughing. “So you think she’s seeing that guy secretly?”
“No. She had no interest in him romantically, but she told me she had her sights set on someone else, if it all went well. I have to admit I’ve been kind of an absent friend since the ‘I have a long-lost brother and I met a boy’ ordeals, so I haven’t heard the latest update. But she promises me she needs the time so she can have a head start with her classes.”
He looked completely captivated as I went on and on about Brandy and me while we were in college or else he was just polite. Regardless, it felt really amazing to be sitting with my older brother talking to him about life, my life. He told me about the types of training that he and Jason received in the military. Apparently, that’s where Jason learned his mad EMT skills that he tried to whip out on us on the bridge. I told Aaron how he brought that up, and he busted out laughing.
“That’s a pickup line I haven’t heard before,” he said, shaking his head.
“He’s full of them,” I said, grimacing.
“Can I count on another lunch date?” my brother asked.
“Absolutely,” I said, giving him a quick hug before I walked back across the street.
A pulse of continual happiness pulsed through my veins as I thought back to how drastically my life had changed once I started accepting my past and being open to the future. Maybe there was something to what a person puts out into the world. I opened up the door to the lobby and felt the ice-cold blast of air hit me, reminding me that I was indeed still human, and my bubble could burst at any moment. After all, I was going into my magnificently mundane cheese job and happily lying to myself about it, kind of.
The next few weeks were a glorious whirlwind of secret planning for the opening of Gabby’s Goodies while holding down my day job. Jason and I had decided to do a soft open with a slow transition from one owner to the next. We didn’t want to disrupt the already established clientele or make the staff nervous.
I’d been testing out recipe after recipe and all were selling out daily. Kayla even became a fan, which told me things must be tasty, and I allowed myself to relinquish a little bit of the fear about taking the espresso shop over.
Every morning I woke up exhilarated and grateful. I had wanted to know what it felt like to live my life for no one but me, and now I had that chance. No one else would make my dreams come true. I had to take control of my own destiny. And I had Jason to thank for showing me the way.
It also didn’t hurt that many of the mornings that I was waking up, happened to be in Jason’s bed, like this morning.
I heard his breathing change slightly and knew he was on the verge of waking up. I’d always been one to love sleep, but ever since I started working toward taking over the espresso shop, I’d had newfound energy. I turned on my side and Jason slowly opened his eyes, a small smile spreading across his lips.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured, his voice hoarse. He reached over and softly touched my chin, bringing a smile to my lips.
“Good morning,” I sang, placing a quick kiss on his forehead.
He propped himself up, leaning back on his elbows as his eyes adjusted to the morning light.
“I’m sad you’re leaving today, but I promise I’ll take amazing care of the girls,” I told him.
“It won’t be the same without you.” He sat up and threw the covers off. “I have a feeling the end of the week is going to be intense. The convention doors are open until 10 at night.”
“If I were there, I’d give you massages every night to make you feel revived for the next day,” I teased.
“If you’d given notice, you could have come,” he replied, grinning, knowing I wouldn’t take the bait.
Jason stood up from the bed, and his pajama bottoms hung low as he stretched toward the ceiling. He started laughing when he caught my eyes following his V-muscles down toward his waistband.
“What?” I giggled, tossing the pillow at him.
I heard Sunny and Tomato waddling up the stairs, and I rolled out of bed. Once they decided it was playtime, all bets were off.
“Besides,” I said. “Even if I was only focused on the bakery, I couldn’t just up and leave it.”
“What?” he teased. “You don’t think you’ll ever be taking a vacation from the moment you’re fully immersed at the shop? Ever?”
I gave him a final huff as I trudged to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
“I’m just saying once everyone’s trained, you’ll be able to take an occasional day off, which is good because I’ve got something planned.”
“Like what?” I asked, turning around with a mouthful of bubbles.
“You’ll see,” he said, noticing the panic rising.
“It won’t be until fall and it won’t be for more than a day, maybe two. Promise.”
“You know, you’re just like I was when I first opened my bike shop. The first few months, I didn’t have any orders. But I’d go in there so excited to see what the day held, and I never let the lack of business get me down. It’s amazing to see that in you now. But on that note, I better hop in the shower and take off for the airport.”
“Well, I can’t wait for you to get home because being without fabulous nights for this long will be terribly hard to deal with,” I pouted.
“You’re telling me,” he said, grabbing a towel.
“I’ll go start the coffee and feed the girls.”
I watched him step into the shower and my belly tightened. I glanced at the clock and wondered if there’d be enough time.
“What time’s your flight again?” I asked.
He started laughing as if he could read my mind.
“I’ll go make the coffee,” I repeated, walking out of th
e bedroom with Tomato and Sunny on my heels.
I scooped the grounds into the filter and poured the water into the coffee maker, letting the wonderful scent of coffee penetrate right through me. There was nothing like the aroma of coffee to completely wake a person up.
I heard the shower upstairs turn off and looked outside at the glistening water, barely moving from the breeze. The scene was right off of a painting, with the large trees on each side, framing the water and the wildflowers tucked along the shore. Soon the lawn would be blanketed in ice-crystals and the flowers gone. It was an amazing place to be.
Jason’s suitcases were already packed and by the door and when I heard his steps slowly come down the stairs, my stomach tightened. I was really going to miss him.
“Coffee’s ready,” I said, as he walked into the kitchen. He gave each of the girls extra loves and came over and gave me a passionate kiss that lifted me off my toes.
“If you were coming with me, there would be more of that,” he teased.
“Well, I can only imagine what your homecoming night will encompass,” I said, giving him another kiss.
“Encompass?” he teased, winking. “I better get going. Who knows what the traffic will be like.”
“Okay. I’ll take good care of the girls,” I promised, following behind him to the door.
“And they’ll take good care of you,” he whispered, turning around to face me. “I’m really gonna miss you.”
“Me, too, and,” I said. But his mouth found mine before any other words could come out. His kisses softened as I wrapped my arms around his waist, and I honestly couldn’t stand the thought of having to wait a week to see him again.
He pulled back slightly and his eyes connected with mine. “I love you, Gabby, and I’ll be home soon.”
Hearing those words stopped me in my tracks. My heartbeat quickened as I looked up into his eyes. I hadn’t expected that, not yet. I was feeling it, but…
“I love you too,” I whispered, kissing him one last time before he left for the airport.
“How are you and Jason doing?” Brandy asked, her eyes glimmering from the sunlight. “I’m guessing really well, considering how few nights you’ve spent here recently.”
Beyond Control Page 22
