Elle stopped. She’d not thought about that. His music was generally loud and rock. It would be too much for her little café.
But how could she possibly say it? “I, ah, well …”
“How about a light acoustic set?” Kent saved her. “Maybe try out one or two of my new songs.”
Relief washed over her. “That sounds wonderful. Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
“A glass of water would be mighty fine.”
“Of course.” She hurried away to get it. Conversations had started up again around the room, but everyone was sneaking glances at Kent and lots of the customers had their phones out to take pictures and videos.
At the sink, Nora bumped into her. “How the hell did that happen?” she asked.
Elle shook her head. “Wayne cancelled and Piper said she had a friend who could help …”
Some friend.
“Well, girl, our lunchtime rush isn’t going to end.” She nodded to where people were at the window of the café, peering in.
Elle couldn’t think about that now. She took the glass back to where Kent had started his first song. The noise level was perfect, not so loud as to prevent conversation, but not so soft that people couldn’t hear. She placed the water on the table next to him and he nodded his thanks.
Elle stepped back, right into George. He grunted and his hands came up to steady her.
“Oh, sorry.” She turned and was standing only inches away from him, staring up into his deep sapphire blue eyes. They were the most unusual color she’d seen, such a deep blue, and he was looking rather bemused.
She blinked and moved away, and would have crashed into a coffee table if George hadn’t reached out and grabbed her arm. His fingers were warm but his grip was hard, hard enough to break the spell his eyes had cast. Hard enough to remind her of reality and the dangers of not looking beyond a pretty face until it was too late.
Elle shook her arm free. “Thanks.”
She headed back to the safety of the counter and her orders.
***
George wandered over to ask if a customer needed help with the books, but his mind was firmly on Elle. There had been a moment – she’d looked into his eyes and he’d felt a connection, but then she’d stepped back, and when he’d grabbed her to stop her falling, her expression had turned to fear.
What had happened to her? Why was she afraid of someone trying to help her? He knew she’d gone to Chris’s pro bono office, so clearly she didn’t have a lot of money, but perhaps there was more to it. He would have to ask his friend.
Adrian, or Kent as he was known to most people, was playing an acoustic version of one of his rock songs and it sounded great. They’d have to discuss putting out an acoustic album at a later date.
After sending the customer toward the cash register with her new books, George pulled out his phone. He took a picture of Adrian and then tweeted, Guess at which hot new Houston bookstore café Kent is currently doing an acoustic set?
It would drive a lot of interest and he’d tweet the answer a little later. He didn’t want the café to be mobbed, but it would be good promotion for both Kent and Elle, and as Kent’s manager he had to consider the business side of this favor.
Adrian’s niece, Kate and his wife, Libby wandered over.
“This place is awesome,” Kate said.
“Sure is, Shorty. I might pick up a book or two myself.”
His attention was taken by Elle, who was serving the table closest to them. A woman waited until Elle had finished and then asked, “Do you have the last Jessop Chronicles?”
“Of course. It’s this way.”
George glanced at Libby, who was the author of those books. She grinned.
“You should sign it, Libby,” Kate said, loudly.
The customer, who was still close by, turned and said, “Are you Libby Myles?”
Libby nodded and George noted Elle’s reaction. Her mouth opened ever so slightly and speculation crossed her face before she gave a little shake of her head.
George knew what she was thinking. Any decent business person would think it. If she got author-signed copies of the Jessop Chronicles it would be another draw card to her bookshop café.
“Could you sign my book?” the customer asked.
“Sure.”
They moved over to one of the wing-backed chairs and Libby sat so she could sign the book. Another couple of customers hurriedly grabbed copies of the book and brought them over.
George smiled. He doubted Libby would get out of the chair until all the books had been sold but he knew she’d be fine with that.
The café was filling with people who were standing around watching Kent play. They were crowding the space between the tables and not buying anything. It would become a safety issue if it continued. When Kent finished his song, George stepped up in front of him.
“Listen up, folks. If you’re not buying anything you need to move out of the way. Take-out coffee is available at the counter so line up if you want it. There are people who want to enjoy their meals and be able to get out of their seats when they’re ready to leave.”
People quickly shuffled into a line, many happy to stand at the back.
George chuckled. That would get Elle a few more sales. He stepped away so Kent could continue, and monitored the crowd. It took him back to the early days with Kent, when he’d been both manager and bouncer for his friend.
Then they’d been in clubs and bars which could only be considered seedy. Dark, smoky and smelling of alcohol, with décor that had seen its fair share of hard knocks.
Elle’s café was a far cozier option.
A few patrons were lingering after receiving their take-out coffees. He wandered over and when they noticed him they began to browse the books.
Not all Kent’s fans would be so well behaved, but these weren’t the hardcore ones. They were the ones who’d been in the right place at the right time.
Elle walked by and George stopped her. “You should ask Libby to do a book signing here when her book comes out next month. I’m sure she’ll be happy to.”
Elle seemed surprised and a little cautious that he was talking to her. George didn’t like that at all.
“Thanks for the suggestion,” she said. “I’ll think about it.” She continued to the kitchen with the tray of dirty dishes.
There was something about her that got under George’s skin.
And he wasn’t the type of man to ignore an itch.
He just needed to figure out how to scratch it.
Chapter 2
Elle had never been so tired. She’d been on her feet all day and had eaten her lunch on the run. But she wasn’t complaining. The opening had been far more successful than she’d ever hoped, though she knew that was largely due to Chris and his friends.
Kent had finished playing at about three but people had kept coming all afternoon. It was now almost closing time and there were only a few stragglers finishing their coffees. Nora was in the kitchen cleaning up the last of the dishes, and Chris and his friends were sitting at one of the tables having a well-deserved drink.
When the last of her official customers left, Elle turned the sign on the door to Closed and locked it. She cleared the table, set it ready for tomorrow and then told Nora she could go home.
“I’ll take Toby to my place,” Nora said. “That way you can pick him up from there and don’t have to go all the way out to my mother’s.”
Elle sighed. A guardian angel must have been helping her today for everyone to be so accommodating. “Thank you. That would be great. I’ll pick him up by six.”
She let Nora out, locked the door behind her and then turned to face Chris and his friends. She had worked out how much she could afford to pay them for their time and she hoped they wouldn’t ask for more.
Scrunching her apron up in her fist, she walked up to the table.
George pulled out a seat for her. “You look wiped.”
Elle brushed a loose strand of ha
ir away from her forehead. She couldn’t imagine what she looked like, but right now she didn’t care. She didn’t sit; instead she put her hands on the back of the chair. “Thank you for your help today.” She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out the pay envelopes for them all. “You all deserve more than this, but I’m afraid it’s all I can afford.” She handed one to Chris, who frowned.
“What’s this?”
“Your pay.”
He shook his head and handed it back. “We don’t need to be paid.” The others shook their head in agreement. “We did it to help you out.”
“You’ve worked all day for me. It wouldn’t be right not to pay you.” Elle was horrified they thought she would get them to work and not pay them. She might be starting out, but she wasn’t going to take them for granted.
“None of us need to be paid,” Chris said. “We’ve got enough money.”
So she was a charity case. It stung but she understood how it looked from their point of view. She couldn’t afford to be too proud. She knew how much that cost.
“I, for one, enjoyed myself,” Imogen said. “I’ve never worked in a café and it’s far harder than I would have expected. It was a good experience.”
“I wanted to ask you if I could do a book signing here when my new book is released,” Libby said. “You have such a lovely place.”
Elle placed a hand on her chest. She’d wanted to ask Libby to do a book signing but she couldn’t figure out how to when she had already spent time helping out in the book shop. “I’m sure we can arrange something.” She smiled.
“Are you planning on having regular acoustic sets?” George asked.
His eyes distracted her for a moment, blue like the sky just before nightfall. There was depth there.
He was waiting for an answer. She swallowed. “Yes. Just on the weekends though.”
“I’ve got some artists who might be interested in booking a session. I’ll see what I can arrange.”
It was so very generous. Piper had told her earlier that George was Kent’s manager. “I can’t pay a lot.” She hated to harp on about money, but it was the truth and she didn’t want to get her hopes up, only to have them shattered.
“Sometimes they want a small place to try a new idea. This would be perfect.” He turned to Adrian. “Today went so well that I’ve already suggested to Adrian that we do an acoustic album.”
Elle knew from the gossip magazines that Kent Downer’s real name was Adrian but meeting him in the flesh, now he’d removed all the makeup, she realized he really was a completely different person from his rock-star identity.
“Thank you.”
“We’re all going to head out and grab some dinner. Do you want to join us?” Chris asked.
The temptation was strong. They seemed like such nice people and she would love to spend some time with them, but she was exhausted and she had to pick up Toby. “Thank you, but no. I’ve got some things to arrange for tomorrow.” Including calling Drew and finding out if she was going to turn up.
They all stood and Elle unlocked the front door. “Thank you again for all of your help.”
“Any time,” Imogen said.
As they left, George turned and said, “I’ll be in touch.”
Was he talking about the musicians? It appeared like more by the way his eyes lingered on hers, and her skin tingled in response. She nodded politely, but tried to seem uninterested, and breathed a sigh of relief when she turned the lock on the door again. She did not have time for an attractive man right now.
She checked the café to make sure all the tables were set and all the books were neatly arranged and then began to count the drawer, adding back the pay she’d extracted. When she was finished she sat back and huffed out a breath. Her first day had been a definite success.
Waves of relief washed over her.
She’d had so many anxious dreams of sitting at one of the tables, waiting for the first customer to walk in and no one coming.
But she couldn’t relax. She had to string a whole lot of successful days together to make this work. Thirty percent of small businesses only lasted two years. She was going to do better. She had to.
She counted out the change for the following day and put the rest in her safe. Then she picked up the phone and called her no-show waitress, Drew.
The girl sounded bright and chirpy when she answered.
“How are you feeling, Drew?”
When Drew realized it was Elle calling, her voice got decidedly quieter. “I’m all right.”
“Will you be in tomorrow?”
“Yes, I should be. I’m sorry I didn’t make opening day.” The regret in her voice was contrived.
“You missed a great day today. We had Kent Downer play an acoustic set.”
“Kent Downer!” Drew shrieked so loudly that Elle had to hold the phone away from her ear. “You didn’t tell me Kent Downer was going to play. I would have been there for sure.”
Elle frowned. She couldn’t fire Drew, as much as she wanted to. She needed the help for the next few days at least. “You weren’t well. It was better you didn’t give the customers your illness.” Had she ever been so carefree? At Drew’s age she’d had a two-year-old boy to care for and a whole lot of other issues.
“Yeah, right.” Drew sounded despondent.
“I’ll see you at seven.” Elle hung up. Part of her felt immense satisfaction that Drew had missed out on meeting Kent Downer, though she also knew if Drew had actually turned up, it might never have happened.
Going through and checking the rest of the shop, she grabbed her keys and her jacket and turned out all but the security lights. Then she locked up and went to pick up her son.
***
Toby was one very tired boy. He was just over five years old, but a whole day spent playing with people he hardly knew was too much for him. He’d never been without his mom for that long. When Elle arrived at Nora’s, he came running toward her, flung his arms around her and wouldn’t let go.
She swung him up into her arms as the guilt hit her.
He was so young to be left with virtual strangers the whole day, but Elle didn’t have many options. She couldn’t keep him at the café with her, because he’d be constantly under foot and bored in no time, but she also didn’t have any family nearby and none anywhere who would actually want him.
She ignored the stab of hurt. She’d accepted her family’s rejection long ago.
“Hi, my little man. Did you have a good day playing with Miranda?”
He nodded.
Elle looked over his head to Nora. “Was he well behaved?”
“Mom said she had no problems with them. She took them to the park in the morning and they had a nap after lunch for an hour. Then they played with toys most of the afternoon. There were only a few tears.”
Elle cuddled Toby. A few tears were to be expected. “Thank you so much. I’ll call your mom and thank her as well.”
“There’s nothing to thank. You’ve given me a job and a way to take care of Miranda as well. Harry is having them both tomorrow, isn’t he?”
Elle nodded. She and Nora had hired a babysitter to look after both of their kids during the work day, but he’d not been able to start until Sunday. It worked out well because they were able to split the cost and Harry was an older man, a friend of Nora’s family, who’d recently retired and wanted something to occupy his time.
She’d been a little hesitant in trusting him until she’d observed him with both of the children and realized he was caring and lonely.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She gathered up Toby’s things. She was lucky to have met Nora when she’d first moved in. They were neighbors in the little apartment building they’d nicknamed Single Mother’s Condo due to the prevalence of sole-parent families living there. The rent was cheap and the nearest school was within walking distance.
“It was a hell of a day today,” Nora said, standing at the doorway with Miranda in her arms.
&nbs
p; “Sure was.”
“That lawyer of yours sure knows people.”
“It was all luck,” Elle said. “But I’m so happy about it.”
“You should be. We’re going to be swamped tomorrow. Are your friends going to help out?”
“Drew is going to be there and I’ll have to put up an ad for more staff. I wasn’t expecting quite so many people.”
“Some of the women around here would be interested in a few hours of work.”
“Good idea. I’ll chat with them when I get a chance.” After her experience with Drew she wanted to find responsible people she could rely on. If she created a roster of the women in the apartment building, they could maybe even work out a babysitting schedule so they didn’t have to worry about childcare.
It was one thing Elle had never considered when she’d fallen pregnant. She’d been so happy and sure things would work out between her and Dean that it hadn’t occurred to her that she might need to find someone to take care of her baby.
Now money and childcare were constantly on her mind.
She said good night to Nora and went down the hall to her apartment. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and go to sleep but she had to get Toby dinner.
Putting him back on the floor, she opened the door and let them both into the apartment.
“Why don’t you play with your toys while I make dinner?” she said to him.
“No thanks, Mom.” He sat at the small kitchen table and watched her with very tired eyes. Quickly Elle dug around in the fridge to find leftovers from yesterday’s veggie burgers. She popped them into the microwave and threw a salad together.
When the microwave dinged, she took the food out and checked the temperature before giving it to Toby to eat. She dished up her own portion and sat down next to him, a sigh escaping as she did so. It was good to be off her feet.
“Can you cut it for me, Mom?” Toby asked, stabbing at the patty.
Normally he liked to cut up his own things and she had bought him a plastic knife so he could do it safely. He was obviously too tired today. She pulled over his plate, cut up the burger patty and gave it back to him.
Toby ate slowly, as he always did. It gave Elle time to finish her own meal and clean up the dishes from breakfast before he was done.
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