Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
With my back propping the door open, I greet the twenty or so people as they walk in. When I glance up, I see Brooks waiting in line, and it makes my heart swell so big, I’m surprised my chest can still hold it.
“Well, hey there, handsome.” I grin as he cups my face in his big hands and lowers his mouth to mine. “You came.”
“Where else would I be, Wildfire? I’m so fucking proud of you.” He kisses me deeply before walking into the restaurant.
I’m so fucking proud of you.
God, I don’t remember the last time I heard those words from anyone. I didn’t know until now how badly I needed them.
I follow him inside, hurrying behind the counter to start filling orders. Tandy and Hazel arrive, and we are off and running.
Brooks orders a breakfast sandwich and a half dozen muffins to take back to the garage to share, and when I pass all the food to him without charging him, he scowls at me like I’m nuts.
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to pay for my food, Juliet.”
Christy smirks as she whizzes by, filling an order.
“No, babe. You can have the food. You’re married to the owner.”
“Fuck that. My woman is open for business, and I’m paying for it.”
I ring him up, and then my jaw drops when he adds a hundred-dollar tip to his order.
“Brooks—”
“Happy reopening, Wildfire. I’ll be back for lunch.” With a wink, he steps out of line, and I blink back tears as the next person steps up to place their order.
It’s like this all morning—a constant stream of customers. Some of them are tourists, but the vast majority are friends, people I care about and who care about me, all showing up for me.
I’m proud of myself for keeping my emotions in check. I’m just so happy. My cheeks hurt from all the smiles, but I don’t mind at all.
“I always love the smell of it in here in the morning.” Ava takes a deep breath. “Coffee and sugar with a little bacon. Gotta love it. I’ll have all those things, by the way. So proud of you, friend.”
“It’s been a very good morning, and I didn’t even do any advertising.”
“You don’t need to,” she says with a wink. “You’re a staple in this town. I’ll be by later to check on you. Harper’s coming after work for her salad. She’ll probably take two, knowing her.”
“I have plenty for her, no worries there.”
When I glance in the case and I see that all the breakfast options are gone, I’m stunned.
“I’m getting all the lunch pastries out since it’s almost eleven,” Hazel says as she slides a tray into the case. “And do you mind if we call Erica and the others in, too? It feels like an all-hands-on-deck kind of day.”
“Erica and James come in at one for the dinner shift, but go ahead and call Laurie in, if she’s available.”
With a nod, Hazel bustles off. We have a slight lull in the crowd, since we’re in that between time, and we all hustle to get lunch ready to go.
Connor strides in, looking every inch the billionaire in his expensive suit, and he smiles as he looks around my space.
“Well done, Juliet.”
Holy shit, I won’t make it through this day without crying.
“You have every element that goes into a successful restaurant here. It couldn’t be better.”
“Okay, stop feeding my ego, Mr. Gallagher.”
Connor laughs and shakes his head. “That isn’t something I do. You’ve done well. Now, I need lunch for my wife and me. She wanted me to tell you that she’ll be in here before the end of the day, but she just got a shipment in and is buried under a pile of Lucy Score books.”
I laugh and start ringing him up as he tells me what he wants. But when it’s time to show him his total, I zero it out and shake my head when he opens his wallet.
“It’s on the house today, Connor.”
“Maybe you do need a few lessons in making money. Giving away your product for free isn’t the way to do that.”
I smirk and cross my arms over my chest. “Oh, I know that. And I’ll be happy to charge you the next time you come in. But you were a huge help to me, and I’m grateful. So lunch is on me.”
He winks at me behind those hot black-rimmed glasses, then moves to stand to the side. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Taking a deep breath, I glance over and am pleased to see that the girls have loaded the cold case with lunch pastries and sandwiches. And then my eyebrows climb when I shift my gaze and see my husband walk through the door for the second time today, carrying a bouquet of red and pink roses.
“What are you doing?” I grin and accept the flowers when he offers them to me. They’re already in a vase, and they smell like heaven.