Page 51 of Leo and His Love Bunny

I know that’s not going to go over well. So instead, I say, “Has your shop been busier?”

“Yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “I never in a million years would’ve thought of breast cupcakes, and if I had, I certainly wouldn’t have implemented the idea, but I have to say, it’s the best thing that’s happened to my shop since I opened it. I have not been this busy, ever.”

“Is the church still giving you a hard time?”

“Mrs. Higginbotham hasn’t been in since, but other than Sophia showing up and announcing that she is opening the shop across the street, I haven’t faced too much trouble.”

“Did you scratch the idea of asking if she wanted to go into business with you?”

“No. I actually have plans to meet her tomorrow morning. She doesn’t know it,” Nora says with a small chuckle. I can tell she’s nervous. She’s picking at the edge of the chair.

And seeing her fingers moving over the back of it makes me realize that I probably should be going. It’s my off-season, and Ihave a much more free schedule than I usually do, but the rest of the world is not on vacation the way I am.

“I better go.”

I really don’t want to say that, but I do anyway. Then, I look over to where Goalie is still staring with hearts in her eyes at Trixie. “I better get my cat.”

“You can stay for a while if you want to,” Nora says.

I don’t want to overstay my welcome, and I’m going to be seeing her tomorrow.

“I’d love to, but I better go home and make sure I’m ready for my speech tomorrow.” We set up a time to meet outside her shop.

“All right. I’ll see you then,” she says as I bend down and scoop up Goalie. I give her one last chance to look longingly at Trixie before I walk back out past Nora.

“Thanks for letting my cat and me visit for a bit.” I think I wanted to see Nora just as much as Goalie wanted to see Trixie. But I don’t say that. She smiles and tells me to have a good night as I walk out. I keep telling myself that I don’t want to have a relationship, but I also keep wanting to be around Nora every chance I get. I need to come clean with myself and just admit that the idea of not having a relationship is slowly fading from my mind.

Chapter 23

Nora

I twist my hands together and try not to pace nervously. Matt told me that he had spoken with the lady Sophia was considering hiring to do her cooking if she actually got approval for her shop and got the money to start it. They had been at the shop yesterday across the street, and Matt had seen the woman as he was leaving for the day

Anyway, he found out that Sophia was going to be there this morning early, and I intended to chat with her. From what Matt said, it’s not the town that is giving her a hard time, it is the fact that she doesn’t have the money to do the renovations necessary to get the building outfitted to work as a bakeshop and eatery.

I’m honestly not sure why she doesn’t like me, and that bothers me a bit. If I knew, I’d apologize or try to make it right, but I don’t know. And I’m not sure whether I should lead with that, telling her I have no idea why she doesn’t like me and asking if I have done anything that offended her, and then trying to make it right, or whether I should just ignore the fact that we don’t get along and lead in with my offer, just being kind.

I say a silent prayer, asking God for strength and to give me the words, and then I think about all the mornings that I have spent studying the Bible, trying to figure out how God wants me to act. It isn’t going to be any different today than it ever is. He is going to want me to be kind, considerate, and humble. I suppose when someone is being unkind, the hardest thing for me to do is to be humble. I can be kind, but I want to do something to make myself feel superior. I think it’s a human thing. So I remind myself over and over again that whether she insults me or belittles me or tells me how terrible I am, I want to be humble.

As I wait, I think about how Jesus was humble. The Pharisees were always out to get Him, and all He had to do was put on a show, some kind of big miracle from heaven. He could have made the rocks rise up, or opened the windows of heaven for them to take a peek in, or simply used His power to change their minds and make them see Him. But He didn’t. He never made himself bigger than a humble servant. And that humility, I don’t think I grasp it at times. Because after all, He was the son of God. And yet, He was the humblest of men.

I determine in my heart that no matter what she says to me, I’m going to be kind, and I’m going to be humble, as I see her drive up and park in front of the building she’s hoping will be her new restaurant.

I don’t even know why I’m doing this. My business is going better than it ever has, and I really don’t need her. Even if she opens up a competing shop, I don’t think she’s going to take customers away from me, but...this just feels like the right thing to do. Even if she says no, even if we don’t get along, this just feels like the thing that I should do in order to try to mend the fences between us.

Taking a deep breath, I open my door, listening to the cheery bell jingle as I walk out. I walk across the street as she gets out of her car.

She looks up as I approach, then rolls her eyes, and the look on her face is replaced by a look of snotty superiority.

Her brows go up, and she says as she slams her door closed, “Are you coming over to beg me not to open? Scared that you’re going to lose your business?”

“I just came over because it’s a beautiful morning and I wanted to chat with my new neighbor.”

Maybe that was not quite true. I want to do more than chat, but it sounded good, and it’s mostly true.

But I can’t stand the lie that’s implicit in the words, and I say, “Actually, I have two things I wanted to talk to you about, if you have some time?” I wasn’t going to add that last part, but I raise my brows and sound humble.

“I don’t really have time. Not this morning. I’m very busy.” She gives me a tight smile. “Starting a business takes a lot of time and effort, and I don’t have extra time to just stand around and shoot the breeze with people I would prefer not to hang out with.”

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