Page 56 of Knight With Benefits

Carl’s arm left my shoulders, taking his warmth away, and I immediately missed the contact. I worried over missing the important part of the conversation and looking like a fool when I was forced to ask Carl to repeat it to me, but I’d do whatever it took to keep moving forward with the café. If the cost was too high, I’d find a way to save money in other places, because the cooler was required, and I couldn’t just give up.

I was going to keep trying to make the café a reality until I managed it, or was forced to stop.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Carl

Ieyed Gwyn as I walked back into the kitchen, my bank account a couple thousand dollars lighter. She hadn’t seemed to be aware of what was being said, her scent going bitter and her breathing growing shallow even before the repairman gave her the price. The way she’d trembled when I wrapped my arm around her had stirred every protective instinct in me, and it was easy to see what her concern would be when more problems had been found than simply a missing door.

My bear was still tearing at my insides for not covering the whole cost of the work, but Gwyn would have noticed something was off if she didn’t remember paying and couldn’t find a charge for it on her account. Her vacant stare when he’d mentioned needing a deposit to schedule the work had given me an opening to do what I could, and paying forty percent instead of the required twenty hopefully left her better able to cover the rest without it leaving her short on the other things the café still needed.

“When are they coming back again?”

I hadn’t been outside long, too worried she’d follow us and catch me in the act, but the break seemed to have given her a chance to find her balance again.

“It’s scheduled for next Thursday. They need the payment by the day before or they’ll cancel the appointment.”

She looked like she was about to ask how much it was since I was sure she had missed that part of the conversation, but she closed her mouth and bit her lips instead, giving me a nod.

“Thanks.”

The short response felt like a jab to my gut, the tension in her curvy body still obvious, but I didn’t take it personally. Money was a touchy subject with a lot of people, especially in Hell, where most of the residents were one slip away from poverty.

“You want to come help me real fast so I can finish up the measurements? I can place an order to have the supplies delivered that way I don’t have to steal David’s truck again.”

Her brows shot up, my attempt to distract her working.

“Steal? I thought you said he let you borrow it?”

Grinning, I lifted one shoulder before turning away from her and making her follow me into the front of the building.

“It’s the same thing, right? Steal, borrow… Either way, itwashis, but I was using it.”

The way she narrowed her eyes at me when I glanced back had my cock jumping to attention, the spark I loved obvious in the angle of her brows.

“No, it’s not the same, and you better have asked for permission before taking his truck.”

I could almost hear theyoung manmy mother would have tacked onto the end, and I couldn’t help chuckling. Omega or not, Gwyn shouldn’t have any reason to consider herself weak after raising two alphas. She’d shown her strength more than once, but that feat alone took more than some people had.

“He’d have been over here banging down the door if I hadn’t,” I reassured her. “Although, after keeping it overnight when I was supposed to bring it back, he might deny me from now on.”

I’d used a chalk pencil to mark off where the new wall would be, leaving a generous opening to keep the space from feeling too small. There were also two windows within the soon-to-be reading nook to allow natural light and keep it feeling open if they were utilized correctly.

“So, I’ve drawn out where I think the wall should be, but depending on what you plan on doing on either side, I can still adjust its distance from the outer wall. If I build twelve-inch-deep shelves on both ends and on the inside of this new wall, that will give you this space for seating,” I said, extending my arms to point out the other markings I’d made on the floor. There wasn’t a ton of space, but it would be enough for a few chairs or a couch set.

Gwyn stepped closer, walking through the opening as if the wall was already there and looking around.

“If we started the shelves on the ends a little higher, I could put chairs in the corners, plus have a seating area in the center without it being too crowded.”

I tried to visualize a chair at each end of the space, and while it seemed like it would be a bit cramped to me, I was a big guy, so others might not mind.

“Okay. Do you want the bottom portion to be cabinets then, for extra storage?”

Something I’d learned in my years working on both houses and businesses, there was no such thing as too much storage.

I’d already pulled my notebook out and started erasing the lower shelves I’d drawn on my quick sketch and changing the numbers on the relevant wood. In the end, losing the shelves and putting on cabinet doors instead would equal out about the same.

“That would be great.”

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