Page 86 of Back To You

We watch Devin and Grant speed off, and I can’t help but flip off their car as it pulls out of the parking lot, knowing I’ll never see either of them again.

Chapter 34

Luke

I ride the high of watching Annie scare the shit out of Devin for the next week. It’s no secret that Annie’s edge, her confidence, her boldness, has been a turn-on for me since I walked into Lenny’s over seven years ago, but it’s something else entirely when I’m not on the other side of it.

It felt good to confront Devin, both for myself and for our relationship, but I know it meant a lot to Annie. It was like she could finally shut the door on that part of her life, finally gain the power back she lost after so many years of being a victim to Devin’s bullying.

I think Annie’s riding the high too, along with the fact that she got accepted into a program with the Milwaukee Zoo, one where she can do an externship for her last month of rotations next September, followed by a residency where she’ll train in the zoo and exotic animal medicine field.

She found out the night after our drinks with Devin and Grant, and I don’t think I’ll ever get the smile on her face when she opened the email out of my head. She also had an email that the investigation with her old apartment was found inconclusive, so it’s safe to say shemade the right choice by sticking with me and not going back there.

I’m finishing up my shift at Lenny’s, about to head into the mess that is the unnamed coffee shop next door, and today, I’m supposed to get all the correct permits from the city.

On top of that, I have to choose which distributor I will be going with for the coffee and equipment, and direct the shipment of furniture coming in today.

We are only a week into November, but that is one week closer to when I’m hoping to get this place opened.

I still have to figure out a name, wanting it to flow with the other business names here, especially Lenny’s and the bookstore since this place is between the two, but I figured that would be the last of my never-ending things to do.

Drew mentioned that selling some baked goods would be a nice marketing element for the coffee shop, but I would feel weird to have anyone else baking, so I’ve been meaning to talk to Annie about how she could possibly fit into this dream of mine.

The universe knows she is the center of every dream I have.

“I’m headed next door!” I yell to Emmett as I round the bar and head to the front door. He responds with a grunt of acknowledgment as the door to Lenny’s shuts behind me.

The November air is cool against my cheeks, my hair blowing back at the rush of wind that meets me. It’s about a ten-step walk from door-to-door, but before I can grab my keys to unlock the coffee shop, my phone rings.

“Hi, Ben,” I say as I hold my phone between my ear and my shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Jack and I were wondering if you needed any more help with the café. We’ll have a day or two after today’s shift is over.”

Bennett and Jack work in a 24-hour shift with 48 hours off rotation, and they’ve been using their days off to help me get this place into shape, along with Eddie, Emmett, and some of my law school/hockey buddies. Annie will come and study or catch up on her charting and reports for school to keep me company in the evenings or weekends, but she’s too busy to do more than that.

Mia and Drew are excited to help with the decorating, which we’ll be ready to do in a week or two if all the other stuff goes as planned, and Mia will be taking charge of the social media, one of the skills she honed when helping grow Eddie’s band, Cross My Heart, as their photographer and social media manager.

“I’ll take all the help I can get,” I tell my brother once I’m inside. The place no longer looks like a warehouse—the new drywall is painted a soft blue; the furniture being delivered today will be a dark contrast. “I want to get the coffee bar built and in place now that the plumbing is done. You guys good to help with that?”

“You got it. See you Thursday.”

“See you guys then.”

My brothers have been super supportive through this whole process, helping when they can and making me feel like I didn’t make a mistake not taking the position at Owens & Son’s. I have yet to speak to my dad, but I’m not holding my breath when it comes to that.

If my dad can cut out Bennett, his biological son, from his life after he decided he didn’t want to be a lawyer, I’m sure my dad can easily do the same for his bastard son.

The rest of the day flies by with dozens of people coming in and out of the coffee shop; contractors, electricians, and deliveries.

I was able to finalize the date of the soft opening, emailing Mia the official date so she can start putting together content for the social media pages we’ll be launching next week. It’s been dark a few hours by the time the last delivery comes, and I can finally take a second to look at today’s progress.

The outside of the shop is lined with small circle tables and chairs, the new windows opening up the space, making it look much bigger than it did before.

It still looks unfinished, but I was able to sweep the floors and clean up all the dust, dirt, and miscellaneous tools lying around from people coming in and out before the furniture delivery, and installing the coffee bar will make the place look much more finished by the end of the week.

With today’s work being done, I check my watch to see if I’ll make it home before Annie, so I lock the door behind me and head home.

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