Page 63 of Dream a Little Dream

“Kyle.” I slid over close to her and took her hand. “So, what’s the solution?”

She took a deep inhale. “I don’t ever want to be an automaton. I’ve worked with a few of those. But I also can’t let my emotions cloud my judgment. Every day, I’ll search for the right mix of logic and humanity.”

“You’re a smart and brave person. I admire you.”

She looked away, vulnerability peeking through. It was rare for her, but I was catching more and more glimpses of her softer side, which I liked very much. “Thank you. That means more to me than you will ever know.”

“Now I’m going to scarf the rest of this waffle and probably crash. I was hoping you would crash with me.”

She leaned her head back on the couch and turned it in my direction. “Now you’re spoiling me. I can’t remember a time I was this tired.” She paused. “We’ve never just…slept.”

I stared at her, finishing what was left on my plate. I would need another one of those someday soon. “No, no. We have to,” I said, pointing at her with my fork.

“And we can.” She savored the last bite of her waffle, then carried my empty plate to the sink. “Our first chaste night. Look at how grown up we are.”

“Just don’t get used to it.”

“Have you met us?” she asked with a wink. I knew exactly what she was talking about.

The weight of the day settled. We moved wordlessly to the bedroom and slipped beneath cool sheets, sleep tugging gently.

I turned off the lamp next to my bed and reached for Kyle, whowrapped her arms around me. “Tomorrow will be better,” she said and kissed me softly.

I placed a hand on her cheek, searching her features in the pale pool of moonlight that crept in. “I think so, too.” She’d swooped in and taken care of me that night, a foreign feeling, but one I could certainly get used to. Sleep must have claimed me shortly after. I remember my eyelids growing heavy, my thoughts sharpening then dulling, and the edges of the world spreading out until they were gone.

Peace.

With Kyle’s arms around me, I slept in peace.

Comforted, cared for, and falling in love.

Chapter Nineteen

Best Believe

When I arrived at the store the following Sunday morning, I turned on the lights to my office to find it empty of any and all furniture. My computer was gone. Just a few loose power cords left as evidence that it had ever been there. The filing cabinet had also been removed, right along with the framed pieces of grocery art on the wall, two of which I had purchased with my very own money.

“Well, damn.”

I stood in shock with my hands on my hips, once again wondering what it was like to be someone as self-serving as Donald Fucking Faber. My ability to do my job had been stripped right out of the building, without any kind of notification of what was next. Even worse? When I attempted to call Mr. Faber, I was sent to voicemail each and every time.

“What now? Do we lock up and go home?” I asked Henrietta as she logged into to her checkout station. As my longest-standing employee, I looked to her for advice most often. We’d be opening our doors in thirty minutes, and though I still had access to our vendor accounts via my phone, I felt like we were operating this place with one hand tied behind our back.

Henrietta didn’t hesitate. “I think we just take the reins and keep this place afloat until she sinks like the grocery store version of theTitanic. It’s the least we can do.” She finished her login and turned to me with soft eyes. “I love this place. I won’t be the one to walk away when it needs me.”

“I admire your loyalty, Hen. I’m just worried that the lights andwater are going to be the next thing to go, and without evidence of a sale, we’ve been abandoned by our self-involved former leader.”

“Excuse me.”

Henrietta and I turned in surprise to see two men, one in a maroon sweater, one in a sport coat, both looking like they stepped out of a department store ad. Neither from the Bay. “So sorry. We’re not open for another fifteen minutes.” But I also hadn’t unlocked the front doors, which left their presence a mystery. “How did you get inside, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Should have led with that. I’m Brent Carmichael,” Sports Coat said. He held up a key. “We’re from BeLeaf Foods, the new owners. We’re scheduled to meet with Savanna Potter at eight a.m. We’re a few minutes early.”

I looked to Henrietta and back. “Um, I’m Savanna, but no one told me we had a meeting, or that you had officially bought the store. That’s…wonderful news.”

The two men looked at each other in confusion. “I apologize. Don told us when we signed the papers that he’d be transitioning the employees and the building, but then he stopped speaking to my office altogether, which I’ll admit was…unusual.”

“He probably got in a fight with his hussy girlfriend,” Henrietta offered. “She has too many opinions and too tight an ass.”

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