Page 59 of Single-Minded
As I backed out, I saw him pause and rub his hands over his face before going inside, telling me he was affected by that kiss.
Good.
Because my blood was rushing through my body, pulsing into the center of me in a sharp ache of need.
To distract myself, I stopped at Sugar for donuts to share with Magnolia, then headed to my shop.
When I didn’t see her waiting, I went down the walkway on the side to peek into her space, knowing she’d found somebody to build it out for her. Sure enough, she and a guy who looked to be around twenty were inside. I caught her eye and gestured that I’d be waiting in my shop.
I went to the side door of The Bean Counter and let myself in. I stopped just inside, taking in the feel of the place now that the walls were up. We didn’t have the counter installed yet, but the front room for the public would be big enough for the lounging corner with the couch and armchair on one side and a counter with stools facing the window plus six tables on the other. I couldn’t wait to see how the white brickwork we planned would look on the wall behind the counter and the self-serve area.
Leaving the door unlocked for Magnolia, I strolled to the back and entered my empty office. It would fit a desk and a small sofa. The window brought in lots of daylight, especially in the morning. I hadn’t purchased the furniture for the office yet, but I loved the feel of it now that it was enclosed.
I went past the restrooms—empty square rooms with plumbing stems for now—and into the kitchen where the patio table was, along with the ladder and the pizza box and our trash from last night. I pressed my lips together in amusement, thinking how we’d basically dropped everything and hauled ass out of here.
Justified, I thought, breaking into a grin. Last night was worth every second of haste.
“Hello?” Magnolia called out as she entered.
I poked my head out of the kitchen. “Hey, Magnolia. The table’s in here now. We can move it out by the windows if you want.”
“We’ll probably get more done in here where there’re no distractions, don’t you think?” she asked as she peered into the kitchen. “It’s looking good so far. That’s the storage room?” She pointed at the doorway in the back of the kitchen.
“Right. It feels completely different now that we have walls, doesn’t it?”
“It feels like it’s getting real,” she said, her voice sparkling with excitement I knew was just as much about her business as mine.
“For both of us. I saw your guy showed up.”
She nodded. “Finding Jonas was a stroke of luck. I met him at the Lily Pad when he was shopping with his girlfriend. He’s trying to build up his handyman business. He used to build houses with his uncle in Mississippi, so he knows what he’s doing.”
“And you didn’t have to wait months to get started.”
“Exactly.”
After small talk about the weekend and Harper and Max’s wedding—Magnolia and others thought I’d left when Kemp did, so maybe no one realized my real reason for going home early—we sat down to get busy.
I had several logo designs to narrow down, created by someone I’d found online. As we browsed through the options, Magnolia decided to use the same designer for her logo.
A few hours later, we’d both gotten a lot accomplished, with her contacting Kennedy Clayborne about marketing for both of us and me doing a deep dive into how to run social-media ads.
“I’m treating for lunch,” Magnolia said when we realized it was nearly one and we hadn’t taken a break. “What sounds good? Humble’s? The diner? Bar food from the Fly?”
“The diner’s club sandwich sounds good, but you don’t have to treat.” I knew money was tight for her.
“No arguing,” she said. “You’ve been helping me all morning. I have no business experience and no clue.”
“You have a kick-ass business plan.”
“Thanks to Seth Henry. A year ago, I didn’t have the money to treat someone who was so nice to me, but now I can, and I want to treat you.”
It was just a sandwich, and it seemed to mean a lot to Magnolia, so I agreed.
She went to pick up our order while I finished watching another marketing how-to video for coffee-shop owners.
We took our food to the bench in the green area out the side door. There was enough shade from the tall trees that it was warm but not too hot.
“We’ve gotten a lot done, haven’t we?” she asked as we dug into our lunch.
