Page 116 of Twisted Violet
For when you’re ready.
There’s no signature attached.
No name.
I stare at it for a long time before opening it.
Inside is a set of keys, a folded copy of a property deed, and a proposed floor plan.
It’s a storefront.
Thestorefront.
The one I passed on the way to work a month ago, half-wondering what it would feel like to fill that space with sugar and light.
It was just a thought.
A quiet, wishful thing.
But this… this is real.
The paper in my hand says it’s mine.
Stevie doesn’t sayanything when I call her and tell her to meet me at my place.
Shejust shows up with two iced lattes in hand.
We don’t talk much on the drive.
She doesn’t ask questions, just rides shotgun while I hold the deed like it might disappear if I blink too hard.
The shop is bigger inside than it looks on the outside.
But it’s also warmer.
The kind of place people stop in on their worst days and their best ones, too.
Inside, it’sperfect.
Not finished, not yet. But framed out and painted. There’s even a swatch board on the counter with five paint chips in soft pinks and warm neutrals. The walls are a gentle cream. The trim, a muted green that reminds me of the guesthouse I stayed in at her place.
There’s a shelf already installed behind the counter, and it’s the exact size I once said I’d need for a display case in my imaginary cafe. I can’t even remember who I said that to-
Except I can.
Rome.
He remembered.
I turn slowly, heart thudding. “Stevie… did Rome do this?”
She’s already watching me. Arms crossed. Brow raised.
“I had nothing to do with it,” she says innocently.
I narrow my eyes.
She sighs. “Okay. Maybe he asked me for a little decorating advice. Maybe.”
