Page 6 of Unexpected Love
I nod. “Yeah. Blaring ‘Dancing Queen’ did the trick.”
She smiles. “ABBA for the win. I bet your neighbor loved that.”
When I’d first moved in, I’d had a dance party, and my neighbor had banged repeatedly on the wall that separates the two apartments. I’d politely changed the music from ABBA to Earth, Wind, & Fire.
“They must not have been at home. No banging on the walls or shouts toturnthat shit off.”
She grins. “What about the prank war? How’s that going? Who’s winning?”
I level my gaze on her and don’t speak a word. Does she even have to ask?
“Of course you are.”
I grin, recalling my latest round. “I sent over a fish plate a few nights ago, with a side order of brussels sprouts.”
She frowns. “Isn’t that going to punish you by proxy? I mean, you’ll have to smell it when you come and go too, right?”
“No. Our apartments share a wall, but the entrances are on opposite sides of the building. We each have our own set of stairs and everything. The only shared space is the balcony, but there’s a lattice wall divider.”
“So, like they just took a big space, slapped a wall in the middle, and made two apartments?”
“Sort of, although, based on my side of the balcony, my neighbor’s place is much bigger. So, no, no nasty smells on my side.”
She laughs as she gathers a tray and sashays by. “Diabolical.”
Her cackle makes me laugh, and finally, the stress that’s had me in fits releases a smidge, and I relax. “Thanks. Sorry to be such a ball of anxiety today.”
“Don’t worry about it. So, what are you going to do about the contractor? It feels like it’s been weeks since you signed all the paperwork.”
She’s not wrong. It has been weeks. After that jerk cashed my deposit check, he’s blown off all my calls and text messages. We should’ve been weeks into the project, but he’s been MIA.
“I guess I’m going to have to go to that office and see what’s up.”
“Which office?”
“First, I’m going by that contractor’s office.” I need answers. My future is relying on this coffee shop opening. The sooner I can get it open… well, I don’t know what. I guess the sooner I can start making the payments on the business loan I took out to cover what two years of living with my brother and saving every dime possible didn’t cover.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to ask Tom?”
Tom is Lissette’s current fling, who also happens to work somewhere in one of the county departments.
“I’m positive. I don’t want to be the new girl on the block calling in favors already. Plus, any issues would be with the town. I don’t know that Tom could help anyway.”
She shakes her head. “You’re so damn stubborn. But fine. Do it your way.”
So far, Lissette has let me run with my plans, but I have this fear that, at some point, we are going to butt heads over how my shop will differ from hers. And since we are equally stubborn and have very different ideas about how to manage the two shops, I’m not looking forward to that day.
The front bell jingles, and the start of the lunch rush begins. I make a mad dash through, wiping down tables and refilling the garnishment station. The little blue-hairs are still in the throes of their card game, the firefighters are still here, and the remote workers are still plugging away.
And for the few minutes I have, I let myself imagine that this is what it’ll feel like when my shop is a success.
Chapter 3
Cal
It’s a pretty trip home through the rolling countryside. The bike ride does its job, and some of the cobwebs clear. I can finally put the horrible shift and shitty night behind me. It’s been a long time coming, but I finally have something to look forward to.
My apartment is one of two above an empty storefront that’s currently being renovated. I’m still waiting to see what’s going in.
