Maddy snapped closed the laptop. “But I guess you didn’t come around to talk about spreadsheets.”
“Actually, I did.”
Maddy opened her eyes wide and reached for her coffee. “Really?”
“Yes, really. I have a proposition for you.”
“And what’s that?”
“Well, you know you said that you planned to reduce your hours working for the university, now you’re pregnant.”
“Yes,” said Maddy slowly, obviously wondering where Amber was going.
“Well, I wondered if you’d be interested in a business venture. Working from home, around the baby.” She nodded to Maddy’s pregnant stomach.
“What kind of business venture?”
Amber licked her lips. Ever since the blow up with David, she’d been thinking about her life and what she wanted. It had all become clearer when she knew what shedidn’twant. Shedidn’twant to be reliant on anyone else for her future. Shedidn’twant to be dependent on a man for her emotional or physical needs, and shecertainlydidn’t want to go cap in hand to an art gallery to only have them look down at her work.
“I don’t think the owner will take much persuading to sell the café. I want to buy it and I can run it easily enough, dealing with the food and the people, but I can’t run the business side and wondered if you’d come in with me as a partner.”
The words had tumbled out, and Amber held her breath as she waited for Maddy to answer. Her hands tightened around the coffee cup but she didn’t drink from it, because she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t splutter. As soon as the idea had entered her head, after David’s comment about the café being a reflection of her personality, the notion had refused to leave.
“What’s brought this on?” asked Maddy.
Amber hadn’t expected Maddy to reply directly immediately. It wasn’t Maddy’s way. But she was still a bit disappointed.
“David.” She took a sip of her coffee and pushed it back onto the scrubbed pine table. “Something he said about how people went to the café because of me.”
“That’s true.”
Amber shrugged. “I don’t know. But it made me think. David had arranged the exhibition for me because I hadn’t managed it myself. But I should have tried harder. I shouldn’t have let him take control. It wasn’t his fault, it was mine. And I intend to rectify that. For all the mistakes David made, he did actually make me feel more confident and make me think bigger.” She sat forward in her chair, eager now. “You see, I thought I could use it to show my work and others like it. It’s the perfect setting, nothing snotty or high-brow like the Christchurch galleries. It’s got the right vibe. Or it will have with a little tweaking.”
“Hm,” said Maddy, taking an annoyingly long sip of coffee, frowning at the table, lost in thought. “You are certainly the main attraction at the café. You know everyone and everyone knows you. That’s why they go there. What about the food?”
“The chef wants to continue to work. She’ll simply be working for me, with better wages.
“Are you sure you want to take on the responsibility of owning a café?”
Amber hesitated.
“You’ve never wanted it before,” said Maddy. “In fact, you also seemed to hate any responsibility.”
“That’s true. But, you know, Maddy, I feel different since David came along. I mean, I know it’s over between us—”
“Do you? I’m not so sure.”
Amber gave Maddy a hard look. “It’s over, believe me. How can I trust someone who wants to use me—someone who threw me a line and drew me in until he had me where he wanted me?”
“But he didn’t use you, did he?”
Amber frowned. “What do you mean? Of course he did!”
Maddy leaned forward and put her hand over Amber’s. “No, I mean, he intended to, I don’t dispute that, but he didn’t in the end, did he? I mean, he came clean and told you everything.”
“And you think that’s okay?”
Maddy pulled a face. “Not exactly, but–”
