I make quick work of getting ready, wearing my cutest working-hard-but-also-talking-to-customersoutfit. I chose jeans and a sheer black top covered in tiny white hearts over a tank, complete with red flats that are nearly as comfortable as sneakers.
I head down to the kitchen, make a pot of coffee, and start the grits—they have to cook the longest. I’m cracking eggs as my kitchen staff arrive and I’m surrounded by the familiar kitchen bustle that I love. It isn’t long before the servers step into the kitchen. I’m taking a moment to sit on a stool and sip my coffee, and I grin when they walk in.
“Welcome back,” I say to the two girls, Tilly and Jess, who’ve worked here since I opened. “And welcome,” Iadd, to the man I hired last week.”
“It’s so good to be back,” the girls say in unison, and we all laugh.
“I’m gonna check on things out front,” I say, standing from my stool.
“No. You relax and enjoy your coffee. Everything is perfect out there. We’re ready,” Tilly says.
“But you should come out to flip the sign and unlock the door when it’s time,” Jess adds.
I relax back onto my stool, deciding to trust them—and myself, because I was just out there last night—and enjoy the last few minutes of relative peace.
Twenty minutes later, I step onto the restaurant floor and head to the door to officially open, when I notice two things at once and gasp. Small vases filled with peonies in pinks and corals on all the tables, and my first customer is somehow already inside, sitting with his back to me. He must have heard my intake of breath because he straightens, then he stands. When he turns, I stop breathing.
“Hello, darling.”
45
Alexander
Ithadn’toccurredtome to be nervous. A bit anxious and excited, yes, but I’d been busy enacting my plan. Now, though, as I watch Ivy, looking as stunning as ever, she stares at me, and I see the cogs turning in her mind. I’m nervous. Why is it I expected her to feel differently than when she left me in London? Distance doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. What can I say to show her I meant it when I said I would give things up for her?
“I bought—” I begin, but my words seem to have woken her and she’s running toward me. She jumps into my arms so hard and so fast that I have to take two steps back to avoid us becoming better acquainted with the floor. “—a house here.”
“You’re here!” she says into my ear, as hercheek presses against mine. Then she leans back to look into my eyes. “And you … what?”
“I bought a house here.”
“Why? I mean, really?” She puts her feet on the floor but keeps her arms around my neck. I pull her to me.
“There is no place I’d rather be. I have one more film I’m contracted to be in, but after that, we’ll figure it out.”
“We’ll figure it out,” she repeats breathlessly.
I look over Ivy’s shoulder where the restaurant staff, her family, and the Parkers stand. “I want to kiss you, but we have an audience.”
She didn’t even glance their way. “I don’t care if you don’t.” She tilted her chin up toward me, and I meet her the rest of the way. As soon as our lips touch, it’s coming home. It’s right. It’s good. It’s everything I could ever want. It’s rain on dry land.
Ivy threads her fingers through my hair, and I pick her up again. Claps and cheers fill the air, and I feel Ivy smile against my lips before she speaks. “Maybe we need to wait for a more private moment to have a proper hello.”
I loosen my hold on her, so she slides slowly down my body. “I like the sound of that.” Before we go visit the crowd, I cup her face in my hands. “I don’t know when I’ve ever been so happy.” I lean down and kiss her forehead, then stay close, keeping my words soft. Just for us. “I love you, darling.”
“You do?” she whispers, almost as if she can’t believe it.
“I do. I know it’s fast, but that doesn’t make it untrue. And I certainly don’t expect—”
“I think ...” she interrupts, then takes a slow breath. “I think I love you too.”
My heart absolutely pounds in my chest with the need to kiss her again, heedless of our audience. I bring her lips back to mine, then wrap my arms around her. She moans softly against my lips as she squeezes me tighter. It takes all my willpower to keep from picking her up and carrying her somewhere more private.
Instead, I dip Ivy low like we’re dancing, not breaking the kiss. The crowd roars again, and it’s enough to bring us out of our little bubble. I bring her upright once more and say, “I’ve got some people for you to meet, then I want to try your grits.”
The Parkers are, as I knew they would be, completely smitten with Ivy, and the feeling is entirely mutual. Ivy gave them a tour of the kitchen until patrons began trickling in. When she asked us what we wanted to eat, Mrs. Parker told her to surprise us, then winked at me.
We took a seat in the booth closest to the kitchens, because I wanted to have the best chance to glimpse Ivy as often as possible. Surprising her at the opening sounded all well andgood until it was time for her to get to work.
