“You remembered?” I don’t know why I formed it as a question. Right in front of my eyes was the proof that he remembered my off-hand comment. I’d only mentioned it once when we went into one of the coffee shops in Tulum.
In the run up to open Cup of Joy, with all of the necessary renovations, hiring decisions, coordinating deliveries with distributors and most important, marketing, I forgot all about the chess set.
But Brutus hadn’t.
I ran my finger over the hard yet smooth stone of the board.
“It’s hand-crafted onyx and stone.”
The cream and brown squares of the board almost shone, and the beautifully handcrafted off-white stone pieces sat on one side while cream and brown pieces sat on the opposite. It was stunning and the colors blended in so well with the color scheme of my shop.
“How much was this?” I asked, knowing it had to be in the four figure range, at least.
Brutus’ lips twisted into a frown. He held up one of the kings between his thumb and forefinger. “I figured you might be a little leery of one of these getting lost. So, I have a matching set made out of plastic. You can use those during the day, if you’d like,” he continued, evidently not planning to answer my question. “But this one,” he held up the chess set, “is for us.”
He waved his head, directing us toward the chairs around the coffee table. “Let’s play.”
I had to blink away the tears for a few moments before I could follow him. Growing up, my father had often told me and Sharise to believe only about a quarter of what a man said. But to watch what they did.
Anyone can use those three words to try to convince you he’s legitimate. However, are his actions in alignment with those words? Does he show up for you? Can you rely on him when you need him the most?
“I love you,” I told him as I moved to sit in his lap.
I ran my hand down the side of his face as he smiled. He turned his head to kiss the inside of my palm. “I love you.”
The warmest, coziest, most comforting feeling spread from my chest throughout the rest of my body. It swept away the final remnants of doubt and fear I had about my shop. Whether the business succeeded or failed, I’d taken the leap of faith to change my life, and in the process ended up meeting and falling in love with the most wonderful man on Earth.
What more could a woman ask for?
CHAPTER26
Mia
“Gloria, can you grab a couple more of the fruit pastries from the back for the display case?” I asked my part-time employee.
When Gloria entered the kitchen area, I let out the breath I held. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I saw that it read seven-thirty. We’d only had two customers so far on this first day of opening.
“It’s early,” I reminded myself. The morning rush should be starting as soon as people made their way into their offices. My shop was intentionally located in a part of the city that was close enough to high rises that we’d attract workers as they went into business for the day. But it was also a few blocks from Williamsport University to attract the student population.
When the fear that crept in last night tried to rear its ugly head again, I looked over at the corner of the shop where the chairs and coffee table sat. On top of the table sat the beautiful chess set that my man purchased for me. The only difference was that the plastic pieces sat on the board instead of the handcrafted originals. Those were behind the counter, reserved for me to take out when I wanted.
A smile made its way to my lips when I recalled how late we’d been in this place the night before playing against one another. Brutus won, of course. He was so damn keen and aware of the board. But it took my mind off of the worry, same as the memory did right then.
The opening of the front door grabbed my attention. A familiar, smiling face met me.
“Kayla, hi,” I greeted Joshua Townsend’s wife.
“Good morning.” She eyed the shop. “This place is delightful. I couldn’t wait to get in this morning. I just dropped the kids off at school for an early morning tutoring session, and I missed my cup of coffee.”
“We can’t have that, can we?” I moved behind the counter, my fingers eager to start to prepare whatever she ordered.
Kayla sniffed at the air. “I’ll have whatever’s brewing in the air.”
I laughed. “I just grounded up our famous arabica beans.”
“Let’s do a latte,” Kayla added. “Oh, and one of those fruit pastries. I missed breakfast this morning.” She pointed at the glass case at the pastries Gloria had just brought out.
“This is to go, I assume?” I knew Kayla had a day job. It was probably nearby and she needed to hurry to get into the office soon.
