She got in the car and turned left onto St. Claude, heading for the commissary kitchen. She glanced down Clouet as she passed it and had to stop herself from stomping on the brake at the sight of fire trucks blocking the street.
“That can’t be…” Ashanti murmured as she quickly drove to the next street that would allow her to turn into the Bywater neighborhood. She kept telling herself that her judgment was off when it came to distance, even though she knew darn well it wasn’t. She’d had her eyes on that house for so long, she knew exactly where it was in proximity to every area of this city.
She turned onto Burgundy Street, her stomach pulling tight as she approached the fire engine parked in front of the Bywater house. She spotted Thad and Von standing on the front lawn with another man. Several more men, all wearing fluorescent orange vests and hard hats, stood closer to the house.
Ashanti parked one house down from them. She hurried out of her car and rushed over to Thad.
“What happened?” she asked as she approached.
He spun around, his expression turning from concerned to sunny in a matter of seconds.
“Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“How’s it going, friend?” Von said.
Ashanti pointed to the fire truck. “What happened?” she asked again.
Von waved a hand at the house. “It was just a teeny, tiny fire. Nothing to get worked up about. It was confined to one part of that front room upstairs.”
Relief washed over her. She looked up to the window of the room that she had toured both in-person and virtually multiple times.
“My office,” she said. “That’s what I’d planned to make that room.”
“It’s going to be part of our cigar bar,” Von said. “Hey, at least we now know it can handle smoke.”
“Always with the jokes.” Thad rolled his eyes. “It really wasn’t much of anything,” he told Ashanti. “We’d actually put the fire out before the fire truck even arrived. A neighbor called them, so the firefighters decided to check things out just to make sure the integrity of the room hasn’t been compromised.”
“That fire took out a wall that had to come down anyway,” the other man said. He wore starchily pressed jeans anda button-down shirt withMILLER CONTRACTORSembroidered on the pocket.
“So, you see, you don’t have to worry about your house,” Von said. “I told you we’re going to take care of it.”
“I wasn’t worried about the house,” Ashanti said, and realized it was true. The initial jolt of fear had been for Thad, not the house. “I’m just glad you all are okay.”
“How did you know about the fire?” Thad asked.
“I didn’t. I just happened to look this way while on my way to see an industrial kitchen that’s available for rent.” She told him about the huge order she’d received. “I have to make sure the space will work before I can say yes to the order,” Ashanti said. “Do you, uh, want to come check it out with me? It’s not too far from here.”
“Take him,” Von said. “Please.”
Thad cut his eyes at Von before following Ashanti to her car.
“I’m getting the sense that something is going on between you and Von,” Ashanti said as she drove past the house and turned right again, heading back to St. Claude Avenue.
“He thought the fire would make me want to back out of going into business together. He’s convinced I’m going to come out of retirement.”
Her head whipped around as she pulled up to a red light.
“I’m not,” Thad said before she could voice her question. He leaned over and kissed her. “Even if I had entertained thoughts of going back to Colorado—which I hadn’t—there’s no way I’m leaving New Orleans now.” He kissed her again. “Now, tell me about this order. You think you can handle it?”
His question set off a surge of anxiety in her belly.
She had been asking herself that same question from themoment she first read the email. Once again, things were happening way too quickly. She needed to pause, to think things over and make sure she wasn’t biting off more than she could chew.
But she could also make the case for striking while the iron was hot. How much would it hurt Duchess Delights were she to turn down her largest order yet, an order that could get the treats into the hands of thousands? It would be ideal if she could gradually scale up her business, but sometimes it didn’t work out that way. Sometimes, you just had to go for it and trust that the path you’ve chosen is for the best.
She looked over at Thad and tried to keep the apprehension from showing on her face.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Ashanti said.
