She tilts her head. “Because I think the whole town is here.”
“What?” I squeak, hurrying over to join her by the door. Honestly, I think she might be hallucinating because I can’t see anyone through the shop windows but when I open the door and lean out, my jaw drops.
Roman stands a few feet away, keeping the gathering crowd just out of sight of the shop windows, because he’s a romantic fool who thinks surprises are fun.
So many people are waiting to come tomycoffee shop. My parents, Beli, Cooper and all of his teammates, pretty much everyone who lives in Pine Rock and a bunch of tourists too. Roman looks over his shoulder at me and winks.
I dart back inside the shop and lean against the door like I’m keeping out the zombie apocalypse.
Henry looks on in amusement and Skyler snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Breathe, Lola. You want me to send them away?”
“No.” My mind rebels against the idea even though this is supposed to be a dry opening, with only a limited customer base so we can work out any kinks. The sensible thing would be to ask everyone not invited to come back tomorrow. But I’ve never really been sensible.
I’ve dreamed about having a line of customers down the street and I don’t have it in me to turn any of them away. Not when this is everything I’ve ever wanted.
I push off the door. “Right, okay, we can do this. It’s just a few more people, we can totally do this,” I say to myself more than Skyler as I grab one of the chairs and carry it outside.
I plant the chair on the sidewalk, climb up onto it so that everyone can see me, then I put my fingers between my teeth and whistle.
The chattering crowd quiets, and I gulp under the dozens of gazes that settle on me but then Roman catches my eye, utter pride lighting up his face.
Golden electricity in my veins.
I pull back my shoulders and smile. “Okay, for those of you who don’t know, I’m Lola.Bean There…is my baby and I can’t wait to share it with you all. Having said that, this is a dry opening which means we get to make mistakes, and you don’t get to shout at us for it.”
The crowd chuckles and I grow into myself.
“For today and today only, our specialty apple fries are on the house, but I have to charge you for the coffee or Skyler here will quit.”
Skyler nods sagely below me. “True story.”
Another round of chuckles and my heart slows to its normal speed.
“Okay, I don’t really have anything else to say except welcome to Bean There… Does anyone have any questions?”
Cooper’s hand flies up. “If this is a dry opening, what exactly is a wet one?” Cooper’s face is the picture of innocence, and I bury a laugh as Roman elbows him in the ribs.
“Cooper will pay for his apple fries,” Roman says, a sharp grin on his face.
I join in with everyone’s laughter and hop down from the chair.
We prop the door open, and Skyler and I dash behind the counter. I come up to the till just in time to see my parents’ faces as they walk into the shop. They beam as they look around, taking in the eclectic, rustic design before setting their eyes on me.
My mom blinks away her tears. “Lola, it’s beautiful. I’m so proud of you, honey.”
My dad strides up to the counter. “I’ll have a coffee, black and a latte for your mother.”
Roman comes up behind him. “He fought me for first customer rights.”
“Damn right I did,” my dad bristles. “And we’ll have two of those apple fries thingies too. I don’t know what they are, but the smell is making my mouth water.”
My smile makes my cheeks hurt. “Coming right up.”
Roman hookshis arms over my shoulders and I lean back against his chest, looking out over the counter at the bustling coffee shop.
“You happy?”
I spent the last two hours manically serving little paper cones of apple fries and making drinks. My feet ache, I’m covered in sugar and cinnamon, and my cheeks hurt from smiling. “So happy.”
