“Yes, I do…” I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. Why does he always make me nervous? I guess it could be because of the reality that he is a mature person managing a successful business, whereas I am a mere youth floundering like a helpless fish.
I exhale slowly, staring at my fidgety fingers. “I bought the building next to Dragonfly. I'm going to knock down part of the wall between the two and turn the new section into a small cafe,” I say in one long breath.
Jaxon furrows his brows before my words finally catch up to him. “Holy crap, Spencer! That's… Big!”
“Mom always wanted to turn it into a bookstore cafe and, well, with ebooks nowadays, I need to make some changes. Bookstores are becoming more of a novelty place than anything, so I figured since people want the feel of a bookstore, why not make it so they can sit down, have lunch, and be surrounded by books?” In my head, this makes logical sense, but who knows if on the outside I sound like a crazy person.
Jaxon gets up, moving over by me and sitting on the corner of his desk. “Spencer, I think that is a solid business decision. It’s going to take a lot of work to get it up and running, though.”
“I know. I’m meeting with the contractor this afternoon. I have an idea as to what I want it to look like. The biggest thing will be that wall. I made some calls, and I can get a dumpster delivered tomorrow so I can start cleaning it out, but they would have to put it in the back alley. Is that okay? I don’t want to get in the way of any deliveries, so I wanted to check with you.” My brain feels like a scrambled mess, all these thoughts flying through at warp speed.
“Yes, of course it’s okay. Why don’t you let me know when they deliver it tomorrow and I can help with figuring out the best place to put it? And let me know when you start cleaning it out. I can help.”
“Yeah, me too, I’ll help!” comes a familiar voice from behind me. I can’t help but blush as I turn to look up at him.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
Jesus, he is so hot! The image of him naked and wet in the shower last night. Fuck me! I feel my dick thicken, and… whoa! Okay, not the most appropriate place for my dick to go off all half cocked.Literally!
I hear Jaxon chuckle next to me. Both Finn and I startle at the sound, pulling us out of the sexiest staring contest ever.
“Are you ready for breakfast?” Finn asks.
“Yeah,” I say, standing up.
“Oh, Jaxon,” Finn says when I move to stand next to him. “Spencer and I are going to host a dinner party next weekend, as a kind of thank you for everything. We are inviting everyone here at the shop and Alex, Jules and Olly. We are hoping you can make it?”
“Yes, please. I really hope you can make it. I really want to say thank you…” I hear Finn snort next to me and I elbow him, “… for helping with the stairs and, well, you have really been there for me, and I just wanted to do something nice.”
“Plus, everything you have done for me. Giving me a job and a place to stay, nobody has shown me as much kindness as you, well, except for maybe Beckett,” Finn says.
Jaxon’s eyes ping pong between me and Finn. “I’ll be there! And Finn, helping you is a risk worth taking, plus if you can figure out how to get Beckett back here, I will be forever in your debt.” He gives Finn a wink, making him chuckle.
“Well, Spencer is going to need a chef!”
I have never seen so much excitement and mischief pass through Jaxon’s features at Finn’s suggestion.
“I like the way you think!”
* * *
“I’m so full. I should not have had that last pancake,” I groan at Jules.
“No way are you going to complain to me about how full you are when you got to go have breakfast with a sexy man!” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Now tell me, how is it that you two ended up going to breakfast together, hmmm?”
I grab another box of books and start cataloging them on the computer, hoping that if I don’t make eye contact, I can pretend I never heard the question. Seems reasonable!
“You can’t avoid the question. I will hound you until my voice is all you hear in your sleep.”
I cock my head and look at her. “Ummm, that got dark real quick.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now spill it!”
Okay then, I guess I’m just going to do what the nice lady tells me.
“Well, I umm, I may have spent the night at Finn’s place.”
