“She’s still not sure about coming up in August?”
“No… something about having to pay an entrance fee to this new business she’s doing—she swears she’s going to earn it back soon but,” I say, shrugging, “who knows?”
“Does your mom know… about…” Bo gestures between the two of us with the spatula.
I smirk into my coffee, taking a long sip. “She knew before you did, actually. I sort of just lied from the start when I didn’t clarify in whatnaturewe were living together. But now, I guess I can call it manifesting,” I say, going up onto the tips of my toes to kiss his cheek.
Bo flips a pancake, nodding to himself. “So, I’ve been thinking…”
Sarcastically, I look between the bathroom down the hall and him. “In the last ten minutes? Did I leave you alone for too long?”
“I’d like you to quit the café.”
“Bo.” I roll my eyes with affection. “I like being home too, but I still have to save money for the camp and pay my fair share around here.” I drape my hand around his neck, rubbing his shoulder. I love that I can justtouchhim now. I love that it feels like maybe I always could have. “And I’d get you fired…” I say in a low hum. “Those sweaters you wear for work and your glasses? They do it for me.”
Bo laughs, his throat working as he lifts a pancake from the pan to an already full plate, then turns off the burner. “You’d still be working. Just not at the café.”
“Ialsoconsider sex work to be an honest living, but gorgeous, that’s not happening.”
Bo leans on the counter, his hand flat on top of it. “I got an email from James Burrough—the investor—this morning. Well, last night. But I wasbusythen.” He winks. “I saw it this morning.”
I place my mug on the counter, nearly chipping the thing with the speed I do it. “And…” I wave him on with both hands.
“And he wants to invest. He’s offering 78 percent of what we need.”
I bring both hands to my face, covering my gasp. “That’s amazing!” I throw my arms around Bo’s shoulders and hug him. He stays unmoving, other than bending to tuck his chin into my neck. “But wait. That still means I—”
“I want to invest the rest, Win. But…” he says, tapping his fingers on the countertop. “I want to know myinvestmentwon’t be burning themselves out running between two jobs. You’ve got four more months before the baby shows up, and I think if you were able to focus on the camp, you could make some serious progress.”
“Bo, that’s…” I try to do the calculations in my head and come up empty. “That is…”
“One hundred, thirty-eight thousand and six hundred dollars.”
“You don’t have that!” I exclaim, my mouth open.
“No?” He pouts his lips. “Huh… could have sworn I did.”
“Bo…” I whisper, side-eyeing him. “Are you rich?”
“I do well.”
“I do wellsounds like something a rich person would say. I know you have a really great job, but that is someseriousmoney.”
“I’ve been lucky with some investments. Adamir approached me for some advice when he finished school, and I ended up partnering with him on an app he built. It sold over a year ago for just under three million.”
“And when you saypartnered,you mean…?”
“I got about 30 percent of that.”
I grip my forehead, laughing without sound. “There is so much math going on this morning.”
Bo drops his hand from the counter and wraps it around my back, tugging me to him. “There have been a lot of things I wanted to doandsay these last few months, and I’ve been waitingnotso patiently. This is one of those things. Now that you trust me,” he tilts my chin up toward him when I look down between us, “I want you to let me help, okay?” He nods, his eyes locked on mine, as if he’s trying to get me to do the same. “It’s your turnnow, Win.”
“My turn?” I ask, my voice distant.
“Everything you poured into your relationship with that…” Bo’s eyes flare, and he takes a breath, steadying himself. “I don’t know everything yet—and I’d really like to talk about it more when you’re ready—but when you said you supported that asshole through school just to get nothing in return, it destroyedme. So yeah, it’s your turn now, Win. To get back that time. To get to where you want to be. Where you deserve to be. And not just because you deserve it. But also because kids like Henry do. Kids likeuswho need this camp. So, please, let me be a part of it.”
“It’s not up to you to fix Jack’s mistakes…”
