“Oh, well, that’s fun.”Audrey shook her head.“I knew David did security, but well, he doesn’t talk about the job much.He mostly tells stories about things on the job, but sometimes, I don’t know what he’s actually doing.I always pictured bodyguard services.”
“We do some of that, too.Sometimes, we consult with companies looking to beef up their own security.”
Mason grinned, and when she glanced up at him, his eyes had unfocused, like he was remembering.She was still surprised that Cassidy said he didn’t smile much.Then again, she’d met him on the day of his engagement, so maybe he was just smiling more all the time now.
“One time, we got to break into a company’s headquarters because they wanted an assessment on their current system.That was a lot of fun.”
“Fun and hopefully not dangerous.”She shivered as they stepped out onto the street, not from the idea of danger but because a cold blast of air hit them the moment they stepped outside.Mason didn’t seem bothered, even though he wasn’t wearing a coat, just another sweater similar to the one he’d worn on Saturday.
Her brother always denied when he was cold, too.Maybe it was an ex-military thing.
“Not dangerous at all, since they knew it was going to happen.But they didn’t know when or how we were going to do it.It was a good exercise for us as well because it helped us see things from the other side of things and gave us ideas on how to prepare.”
“Makes sense.”The sidewalk was far from empty, but Mason stuck by her side as they moved past some people walking dogs, a few harried-looking workers rushing past, and several other couples.
Not that she and Mason were a couple.They weren’t.They were a pair of people walking together, side by side, because they were going in the same direction.
“Are you excited about your grand opening?”
“Yes and no,” she admitted.“Excited but terrified is more accurate.What if nobody comes?What if my business is a bust?”What if everything her parents had said was right?What if she’d ruined her life by moving away and trying to set up her own business?
What would she do then?
“Well, first of all, even if no one came on day one, that wouldn’t be an indication that no one willevercome,” he pointed out.
Audrey frowned.That seemed… but he was right.
“That might be true, but I would still rather have a huge rush of people at the grand opening.It would feel like I’m getting off on the right foot.”
“But what if you have a huge rush on day one and then no one shows up on day two?”he teased.
She ground to a halt, her jaw dropping open.She hadn’t even considered that.It felt as if day one went well, then so would everything after that.But if it went poorly, she’d never recover.But he was right.She could do all this work for a grand opening, get everyone in the door on day one, and then nothing.
It suddenly felt hard to breathe.
“Woah, Audrey, I was teasing.I’m sorry.”Mason had quickly realized she wasn’t right beside him and turned so that he was facing her.His hands came up to hold on to her shoulders, giving her a bit of extra stability, which she appreciated.“I shouldn’t tease you like that.The only reason I did is that Iamthat sure that your bakery is going to be a wonderful success.”
Looking up into his dark eyes, framed by his glasses, feeling his hands on her shoulders, she suddenly felt very, very warm.Warm enough that a blush started to creep across her cheeks in response to it.
There was something incredibly intimate about standing this close, meeting his gaze like this.
“Okay,” she said, because her brain had gone on the fritz, and it was the only thing she could think of to say.
“Have you run a business before?”
Audrey snorted as Mason released her and stepped away, his question shaking her out of her frozen state.
“No.I studied business in school, but I think my parents always expected me to use that to help whoever I married.They didn’t want me actually working.”At least, not more than a cushy, nepotism position at her dad’s company, where she didn’t have any real responsibilities.
At the time, she’d thought that he was being supportive and putting her to work so she could get some experience and start moving up in the company.It had quickly become clear to her that she wasn’t there to actually work, just to get a paycheck and meet ‘the right kind of people.’
Which was not what she wanted.
“Well, jumping into having your own is definitely one way to go,” he replied.“Sink or swim, right?”
“Unfortunately, yes.I’ve had to use most of the money that’s currently available to me from my trust fund to set it up.I have enough to live on for this year even if I make nothing, but after that… well.”She sighed.“And twenty percent of businesses fail in their first year.”
“That many?”He sounded surprised, then shook his head.They were coming up on her bakery now, the pink and white awning sticking out from the building was a nice, cheerful landmark.“Yours won’t.”
