To her annoyance, David shrugged. “We’re business partners. Things like this happen all the time.”
He may not worry about how much money he’d invested in her business, but she did. “If we want to purchase a new dishwasher, it can be here by Wednesday. The plumber can install it on Thursday.”
Charlie and Andy looked at David. If it had been anything else they were discussing, she would have smiled at their synchronized movements. But not today.
“What do you want to do?” David asked.
She bit her bottom lip. What she wanted to do and what she had to do were completely different. “I could open the café without a dishwasher, but it would mean manually cleaning the cutlery and plates. I don’t have enough staff to do that. The best solution is to buy a new one.”
David pulled out his phone. “I’ll transfer some money into your business account now.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry if everything’s costing more than you thought it would.”
“Don’t worry about it. Is there anything else you need before I drive to the airport?”
Andrea shook her head. “Not at the moment. Thanks for bringing the boys back from The Welcome Center.”
“That’s okay. I’ll call you tomorrow night to make sure everything’s all right.”
“That sounds great.” Just knowing David was only a phone call away made her feel less stressed. Somehow, she needed to get through the next five days without falling apart.
David gently touched her arm. “Everything will be fine.”
The sincerity in his voice made her sigh. “I hope so.”
“You’ve done everything you can to make The Starlight Café a success. Your menu is fantastic, you have students who are eager to help, and you have the boys and me. If something doesn’t go as well as you’d like, it’s not the end of the world.”
Taking a deep breath, she cleared all the negative thoughts out of her head and focused on what David had said. He was right. After everything they’d been through, opening the café would be a breeze. All she had to do was follow the plan they’d worked on and let each day take care of itself.
Charlie hugged her. “You can do this, Mom. You’re amazing.”
Andy muttered something under his breath about puppies, but wrapped his arms around her anyway. “Charlie’s right. You are amazing.”
She held her boys tight. “I love you guys.”
“We love you, too.”
“Is anyone here?” a woman’s voice said from the other room.
Charlie wriggled free of the hug. “Come on, Andy. That’s Diana. She might want us to take her dogs for a walk.”
After the boys left the kitchen, Andrea smiled at David. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” he said softly. “You’re one of the most determined people I know.”
“My mom calls it being stubborn.”
“That, too.”
The rest of the world disappeared as she stared into David’s eyes. There was so much kindness and warmth in his gaze she could hardly breathe.
He cleared his throat and took a step away from her. “I’d better leave you to talk to Diana. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
And before she could walk him to the front door, he strode out of the kitchen.
Three days later, Andrea was busy baking cookies in the café when Charlie ran into the kitchen. “Mom, the big sign is here.”
Leaving her phone on the counter, she followed him outside. They’d been waiting for more than two weeks for the sign above the veranda to be put in place. But, between the company’s staff being sick and lots of other issues, it hadn’t been done.
