An hour later, he found Joss in the cafeteria underground, the center of the marketplace with a small shop, nail salon, and makeup shop.
Caesar sat across from Joss.“Thanks for meeting me.”
“No problem.How’s Sera doing with everything that happened this past weekend?”
“She’s good, thanks for asking.So I talked to Jeanie about the coffee shop.”
Joss nodded.“I think it’s an excellent idea.I don’t know why we didn’t think of it earlier, except that no one’s ever really had a talent for making that kind of thing.”
“A coffee and pastry shop would definitely be a hit in the park.But more importantly to me, Sera will love it.She’s been trying to figure out where she fits in here long term.”
“So since Jeanie mentioned it to me after the alpha female get together, I’ve been mulling things over.We could do this in two phases.First, we could plan and build a coffee and pastry shop in the park.It would be a small, stand-alone building, and if we put it near the safari tour, we could actually decorate it to match the safari theme.It could have some indoor seating, but most of the seating area would be outside.Pastry counter, whatever she’d need to make the coffees and teas, and in the summer, the flavored cold drinks could be added.”
“That sounds amazing.It would take us six months or so to build an entire new building like that.”Caesar was in charge of construction in the park, and while they had a large crew with the lions, some bears, wolves, and gorillas, they were spread too thin with all the projects in the park to focus on one thing, and that meant everything took a little longer.
“I don’t see that being an issue,” Joss said.“We could plan for a spring opening and time it to some other special events in the park—like coffee-flavored ice cream in the ice cream stall, half-price family safari tours with free drinks, and that kind of thing.”
“You said two phases.What’s the other phase?”
“Until the coffee shop is ready to go, we can create a small café down here in the employee cafeteria.Espresso machine, fridge for syrups and creamers, display for pastries, and whatever she would need.”
Caesar nodded, warm satisfaction blooming in his chest.“That’s a perfect blend of what I was thinking after I talked to Jeanie.A temporary setup down here didn’t cross my mind, but that would be great so I don’t have to assign myself as a security guard to her coffee stall.”
Joss laughed.“I hear you.Honestly, we could use a new food stall in the park, and a coffee and pastry shop would really be perfect by the safari tours.And down here, Jeanie said having someone handle the drinks for breakfast, which is the busiest time of day for the kitchen, would be a load off her back.There’s also a female in the pack named Heidi who is kind of a jill-of-all-trades and has helped in the kitchen.She’s always looking to help wherever she can, and I bet she’d enjoy learning how to make coffees and help Sera, if she needed a hand.And once the shop is opened topside, she can coordinate with Lexy on pastries to offer and maybe even do some flavor pairings and seasonal menus.”
“Love it.How soon do you think we could get the little café going down here?”
“I can place an order for basic equipment and supplies from the restaurant supply store where Jeanie gets her things.She could help place the order, then Sera could add to that as she’d like to.”Joss looked around the market.“A few days, maybe?And a trip to pick up the supplies when they’re ready.”
“Sounds good to me.”Caesar extended his hand and Joss shook it.“Thanks for this, I really appreciate it.”
“Happy to help.I’m going to reach out to Dexter in Little River and have him draw up plans for the topside shop.He can draft the plan and Sera can help tweak it once it’s ready so it’s what she envisions and also fits in with the safari theme.”
They parted ways and Caesar went back to patrol, but in his head, he was building a place for his mate.
* * *
The next few days passed in a blur of planning, building, and coordination while keeping Sera in the dark about everything.Caesar spent his mornings on patrol and his afternoons working with Joss and Dexter on the plans for the topside building.In the underground market, he’d set up the machinery and supplies that Jeanie had suggested and kept them under tarps so no one knew what was being planned.
Thursday morning, he got a text from Jeanie that they were ready to go whenever he and Sera hit the market cafeteria.He felt like a kid at Christmas.
“Ready for breakfast?”he asked, pulling her toward the door.
“You kept me up late last night,” she said with a yawn and a smile.“We could just make eggs and toast and go back to bed.”
“Nah, I’m in the mood for pancakes.”
She yawned again and he smiled.His lion was practically prancing with anticipation.She looked effortlessly adorable in jeans and a light sweater over a park T-shirt with a lion on the front.She always looked beautiful to him, but today she looked especially amazing, with her eyes bright and a relaxed smile on her face.
They walked hand in hand down the hall to the market.
“So I have a favor to ask,” he said.
“Anything.”
“Close your eyes.”
“What?”She looked at him.
