Zoe smiled. “Thanks. We went round and round with the architect the owner hired on how to transition between the two areas so that it felt like one cohesive space, but were still two separate stores.”
“I’m glad you went with the folding doors instead of the gate,” Bree said.
Zoe cocked her head. “How did you know we discussed putting a gate in?”
For a second, Bree looked panicked. “Um…Tim must have mentioned it to Jase.”
Zoe might have believed her if it hadn’t been for the hesitation in her voice and because, “I never mentioned the gate to Tim. Elba only talked about it once and neither of us liked the idea.”
Denise looked anywhere but at Zoe or Bree, even going as far as glancing at her empty wrist.
“Bree…are you the owner?” Zoe asked.
“Yes! I bought the building. It’s a good investment and it helped out a couple of friends.” She leaned forward and braced her hands on her knees, then straightened and rested them on her hips. “Whew. So glad the cat’s out of the bag. It was killing me.”
Denise shook her head. “How did you ever get a clearance? You suck at keeping secrets.”
Bree shot her a withering look. “Shut up. I didn’t want to keep this secret.”
Zoe flung her arms around Bree’s neck. “Thank you. I don’t know why you thought you had to keep it a secret, but thank you, thank you, thank you. I promise you won’t regret it. We’ll be perfect tenants and we’ll make sure it stays a good investment.”
She hugged Zoe back. “Tim was worried you wouldn’t accept the terms of the offer if you knew they were coming from me.”
“You know, he was probably right. Now I don’t care.” She let go of Bree and looked at Denise.
“No offense, but I’m not a big hugger,” she said.
“None taken,” Zoe said.
Bree leaned close. “I’ll get her for you later.”
Denise rolled her eyes. “God, I hate you people.”
Bree shook her head and mouthed, “She loves us.”
“I’m leaving.” She turned away but called over her shoulder, “Zoe, your store’s awesome.”
Zoe grinned. She’d spent enough time with Bree and Denise the last few months not to be offended by Denise’s brusqueness.
Around two in the afternoon, the crowd began to thin and gave everyone a chance to relax a little. So far they hadn’t faced any major issues other than running out of a couple of the most popular children’s books, but she’d issued IOUs to the customers with promises of a discount on future purchase. All-in-all, not a bad problem to have.
“Zoe.”
Zoe looked up from the tablet she was checking inventory on and found her mom and step-father on the other side of the counter. “Mamãe? How—? What are you doing here?”
She set down the tablet and walked around the counter to hug her parents.
“Tim called us and told us about the grand opening. Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Mamãe, you haven’t supported me this entire time. I honestly didn’t think you’d be interested.”
“Oh,querida. Of course we’re interested. We love you.”
Brian, her step-father, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We’re very proud of you. Your mother and I are sorry you’ve doubted that—we only want the best for you.”
The backs of her eyes stung. Her mom had apologized for telling Mark where Zoe was staying, explaining she thought Zoe had still been in love with him, but it had been hard feeling like she couldn’t talk to them about what was going on with the bookstore.
Her mom hugged her tight and Zoe squeezed her eyes shut as her familiar scent surrounded her. Letting her go, she wiped at the moisture under her eyes.
