Jake opened his mouth to respond, then stopped. The obvious answer—a nursery, eventually—hung in the air unspoken.
"Storage?" Lucy suggested quickly. "Or a library? You have all those coaching books."
"Yeah. Library works."
They spent the afternoon measuring rooms and making lists. That evening, they had dinner at Giuseppe's to celebrate.
Giuseppe, of course, made a huge production about it.
"A house! Together! This is beautiful! Next comes marriage, then babies, then growing old together!" He refused to let them pay, insisting it was his "gift for the future."
"He's not subtle," Lucy said after they left.
"No one in this town is subtle."
Back at their apartment—they wouldn't move into the house until after renovations—Jake made coffee while Lucy scrolled through her phone.
"I got an email today," Lucy said. "From a restaurant group in Boston. They want to talk about franchising Margaret's concept."
Jake felt his stomach drop. "Franchising? Like—multiple locations?"
"That's what franchising means, yes."
"What did you say?"
"I haven't responded yet. I wanted to talk to you first." Lucy looked up from her phone. "Jake, this could be huge. Margaret's in Boston, maybe Portland, maybe Burlington. Real expansion."
"It could also be a disaster. Losing control of your concept, your recipes, your vision."
"I know. That's why I'm hesitant. But also—this is what I dreamed about. Building something bigger than one restaurant."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Meet with them, I guess? See what they're offering? It might be nothing."
Jake tried to sound supportive. "You should definitely meet with them. Hear what they have to say."
But inside, he was panicking. Franchising meant growth, meant travel, meant Lucy's attention pulled in multiple directions. They'd just bought a house together, were building a life in Timber Falls. Did franchising fit into that?
Over the next week, Lucy met with the Boston restaurant group.
They flew her down for a day, showed her potential locations, talked numbers. When she came back, she was buzzing with excitement.
"Jake, it's incredible. They want to open three locations—Boston, Burlington, Portland. They'd handle all the operations, I'd consult on menu and training. I'd make a percentage of each restaurant's profits."
"That's amazing."
"I know! This could be—this could change everything!"
"What about Margaret's here? The flagship?"
"I'd still run it. This would be in addition to, not instead of."
"Lucy, you're already working sixteen-hour days. How would you add three more restaurants?"
"I'd delegate more. Hire a manager for Timber Falls. Travel as needed for the other locations. It's doable."
"Is it, though?"
