“Hayden,” Marissa said, closing the distance between us and wrapping her arms around me. I took a deep breath, forcing myself not to cry, and hugged her back.
“I know what I’m asking from you is a lot,” she continued. “I know. But your blessing means the world to me.”
“You’ve got it,” I said, and I meant it.
It was time for Marissa to do her own thing. Nothing was forever.
She’d given me more of her time than I deserved already, and I was grateful for every second of it. Now was the time to show that gratitude.
“I get an invite to the opening, right?” I asked, sniffing to hold tears back.
“You’re the guest of honor and I won’t take a no,” Marissa said, squeezing me tight before letting me go. “I’ll never, ever forget where I come from, Hayden. You took your chances with me when we met.”
“It paid off.” I shrugged. “World’s best manager.”
Marissa smiled. “Can I get that in writing?”
“You can get it in skywriting if you want,” I promised. “BecauseI’mnot taking no for an answer when it comes to your going away party. You and Omar both, I assume.”
“Yeah, me and Omar both,” Marissa said. “He asked my momma if he could propose to me.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Afterhe asked me if he could ask her,” Marissa clarified. “It was all really sweet.”
“But he didn’t actually ask you to marry him yet?”
“Not yet,” Marissa said. “We’re waiting until we’ve got this place set up. I was hoping, umm… it’s short notice, I know, but we could start the lease on the first of next month.”
“That’s…”
“Ten days,” Marissa said. “It’ll take us a while to get up and running, we’d both still have time to work for you for a while. If you want.”
“Of course I want,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I want? I’ll never replace you.”
“Right,” Marissa said, biting her lip a moment before continuing. “Right, but… this sets you free, too.”
I blinked at her.
“I saw the way you looked at him,” Marissa said, and I assumed she wasn’t talking about Omar.
She was talking about Wes. Of course she was.
“You could go home,” she said. “Go to him. Start over.”
“But I have—”
“Staff I could really use here,” Marissa said. “A crappy apartment you’re overpaying for and a business you lost your passion for a while back. And I mean… you’ve got me, you’ll always have me, but I’m about to berealbusy, and I can’t be your only friend. It’s not good for you.”
I swallowed.
Free.
This would set me free.
Was that what I wanted?
“Let’s talk about kitchen setup,” I said, changing the subject and striding toward the back room.
