I raised my eyebrows. “What did you say?”

“I said thanks but no thanks. Not that I wouldn’t pay rent, of course, and I will, but that that’s not what I meant. All my sisters got the chance to go to school, travel, accomplish their goals. They weren’t held back, and I don’t want to be held back either anymore. If I fail, I fail, but I’ve got to try.”

“As a father, you’re scaring the piss out of me right now. As someone who wants to see you kick ass out in the world, I’m happy as fuck and I want you to go call this woman.”

She grinned. “Thanks. I’m going to.”

I gathered up the papers for her and paper-clipped the woman’s card to her note. “Let me know how it goes.”

“I’m nervous,” she said, flattening her hands on her stomach. “What if she asks questions I have no answers to?”

“Hey. Listen to me.” Leaving the listings on my desk, I came around and took her by the shoulders. “You are smart, talented, and persistent. If you don’t know the answer to something, you’ll find it. And you’re not alone.”

“No?”

I shook my head. “You’ve got your sisters, you’ve got an ally in this Radley woman, and you have me. I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”

Her lips tipped up. “You will?”

“Yes.”

She slipped her arms around my waist and looked up at me with adorably huge eyes. “Tell me again that I have you.”

“You have me.”

Rising on tiptoe, she touched her lips to mine. “That’s all I want.”

The kiss was probably supposed to be short and sweet, but once she was that close, I couldn’t resist gathering her into my arms and opening my mouth over hers. Once again, the kiss grew reckless quickly, and suddenly I was pulling her work shirt from her pants and sliding my hands up her ribs as I walked her backward toward my desk. She moved a hand between my legs and rubbed her palm over my dick, whose hopes rose again like a helium balloon. I was about to lift her up when someone knocked on my office door.

Frannie and I sprang apart fast.

I cleared my throat. “Come in.”

Chloe entered the office, looking at something on her phone. “Hey, what do you think of this ad copy for—” Then she looked up and stopped. Her eyes roved from Frannie, who was trying to look casual, although her shirt was untucked and she was breathing kind of heavy, to me. Remembering the tent in my pants, I quickly moved around my desk and sat down. Smoothed my hair.

“Am I interrupting something?” Chloe asked, clearly amused.

“No,” we both said at once.

She laughed. “You guys are horrible liars.”

“I was just going,” Frannie said, her cheeks turning a gorgeous shade of pink. She scooped up the stack of papers on my desk and hurried for the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay,” Chloe and I both said at once. Then we looked at each other.

“Well,” she said.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I blurted. Then I shook my head. “Actually, it’s exactly what it looks like.”

Chloe burst out laughing. “Don’t look so scared, Mack. I think it’s fantastic. Frannie needs somebody like you. It’s good for her.”

I rubbed my face with both hands. “I don’t know about that. I keep thinking your dad is going to come after me with a shotgun.”

She dismissed that idea with a wave of her hand. “Nah. It’ll take him all of two seconds to see how crazy Frannie is about you. And what Frannie wants, Frannie gets. All she has to do is turn those big green eyes at him, and he’s a goner.”

All I could do was sigh. “Yeah. I know the feeling.”

Frannie

On my way up to my apartment, I did my best to work up my nerve. You can do this. Chin up. People believe in you.

Sitting at my kitchen counter, I went over all the notes I’d taken over the last week, the lists of needs and wants I’d made, the approximate cost of equipment, ingredients, and employee time. I’d need at least one helper to start, but I wouldn’t be able to pay anyone full-time. I’d been thinking maybe I could find a college student, or even a high school student who was interested in baking and had time on the weekends.

Finally, I called the number on Maxima Radley’s card.

“Hello?” She sounded like she was in the car.

“Hi, Mrs. Radley, this is Frannie Sawyer from—”

“Frannie Sawyer, how are you? You got my note?”

“Yes. I’m—I was really glad you came in.”

“Well, I’m telling you, Frannie, this is meant. To. Be. My entire honeymoon, I kept thinking of what I could do for you, and then the very morning I get back to the office, I got a phone call from the daughter of a friend of my mother’s. They were in pageants together or something.” She laughed. “Anyway, this girl, her name is Natalie Haas, has owned this little coffee shop downtown for years and it’s doing really well, but she’s got a two-year-old son and she’s pregnant again, and apparently she runs another restaurant as well, so she needs to cut back.”

“What’s the name of it?” I asked, wondering if I’d ever been there.

“Coffee Darling.”

“Oh, I know that place!” I exclaimed. “It’s adorable. That’s the shop for sale?”

“Well, she’s not sure if she should sell the building, which she does own, or try to find a reliable tenant. She was looking for advice. Her dream scenario, actually, is to find someone to partner with. I thought of you immediately.”

My heart had started to race. “Did you tell her about me?”

“Not yet. But I just couldn’t help thinking that with her experience, and all the equipment in place, plus a built-in clientele, and your fresh new ideas and youth and energy—I see a home run.”

“I’d love to meet her,” I said breathlessly.

“Great! I’ll set up a meeting. In the meantime, why don’t you see if you can get down there and check out the spot? Look at it with your vision in mind and see what you think.”

I sat up taller. “I’ll definitely do that.”

“Perfect. I have to run, dear, but I’ll be in touch as soon as I connect with Natalie again.”

“Thank you so much,” I said.

We hung up, and I set the phone down and sat there for a moment, my stomach a tangled but excited mess of knots. For the first time, I felt like this thing really might happen.

I jumped off the stool and hummed a tune as I went into my room and changed into sweatpants and a hoodie. All this nervous energy inside me needed to burn off, and I could use some time to think as well. A walk outside in the brisk cold evening air would be perfect. The farm was beautiful in the summer, but I loved it in the winter too—the rolling hills blanketed with snow, the evergreens tall and majestic, the sky full of stars you couldn’t see in town because of all the lights. Everyone complained about the frigid northern Michigan weather—myself included—but I loved the seasons up here so much, I could never leave. And what was better than hot chocolate or Irish coffee or whiskey by the fire after you came in out of the cold?