“No, actually.” I let out a sigh. “Sugar Plum is usually more reserved.”
Gabriel might’ve quickly gotten on Sugar Plum’s good side, but it wouldn’t be that easy to win me over. Impossible, even. I was stronger than that.
Having Gabriel help me with the cats allowed me to start on my café prep work earlier than usual.
I turned on the espresso machine, set up the first pot of coffee, and prepped my drink ingredients for the day before heading back to the kitchen.
I was happy with the work I’d done yesterday and how it set me up for the week. Sunday mornings were my big prep days for the week and different from a typical day at the café. Only tea and coffee were available—no specialty drinks or pastries—and it was self-serve. Jodi and Henry, two volunteers from the animal shelter, came in to help take care of the animals and brought in people who had shown interest in adopting the cats. Usually, it was people from Golden Falls or one of the surrounding small towns, but sometimes, people from all over the state saw the shelter’s social media posts and fell in love with a cat.
I used the time they were here to prepare for the week ahead. I checked inventory, placed orders for supplies and ingredients, and set my baked goods menu for the week. I made dough or batter for the week in advance and kept it refrigerated. This allowed me to simply stick the batter in the oven each morning for fresh pastries.
Last week’s menu of baked goods—spiced gingerbread loaf and cranberry orange scones—was a hit and quickly sold out. Like I’d told Marnie, I decided to keep it the same this week. I put two gingerbread loaves in one oven and two trays of scones in the other. Then I set two timers.
I let out a sigh, finally having a moment to breathe. I had my day-to-day routine, but it still felt overwhelming and like I didn’t know what I was doing. But I’d gotten this far.
I was also trying to focus on the positives—I finally had some help. It wasn’t the help Iwanted, but it was better than having to do everything on my own.
I moved from the kitchen back to the main room of the café, the golden sun streaming through the front windows. It was easy to forget the cold weather when the sun shone brightly without a cloud in sight.
“Smells good in here already,” Gabriel said as he walked in through the door between the cat room and the café.
I nodded in agreement. An awkward silence filled the air between us before I finally spoke up. “I assume you got things figured out at work for the time you’ll be in Golden Falls?” I asked, leaning my hip against the counter.
“Yeah, I’ll be working remotely. My boss isn’t thrilled about it, but…it’ll work out fine. I’ll have meetings, answer emails, and keep my projects moving, but I’ll be able to do that on my own schedule for the most part. I’ll work evenings and such if I have to.”
There were a couple of things that caught my attention. One, if he planned on being with me in the café during the day and working extra hours in the evenings, that would mean he’d literally be working the whole day. And two, boss? “You mean your dad? Don’t you work with him?”
“Forhim,” Gabriel muttered. “But yes, my father.”
I hummed, curious about his word choice, but didn’t press. His relationship with his dad—father—wasn’t any of my business, even if I was nosy.
“Okay, well,” I started. “It’d be nice to have you help with prep in the mornings and possibly taking orders during the morning rush, especially as I’m training the new employee. The rest of the day, you’re welcome to do what you need for work.”
“I’ll be around for that, and if I need to respond to emails or calls, I’ll do so from the café. So, caring for the cats, taking orders…” he listed. “I can also help you clean up.”
“Yeah, that’d be great. Are you sure, though? I don’t want you to spend your whole time in Golden Falls working.”
He shrugged with a humorless laugh. “It’s not much different than my life back in the city. Plus, it’ll allow me to get to know people in town and what they’re looking for in terms of new storefronts or properties.”
“You seem to be confident people in town are going to be willing to talk to you.”
“Over time, hopefully.” He turned toward me. “I’ll be here as long as it takes, Lily.”
Warmth curled in my stomach at my name leaving his mouth. I stood up straight and locked my eyes with his. “You say that now, but I have a feeling you’re going to leave as soon as things get tough, as soon as you realize the people in this town don’t want whatever luxury high-rise or chain restaurant you want to bring in.”
Gabriel scoffed. “You think that’s my plan?”
“I don’t care what your plan is,” I said, even though I actually did care and wanted to know. “Because it doesn’t matter. This building is going to be mine, and you’re going to forget about Golden Falls once you leave. Don’t pretend like you want to be here. You wanted this to be over in a weekend.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
His jaw clenched, but his gaze didn’t waver. “Don’t act like you didn’t want this to be over just as quickly. You don’t know a damn thing about me, Lily. Don’t pretend like you do.”
“And you don’t know a thing about me.”
Our stare off was interrupted by the door opening, and the first customers of the day walked in. A shiver ran up my spine from the chill that came through the door—and from how quickly our exchange had turned ice cold.
“Let’s get today over with,” we both muttered.
Today and every day after that.
