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By the end of the movie, I’d relaxed into the seat, only occasionally jolting when Ben reached over for more popcorn. Once or twice, his hand lazily moved over my knee. I thought it was an accident, but I wasn’t sure.
Outside in the bright sunlight, I felt lethargic.
“That was fun. We should do it again sometime,” Ben said.
He was vibrating with happiness, and I realized he didn’t get much time with Cammie. It wasn’t about me. It was about making a memory and spending the day with his daughter. Pleased it wasn’t anything more, I said, “Definitely.”
Checking my phone, I saw that Abby had finished and asked that I bring Hunter over when we were done with the movie. “Your mom is home,” I told Hunter.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Hunter said to Ben.
“Sure thing,” Ben said.
Hunter waved bye to Cammie, and we parted ways. I’d survived the day, and I could justify it by saying that Ben just wanted to spend time with his daughter. He wasn’t angling for more time with me. I could put him back where he belonged, as the owner of the new coffee shop. Tomorrow, I’d focus on business and push out any thoughts of Ben as anything more than a competitor.
ChapterEight
BEN
Monday morning, Christopher was practicing making the various espresso drinks on the menu with the new hires, explaining how the machine worked and where the ingredients were kept.
After making sure it was going smoothly, I moved to my office.
I should have been looking at projections for the opening, but I was distracted by the day I spent with Cammie, starting with baseball practice, then the batting cages, and ending with lunch and a movie with Brooke and Hunter.
Brooke was so comfortable with her nephew that sometimes I forgot he wasn’t her son.
After Brooke talked to us in the parking lot and we ran into her at the cages, I wanted to spend more time with her. That was why I suggested lunch and then the movie. I wasn’t ready for the day to end. I knew I’d have fun with just Cammie, but it would be better to include Brooke and Hunter. Though, she’d seemed uneasy. Even though our coffee shops were competing against each other, we were having fun. I wanted to let everything go for the evening.
On Sunday, the whole day was spent doing whatever Cammie wanted—practicing baseball, playing board and card games, and watching movies. It was the perfect weekend before the store opened and I started working more hours.
I wished I could have more quality time with her, but the store would be open late and on weekends—when Cammie was home from school. Once the store was up and running, I could pull back a little. Or at least I hoped I could.
I heard a sputtering from the espresso machine and then yelling.
I rushed to the front. “What’s going on?”
“The machine! It exploded or something.” The front of Christopher’s shirt was soaked, his eyes wide with surprise.
“It’s a new machine.” I couldn’t afford for anything to be down. Not with the grand opening a few days away.
Christopher was fiddling with it. I’d hired him because he’d previously worked as a manager for a coffee shop. I hoped he could fix it.
I grabbed a cloth and tried to mop up the liquid as best I could.
After a few minutes, he said, “I think we need to call someone to look at it.”
I hated to waste the day. We’d brought the new employees in to train them, but there wasn’t much to show them if the espresso machine was down.
I gestured for him to come to my office to talk. “Show them the different beans and give them the book with the information they’ll need to study to talk to the customers.”
“And then?”
“Then we’ll have to send them home.” I hated to do it, but I doubted I’d be able to get the machine up and running today. I’d need to hire someone, and I had no idea if anyone did that kind of work in the area. I wasn’t mechanically inclined either.
Christopher’s forehead wrinkled. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Things like that happened. I knew it. I planned for it as much as I could, but I still hated it.
