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The next day, I was pleased to see that Alice’s bedroom door was shut and her car was back in the driveway where it belonged.
The tension didn’t ease from my shoulders because I was worried about what she was doing last night, and whether my absence this weekend caused damage to our relationship. It was still new.
We were making good progress on the owner’s suite at the B&B, and Natalie had moved with her daughter into a hotel for a few days until she could officially move in. Today, she’d asked for a tour.
I paused in the small room at the front of the house just off the foyer. “What do you want to do with this space?”
Natalie surveyed the room. “We have a kitchen, dining area, and a large family room already. I’d prefer to keep the guest area to those three rooms.”
“Do you need an office?” I asked her.
“I’d prefer to keep that behind the counter or in the owner’s suite.”
“What do you think about renting the space for a store?” The room was open to the foyer but somewhat separate from the check-in and living areas.
Natalie chewed her fingernail as she circled the room. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“It would allow you to have passive income, and you might be able to work out an arrangement where the store owner could cover your counter if you’re busy with something else.”
Natalie’s gaze flew to mine. “I kind of love that idea, but I don’t know anyone in town.”
“I have someone in mind. She makes these mosaics, and she’s looking for a space to sell them and to host workshops.” I brought up the pictures from Alice’s social media site.
Natalie looked over my shoulder. “Those are beautiful.”
I turned to gesture at the space. “They’d look great in the windows. She could put some shelves there and then a large table over here to host the workshops.”
“It would be amazing to offer the guests this as a social activity. I already talked to the yoga studio to see if they’d be willing to host a class once a week in the backyard. Do you think she’d be willing to cover the desk if I needed to take Addison to school?”
“I would think so. She loves kids.” Maybe Alice would prefer working evenings and weekends since that’s when people would most likely be able to attend a workshop. That’s when Natalie would need the help to spend time with her daughter.
“It seems like a mutually beneficial arrangement. How do you know her?”
“Alice is my girlfriend.” It felt good saying that, even if I didn’t know where we stood at this point. “I’ll share her contact information with you.”
Natalie’s phone buzzed with the incoming message. “Got it.”
“I hope it works out.” There was a possibility that Alice would want to operate the store full time, but she needed to do what was right for her. I wanted to be with Alice. I didn’t need her to be Maggie’s nanny. Soon, Maggie would be going to school during the day, and Alice would be free to pursue her dreams. There wasn’t an issue with her doing it sooner if that’s what she wanted. I’d never hold her back.
I loved her. I just hoped it wasn’t too late to tell her. I couldn’t wait to talk to her tonight. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was the perfect solution to her issues and Natalie’s.
The nerves kicked up on the way home. Opening the door, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The only constant was Maggie’s skid down the hall before she threw her arms around my legs. As usual, I lifted her in my arms. “What did you do today?”
“’Melia’s here to play with me.”
“She is?” I asked as I moved into the kitchen where Gray, Elle, and Alice were standing around the counter with stacked pizza boxes.
“I hope this is okay. Elle brought Amelia to watch Maggie so we could talk.”
“Of course.” My heart thudded a steady rhythm under my rib cage. She wanted to talk without an audience before Maggie’s bedtime. This couldn’t be good.
“Where do you want to talk?”
Alice brushed past me. “Upstairs?”
I put Maggie down because Elle was putting slices of pizza on plates and handing them out. My stomach rumbled with hunger, but I needed to talk to Alice, even if I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
She led me to her room, closing the door behind me.
