Chapter Eight

“So, I know you planned on going into work today.” Dean turned to face me. “But I really don’t think you should.”

“What do you mean?” Why the hell shouldn’t I go to work?

“Well, it’s just I think you should take the day to prep.” I stared at him, completely confused. Why would I need to prep? What the hell was I going to prep for? A smile touched his lips, the kind of smile that warned me he had been up to something.

“What did you do?”

“Well, I might have this friend who was looking to invest in an opportunity … she was looking for something to invest in that was in the food industry.” My jaw dropped. “And I told her about this girl I know who makes really good hot chocolate.”

I stared at him with wide eyes. He … No … there is no way he actually did this.

“I’m sorry, what?” I was still trying to process it.

“I hope it wasn’t too dramatic or stepping over some sort of a line. I just wanted to surprise you with something that … was actually important.”

*

I knew she liked the dates I took her on and knew she liked spending time with me, but when I said I wanted to treat her like she was in a romance movie, I didn’t mean I wanted to be light and fluffy. I wanted to show her how much I loved her and part of that was showing her that her passions were important to me. I wanted to support her in her business and wanted to help her break into the world. I knew how hard it was and didn’t want her to feel like she was in this alone.

I had a chance to benefit her in more than a light and fluffy way and wanted to take it.

“I … no, you didn’t overstep any lines.” She stood with a blank look on her face. “I just wish I had a little more time to prep.”

“I’m sorry, she gave me a late answer, and I didn’t want to get your hopes up if she was going to say no.”

“I … I should stay home, though.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry.” She truly did look sorry. I shrugged.

“I’d rather you stay home to work on this than come to worry and be off in your own world all day.” I closed the distance between us. “Anyways, we agreed we’d take a couple days off.”

“I said not the weekend.”

I shrugged again. “Oh, well. It will be fine. Melina will understand.”

“Are you sure? I mean, you must be behind on work.”

I was very far behind, but she didn’t need to know that. “I’m sure. I’ll only have a little bit of catching up to do tomorrow, and you can help.”

Becca smiled widely. “That sounds perfect to me.” She took a couple of steps and pulled me into a hug. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

*

I had no clue how he had managed to do it or what was going to come of it, but it meant the world that he had set something up like this for me. I stepped back and looked him up and down. I had no clue what I ever did to deserve someone this amazing, but I was fucking thankful to have him in my life. Not just because of everything he had done for me, but just having him in my life. Having someone to share my life with.

I pulled away from the hug, and my heart jumped into my throat as I realized that in less than 24 hours, I was going to be pitching my hot chocolate to someone. I took a deep breath as I felt my heartbeat pick up a couple of paces. The deep breathing didn’t really help.

“Okay, so I need to go do a little shopping because I don’t have everything I need here.” I bit my lip. “Oh hell, I don’t even have everything perfected.” I tried not to stress, but I could already feel it coming on.

“Alright, get dressed. I’ll drive.”

“You have work!” I protested. He had to get ready and go to his own job.

“I’ll get some done at your place. I mean, you’re going to need someone to test the product, right? Having more than one person do that is going to help a lot more this time.” He gave me a smile and without another word headed for the door. He paused, his hand on the knob. “Are you coming?”

My mouth hung open. He was acting like this was normal, like it was all going to be okay. And for a split second, I thought maybe he was right as I rushed for the door and followed him out to the car.

Okay? What if I fuck it up? Then that will be Dean’s reputation on the line, and what if she tells everyone that I was dreadful, and then no one ever wants to work with me? What if I totally blow this?

I could feel my lips go dry as Dean pulled out of the driveway.

“Talk to me.”

His voice brought me back to reality, and I spun to face him. “What?” I almost snapped. It wasn’t that I was mad or anything; I was just freaking the fuck out.

“You look nervous; actually, you look like you might have a panic attack, and your breathing is heavy. Talk it out to me, talk to me. What do we need to pick up?”

I frowned. Was my breathing heavy? I tried to focus on it, but as soon as I did, I was in control of it. I took a couple deep breaths, trying to make sure I was breathing normally before I turned to Dean and thought about his questions.