How could he do that to me?
My feet are grounded to the spot as I watch Seth leave with his head hanging in shame. He should be ashamed. I mean, seriously, who answers someone else’s phone? I guess he does. How dare he?
A single tear slips down my face. He’s made such an imprint on me, and now he’s ruined it. I’ll forgive him eventually, but right now I’m heartbroken because of what he said last night. Just another pretty girl, did he mean it? My phone begins to ring again.
“Now is not the time to even attempt to fix this,” I roar into the phone.
“Umm . . . Chloe?”
Stiffening, I realise my mistake of not checking who was calling first. “Ryan . . .” I sigh. Great! One of the people who’s caused my pain.
“Baby cake . . .”
My eyes roll at the pet name he once called me. Gosh, what did I ever see in him? “Don’t call me that,” I reply, my voice a monotone, with no emotion in my words.
“Who was that guy?” he questions.
“That’s none of your concern.”
“It’s pretty early to have someone there, isn’t it?”
“It’s not your concern,” I repeat. It’s as though he isn’t listening to me.
“Can we sort things out?”
I scoff at his question. “You already blew your chance when you slept with my best friend, so screw you.”
“It was a mistake. Please forgive me.”
“I guess you aren’t hearing me properly, so I’ll say it once more. It’s over between us. Don’t ever call me again. Lose my number, you jerk. That’s it. Goodbye, Ryan. Have a good life with Crystal.”
Before I hit the disconnect button, Ryan is calling my name trying to stop me from disconnecting our call. I am so done, no more men for me.
After two hours of deciding if I should continue this venture with Sherri, I decided it’s not her I have a problem with. This could be my new life and it’s something I’m excited about. Avoiding Seth should be easy, and giving him the cold shoulder will be punishment enough, I think.
Rocking up to the café, Sherri is outside waiting . . . with Seth, a sullen look on his face. He says something to Sherri when he sees me pull up. Sherri places her hand gently on his shoulder and replies. He simply nods, then turns and leaves, walking towards his workshop.
Good. At least I don’t have to deal with him.
As I approach Sherri, her eyes turn soft, and instantly I know Seth has filled her in on everything that happened this morning.
“Hello dear, how are you?” is all she says, as casual as the first day I met her. Perhaps she’s not one to pry or she’s biding her time.
“Hey, Sherri. I’m good. How about you?”
“As good as an old lady can be.” She gives me an excited grin. “You ready to get things started?”
“Yep. Umm . . . Sherri I’ve got something I want to talk to you about. It may not be something you’re interested in, but hey, there’s no harm in asking, right?”
“I’m all ears, dear.”
“I’ve been thinking I’d like to pay you to share ownership of the business. Now I’ve got a small amount of money from my payout when I finished at my previous job. This is what I’d like to do. Perhaps we could work something out?” The words rush out of my mouth. I don’t know why I’m so nervous asking her, she has the kindest heart.
A gleeful smile spreads across her face. “That would make me so happy. How about you pay what you can for the renovations and we’ll call it even.”
“I’m happy to do that. Of course, I’ll keep some so I will be able to pay rent and food, since I don’t have any income until we get the café up and running.”
Sherri nods as I speak. “Dear, we’ll find you a casual job that’ll help with those things and keep you on your feet.”
Relief washes though me as she speaks. Sherri has a way of making me feel calm and to not stress about the way things are working out.
“Thank you.” My arms wrap around her as she stands there beaming at me.
“No, thank you. Now let’s get in here and begin our plans.”
“Do you have a name in mind for the café?” I ask. Nothing has been previously mentioned.
“Haven’t got one yet, but if you have something in mind, I’m all ears.”
“Oh, okay. No, I haven’t got anything, I was just wondering. I did have an idea about maybe adding bookshelves and allowing people to borrow the books to read while in the store?”
Sherri claps her hands together excitedly, “My dear, that is a marvellous idea! I love it! See I knew you’d be a great fit.” She gives me a wink, then turns making her way inside.
Walking into the near empty space, I notice the dust still sitting centimetres thick on benches and tables. There’s lots of work to do here, but I’m excited about seeing it renovated and buzzing with customers. On the days those tour buses come through, I can see us getting swamped for Sherri’s pastries. It’s going to be amazing.
The first thing we do is open all the windows. Sherri has brought along her cleaning supplies.
“Chloe, could you go over to Seth and ask for a ladder? We’ll start from the top and work our way down.”
Yeah, yeah, I already know what she’s trying to do. Sly old lady.
With my stomach tied in knots, I force my feet to walk one after the other towards the man I’m angry at. He walks out of the garage, wiping grease off his black-stained hands, a brilliant smile on his face.
“How can I help you, pretty lady?” His question isn’t paused or hesitant. It’s as though this morning didn’t happen.
I stop, keeping a good distance between us. “Sherri needs a ladder, please.”
“She’s not getting up on a ladder.” Seth’s voice rises.
“She’s not; I am,” I quickly respond.
“Oh, okay. I should have known. Sorry for jumping to conclusions.”
“Seems to be your thing this morning,” I bite back before I realise what I’m saying, but I’m not ready to let go of him answering Ryan’s call and what he said last night.
His face contorts with frustration and sadness.
“Look, just bring it over when you have a moment.”
He says nothing, but nods. I stand there watching him, not speaking. His eyes are sad, tired, and just downright mesmerising. If this had happened yesterday, there would be some witty banter passing between us, a flirtatious grin and laughter.
“Chloe . . .”
My hand goes up, stopping him. “Don’t, okay? Don’t apologise again. I like you, but once again I got hurt. Prove to me you’re worth it. Fight for me.” Turning my back to him, I walk towards the café.