Chapter Six
It’s been fifty-three days since Ryle walked out of my apartment that
morning. Which means it’s been fifty-three days since I’ve heard from
him.
But that’s okay, because for the last fifty-three days, I’ve been too
busy to really give him much thought as I prepared for this moment.
“Ready?” Allysa says.
I nod, and she flips the sign to Open and we both hug and squeal
like little kids.
We rush around the counter and wait for our first customer. It’s a
soft opening, so I haven’t really done a marketing push yet, but we
just want to make sure there aren’t any kinks before our grand
opening.
“It’s really pretty in here,” Allysa says, admiring our hard work. I
look around us, bursting with pride. Of course I want to succeed, but
at this point I’m not even sure if that matters. I had a dream and I
busted my ass to make it come true. Whatever happens after today is
just icing on the cake.
“It smells so good in here,” I say. “I love this smell.”
I don’t know if we’ll get any customers today, but we’re both acting
like this is the best thing that’s ever happened to us, so I don’t think
that matters. Besides, Marshall will come in at some point today and
my mother will come in after she gets off work. That’s two customers
for sure. That’s plenty.
Allysa squeezes my arm when the front door begins to open. I
suddenly grow a little panicked, because what if something goes
wrong?
And then I do panic, because something just went wrong. Terribly
wrong. My very first customer is none other than Ryle Kincaid.
He stops when the door closes behind him and he looks around in
awe. “What?” he says, turning in a circle. “How in the... ?” He looks