“We’re starting the remodeling next week.” I look at the spreadsheets and plans scattered over one of the tables. “It’s a huge undertaking.”
“Yeah. But Allie’s right. You couldn’t have a better location, and it sounds like she and Brent know what they’re doing.” Kelsey turns to pierce me with one of her perceptive looks. “The question is… how do you feel about all this?”
“Mostly excited,” I tell her. “I’ve never done anything like it before, but I know it’s a great idea. I love being in business with Allie, and I’m happy that I can finally contribute something of my own.”
She’s still watching me. “So what’s the problem?”
“It’s nerve-wracking. What if I just poured my entire inheritance into a new business and it fails? And what if I didn’t calculate the costs of working capital correctly and we run out of money?”
Kelsey pushes a chair away from the table and straddles it, resting her arms across the back. “You could find another partner.”
“Not one both Allie and I could trust as much as we trust each other. Dean offered to help financially, but he knows I’m trying to do this on my own and he would never ask to be a partner.”
“What about me?” Kelsey asks.
“What about you?”
“What if I offered to be a partner?”
I lift my head. “What?”
“I’d be a partner in your business.”
“Are you serious?”
“Am I ever not serious?”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a bad idea. Mixing business with friendship.”
“You’ve never done it before. How do you know it’s a bad idea?”
“Everyone says so.”
“I don’t listen to everyone.”
I can only stare at her. Tears sting my eyes.
“Jesus, Liv,” Kelsey mutters. “Don’t cry. I’m offering you a partnership, not a kidney.”
“Sorry.” I grab a napkin and swipe my nose.
“Besides, you’re doing this with Allie, and she’s a friend, right?” Kelsey asks.
“I know, but you… you’re more like…”
“Like what?”
“Well, like family.” My heart clenches a little.
We both fall silent. Then Kelsey heaves a sigh.
“Okay, look. I’ll say this only once.” She digs her fingernail into a crack on the back of the chair. “I’ve never had a lot of close friends. I don’t like it when people start wanting to know shit about me. It’s annoying. But Dean’s never been like that. Never made me feel like I have to apologize for anything. And when he married you, I thought he’d change, that things would be different. I was all revved up to dislike you.”
“You were?” I can’t even imagine withstanding the force of Kelsey March’s dislike.
“Yeah,” she says. “But you made it impossible. The first time I met you was in LA at the farmer’s market. After Dean introduced us, you gave me this… this Liv hug and asked me to join you for crepes.”
She shakes her head, as if I’d asked her to fly over the rainbow.
“Um… I like crepes,” I say.
“Liv, I mean you just accepted everything, you know? Me. You never questioned my friendship with Dean. Never felt threatened by it. Not many people have figured out how to deal with me as fast as you did. Like you didn’t miss a beat. And you made your husband better, which is saying something.”
She shoves off the chair. “Okay, I’m done. That little speech will self-destruct in five seconds.”
I know enough not to respond to any of that, but my heart fills with love and affection for Kelsey and her bad-ass self.
“So, we’re finishing up the final numbers,” I say, turning to the spreadsheet. “Can I get back to you next week?”
“Yeah. You and Allie figure out if you need me, and I’ll see what I can do. Just don’t get all mushy about it.”
The sound of footsteps comes down the stairs, signaling Allie’s approach.
“Liv, I really think that front room should be the witch’s castle room,” she remarks, “because it has that view of the mountains, and the witch’s castle was surrounded by mountains. Hold on, let me grab my portfolio from the car and we can sketch out some ideas.”
She hurries out the back door. I gather up all the spreadsheets, and Kelsey shrugs into her jacket just as the bell over the door rings. We turn to see a tall man in his mid-forties enter, shedding his coat and pulling a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. He’s dressed with casual elegance in khakis and a button-down shirt.
“Can I help—” I start to say.
The back door bangs open, and Allie bustles in again. “Oh, hey, Dad.”
Dad?
Kelsey and I watch in astonishment as Allie and the man exchange a bear hug.
“Thanks for coming,” Allie says. “Did you meet Liv?”
“Not yet.” The man extends his hand to me and smiles. “Max Lyons. Allie’s father.”