Brianna looks over the menu. “So why don’t I see you serving the unicorn frappe yet?”
I laugh. I know she’s just joking. “Do I look like a freakin’ leprechaun? Besides, that’s the guys across town.”
Brianna bursts into laughter, and I’m grateful I caught my tongue just in time as Rafe starts chanting. “Lep-a-chan! Lep-a-chan!”
“Aye, top o’ the mornin’ to you,” I reply in the fakest accent ever, handing Rafe his chocolate milk while Bri chuckles. “What? I’m not Irish enough?”
Bri shakes her head. “You’re a lot of things, but no. Thank you, though. That was good. First joke I’ve heard you crack in a week.”
I shrug, rinsing the milk blender while Rafe finds a stool and Bri hangs out where we can talk. She knows everything, and I need someone to help me process all that happened. Being my best friend, she’s been positive. She’s even gone so far as to suggest there’s still a chance for us.
Of course, she’s out of her mind. I haven’t seen the man in two weeks. If he wanted to get in contact with me, he could’ve. Despite telling him to go away, I started missing him even as he walked out the door, and that hasn’t let up at all. But I get it. If I were in his shoes, the way I treated him at the end there, I’d swear off coffee forever and switch to smoothies.
But I’ve waited, hoping to hear something, anything, Even if it was from Brianna that he’d given Gavin a call and said something about me. For the past two weeks, I’ve spent almost every hour by my phone, hoping to hear something. I never have.
Bri gives me a soft smile. “You sleeping yet?”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “I got a whole three hours last night!”
Brianna rolls her eyes and looks over her shoulder at Rafe. “If you don’t get seven hours of sleep tonight, I’m sending Gavin in to cover your shift tomorrow and getting your ass falling down, sleep the morning away on my sofa drunk. Got it?”
“I’ll slam espressos all night just to see Gavin in one of the shirts and aprons,” I joke, and Brianna grins. I go back to work, Bri stepping behind the counter to help out a little with the wash-ups as the crowd rolls in and Rafe finishes his tiny little drink. We small talk the whole time, nothing important, and when Rafe’s done, I take his glass and give him a hug. “You take care of your Mommy, okay?”
He smiles, waving his hands around.
“Love you, kiddo,” I say, standing up to give Bri a hug. “I promise you, ten espressos tonight.”
“Girl, bye,” Bri says with a chuckle. “I’ll have Gavin ready. See you tomorrow.”
Bri leaves, and I watch her go for a moment before I get caught up in work again. It’s so busy, and I jump in to help Cassie with clearing tables as the lunch crowd settles in. I’m tired and not watching where I’m going when I turn with a blender cup and bump into Nancy, who’s got a tray full of empties. “Oh!”
Thankfully, she doesn’t drop her tray. I jerk back enough that I bounce my hip off the counter and drop my blender cup. The polycarbonate cup hits the floor, making a hell of a racket but not breaking into a million pieces, and I give a deep sigh of thanks. “You okay, Nancy?”
“Yes, Miss Price,” she says, probably afraid I’ll bite her damn head off. Instead, I take a deep breath, calming myself. I squat down, checking the blender cup. It’s okay.
“So . . . got the new unicorn frappe yet?” says a deep recognizable voice, and I rocket to my feet, staring in shock. My heart jumps in my chest when I see him leaning against the counter in a light blue dress shirt, his eyes twinkling and his smile warming my chest. Where the hell did he come from?
“Hey,” I say awkwardly. “Oliver.”
His familiar grin nearly melts my heart, and he leans a little bit more over the counter, dropping his voice to that sexy purring growl that I’ve dreamed about for two weeks. “Miss me, Princess?”
Did I ever. Not that I’m going to tell him about the number of times I’ve typed him texts and emails and then deleted them over the past two weeks. “A little.”
“A little?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Listen, about sending you—” I start, but Oliver reaches across the counter and puts a single finger on my lips, stopping me as my body thrills at just the single touch of his skin on mine again.
“Shh, you don’t have to explain. I know it all. I only left to give you time to reflect. I always intended to come back to show you that I truly cared.”
His words fill my heart with something that I haven't felt since coming home, flowing from him like cooling waters on the agonizing burn within me. It’s unbelievable after how I pushed him away, but he’s here, and his eyes are calm, amused . . . and loving. They also tell me the truth. Everything isn’t going to be sunshine and lollipops right away. There’s a lot to work on, but I take joy from a very simple fact—he didn’t give up on me.
“Why’d you wait so long?” I ask him directly, back in my element.
Oliver chuckles, and I swear he looks a little bashful. “Would you believe I intended to come by last week, but then . . . well, I got caught up in something?”
“Better be something good.” I say, putting my hands on my hips.
“Just some business stuff. I wouldn’t want to bore you with the details. I know how much you hate when I go on and on about myself and my business.”
I smile, biting my lip. “Mmmhmm. But that’s not good enough. Spill it.”
He winks, giving me that patented Oliver smirk. “Trust me, Princess. Got time for a ride?”
“When can I open my eyes?” I ask, my shoulders getting stiff. “I’m getting carsick.”
“Just a moment,” Oliver says, chuckling. He stops his car, and I hear him come around the car to open my door and help me out. Taking me by the hand, he has me walk a few steps, then stop. “Okay, open them.”
I open my eyes, and I’m totally confused. “Why’d you bring me to The Flaming Dragon? This place closed down two years ago.”
“It’s not The Flaming Dragon,” Oliver says with a laugh. “Come a little closer and you’ll see.”
Oliver takes my hand and leads me to the door, producing a key from his pocket and opening it. “Oliver, what’s going on?”
He opens the door, and I look in shock at the big letters that have been penned on the grease board next to the door. FUTURE LOCATION OF MINDY’S PLACE (Steele & Assoc. 2nd Floor).
“Welcome to the location of your new business,” Oliver says. “Ours, to be exact. If you want.”
“Huh?” I comment, reading the sign again and again. It still doesn’t make any sense. “Oliver, what—”
Shock rolls through me as my brain finally kicks into gear, and I put my hand over my mouth, speechless. Oliver leads me over to one of the stools that still line the big counter, sitting down next to me. “I’d asked my assistant to look for a few places where I could base my security business. She had this place on the list, mainly because of the location, and, well . . .”
Oliver takes a deep breath and puts the key to the place on the counter. “It’s yours. You own the place outright, Mindy. I told Martha I’m splitting my money in half. One half is to be used by her for real estate deals, other investments, whatever. She’s going to run it out of the office upstairs, close enough that I can help her out if she needs it.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask, feeling the teeth of the key. “And what about the Den? Gavin and Brianna are my friends. I can’t just abandon them.”
“Who do you think told me about the unicorn frappe?” Oliver asks quietly. “As for me, well, I don’t know a lot about running a restaurant, but I do know business, and if you don’t need a business manager . . . I can be Johnny on the spot wherever you need me, boss.”
I hold up my hand, concerned. “Oliver, before we go any further, why are you doing this?”
“Mindy, I’ve spent every minute since I walked out of the Wentworth mansion regretting one thing.”
“What’s that?”