Chapter 25—Jackson

“No,” Jackson said. He knew he was being stubborn, but he wasn’t buying their story.

“Come on,” Allison said. “You’re being ridiculous. We want to help you. And in the process, it would help Andi, too.”

Jackson stood at the stove in the coffeeshop, stirring a pot of his own cocoa to drink. Andi and Nat’s had smelled so good when they came down, he decided he needed a cup for himself.

“How exactly is this going to help you?” he asked, directing his gaze at Andi.

“Well, the idea is that if my parents see me involved in a successful business, they won’t react so badly. Maybe I can even tell them the truth at the end of their trip. And I won’t have to keep the lie up forever.”

Jackson bit his lip and exhaled. “Listen, if I’m being honest, I can’t afford that. If the three of you are working in here—”

“No, no, no,” all three of the women said in unison.

“No payment. You cover the ingredients. Andi will do the baking. Nat will help where needed, and I will get people in the door,” Allison said. She’d somehow stepped up as the lead negotiator in this. Probably because he knew her best, though, she was still pretty new in town.

“It’s only been a couple of months, and you’ve seen what I’ve helped Tess and Marcus do. I can help with this, too,” she said, her eyes pleading.

“That’s too much free labor. I can’t—”

“Please,” Andi said, stepping closer to put a hand on his arm. It wasn’t a fair move. He liked being close to her too much. Was it as obvious to her as it was to him? “You’re helping me. Even this helps me. Let me return the favor.” Her big brown eyes were pleading.

He thought of the sadness in them that first night in the coffee shop. He didn’t want to cause that. He also didn’t want to give her false hope. “Fine,” he relented. “But before you jump into this, I should probably be honest with all of you.”

He filled a cup with cocoa and sat at one of the stools by the prep table. This was harder to say than he expected. But he might as well get it out now. “I’m going to take Demetri up on his offer to buy The Cozy Cup. What you’re doing will help me get a better price, but it’s only fair to tell you—it probably can’t save me. I’m going to tell him after the holidays.”

He watched as each of their shoulders sank.

“Who’s Demetri?” Nat asked.

Andi shrugged. “Tess told me about him. He’s a guy who is always offering to buy the business. He’s got some grand plan for this place.”

“Yeah,” Jackson agreed. “That’s the long and short of it. When Zack left, it was a lot worse than I was willing to admit. I’ve run out of options. Selling is going to be the best thing.”

“No,” Allison said, shaking her head. “It’s not. And we’re going to show you.”

“How?” he asked her.

“Don’t know yet. But if I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that it’s never too late to turn things around. Just—don’t say anything to Demetri until you see how things go this week.”

Jackson just stared at her.

“Promise me,” she said forcefully.

“Okay, fine,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Thank you,” the tiny and bossy woman said. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got some planning to do.”

“Us, too,” Andi said. “Goodnight, Jackson." She was beaming one of those giant smiles of hers as she turned on her heels and headed upstairs.

Before following her friend, Nat hung behind. She held a finger to her lips, seeming to think for a second before speaking. “Umm, also—I was supposed to tell you that your friend Adam stopped by. He wanted you to get in touch with him. He might be at his girlfriend’s house or something.”

Jackson scrunched up his face in confusion. “Adam Wilson? He doesn’t have a girlfriend,” he said.

“Okay, good,” Nat said, looking relieved. “He just said to call him.” She skipped as she caught up to Andi, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“Goodnight, ladies,” Jackson called, shaking his head. He had a feeling these women were going to keep him on his toes.