Karlee was practically walking on air. When Seth came in a couple of days later, she was leaning over the front counter, scrolling through her tablet.
“Morning,” he announced.
Karlee jumped out from behind the counter. “Come see,” she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward.
“Okay, okay! You can let go,” he protested with a laugh. “For someone so tiny, you are amazingly strong.”
She grinned and fake-punched his arm. “And don’t you forget it, mister,” she said, her voice going deep.
Seth rolled his eyes and laughed again. It was good to see her so happy.
“Look at this.” She pointed to her tablet, displaying a mobile cooking station.
“Very nice,” he admitted, then his eyebrows rose. “Shit! Is that the cost for just one?”
She grabbed the tablet from the counter. “I was just looking,” she said defensively.
Seth held up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, I was just…surprised at the cost.”
Karlee’s shoulders sagged. “Yeah, I know. And they are pretty expensive. Way more than I thought theywould be. I mean, I found some others that would work, but they look so crappy.”
Seth wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close to his side. “We can find some that will work. How many do you need?”
“I was thinking four to begin with. I would love six. We’ll definitely have enough space for six. Maybe more. I was thinking we would partner up students sometimes so there could be two at each station.We wouldn’t be able to do that for all the lessons, though.”
“What does Chris think?”
“He thinks we need six to start, but knows it’s up to me. Since I’m contracting him to teach—insteadof partnering with him—it’s my money. I knew it would be expensive, but…fuck, it’s really expensive, Seth.”
He held her and stroked her back, letting her lean into him. He recognized this for what it was—a mix offear and pregnancy hormones. Not that he would dare tell her that.
“Thanks,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him.
They stood like that until Cody walked in the door and stopped short. “Um, you guys okay?” he asked tentatively.
Karlee pulled back and wiped at her tears; Seth hadn’t even known she’d been crying. “We’re fine, Cody. Get started unpacking the new rolling pins and cutting boards that came in yesterday. They’re inthe back room.”
Cody nodded and quickly made his way into the storeroom.
Karlee chuckled. “Guess he didn’t expect to see his boss crying.”
“Hey, it’s going to be fine. Seriously.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t on board immediately. But I am now.”
She looked up at him. “Thanks. It’s scary, you know? But I know I’m doing the right thing.”
He smiled and hugged her again. “Of course, you are. Now, what else do we need to look at besides cooking stations?”
5
Chris’s friend, Joey, really came through for them. He helped them get the new place sketched out, filed for all the permits, and pulled a couple of his guys from another job and assigned them to work exclusively on the new space. On top of that, his estimate came in under the budget they’d made for themselves, so Karlee was thrilled.
Chris had been out of town for a few days and, even though nothing had really happened between them, Seth felt anxious knowing he was coming into the shop today. He tried focusing on the instructions for anew ice cream maker, which was supposed to be a basic model, but was turning out to be anything but. At the moment, he had the parts spread across the counter.
“Karlee,” he hollered over his shoulder.
She pushed through the door from the back room. “Yeah?”
Seth lifted his hands in defeat and shook his head. “The pieces are not fitting together. From the outside, it looks like most of the ice cream makers we’ve had, but this is not user-friendly.”
She trotted over to take a look just as Chris came in.
“I’ve got donuts,” he announced, his eyes landing on Seth.
“Yum!” Karlee practically shrieked as she clapped her hands and jumped up on her toes.
Seth laughed. “What are you, twelve?”
As if to prove his point, she stuck out her tongue. “Hey! Remember, I am eating for two!”
He rolled his eyes. “Again with that? Are you really going to use that excuse until the baby arrives?”
Chris opened the box and let Karlee pick a donut before turning to Seth and grinning. “Of course. Get used to it.” He carried over the box and offered it to Seth. “Are you hungry, too?” he asked, his voice low.