“It’s almost like Leni does marketing for a living,” Jules said as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, her cropped yellow sweater exposing the top of her high-waisted jeans.
“That’s why they pay her the big bucks,” Abby said.
Abby was overwhelmed by the generosity of her friends. They’d come armed with lists of ideas and contacts, worked through lunch—they’d ordered pizza—and had not only helped her devise marketing plans, but they’d also provided more ideas for the logo and nailing down the menu design. Cait’s mock-ups for the logo were gorgeous, using soothing blues and browns with just a hint of gold, giving them a touch of class. Some were more elaborate than others, and all the girls agreed that they should go with a fluid, clean design, focusing on the name of the restaurant and giving it an upscale beachy feel. Cait was going to work up another idea for the logo this week using hers and Abby’s favorite elements of the mock-ups she’d shared.
“Speaking of earning big bucks,” Leni said. “Cait, you’re incredibly talented. Would you ever consider doing graphic design for corporations?”
“No offense, but no,” Cait answered. “I like doing my own thing.”
Leni said, “I guess I’ll scratch recruit Cait off my list.”
“Hey, get your claws away from my sister. I just found her, and I’m not giving her up without a fight,” Abby said, earning the biggest grin from Cait. “You guys are amazing. I can’t believe it’s all coming together.” Excitement bubbled up inside her. “Holy cow, Cait. We’re really doing this!”
They all laughed.
Abby took a deep breath and voiced the worry that had been nagging at her. “Hopefully I’ll get approved for the line of credit I applied for, or else all of this will be for naught.”
“What do you mean?” Leni asked.
“With the insurance money we inherited and my savings, we still didn’t have enough capital to make it work. It’s much more expensive than I realized. I need to have two months of capital up front so I can order food and pay staff. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I should be okay if I get approved for the home equity line of credit. Thank goodness Aiden went with me to the bank. I almost went with a loan instead of a line of credit, which would have cost me a lot more in interest. I should hear if it’s approved Monday or Tuesday. I keep telling myself they have to approve it, since our house is worth so much, but the truth is, I’m scared shitless. Without enough money for inventory, staff, and everything else it will take to get this off the ground, even if I win the competition, I can’t open the restaurant unless I run it as a one- or two-person show, which would be impossible.”
“Is there another way to get the money?” Daphne asked.
“Yes. There’s an investment company that wanted to buy the restaurant, and Aiden thinks we could approach them for an angel investment deal instead of a purchase. He also offered to invest.”
Cait’s eyes widened. “He did?”
Abby nodded. “I said no, of course.”
“That was smart. If there’s one thing that can kill a relationship, it’s mixing business with pleasure. Abby, how much money are we talking about?” Leni asked.
“A lot. Way too much for him to be offering. I really want to do this on my own, with my sisters. I don’t want an investor hovering over me, much less to feel indebted to Aiden. I mean, it was sweet of him to offer, but like you said, it’s not smart.”
“He must really believe in you to offer you money,” Jules said.
Abby sat back and felt a smile tugging at her lips. “He does, and it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced. I can’t wait to show him the menu design and logo ideas.”
“Where is he today?” Daphne asked. “I thought he was helping you with all of this.”
“He is helping, but he’s supposed to be on vacation, remember? He and Brant were going sailing this morning.” She wished she could have gone with them. She’d love to see Aiden piloting a boat, the wind bringing out his curls, and kissing him as they sailed swiftly through the water, the ocean breeze on their faces.
“You’ve got that dreamy look again, like you did last night,” Jules said.
“It looks good on her,” Daphne said. “Doesn’t it?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Stop.” Her phone vibrated, and she pulled it from her pocket. Her pulse quickened at the sight of Aiden’s name on the screen. Hey, Abs, I’m running pretty late. Sorry. Can I meet you and Cait a few hours later? 6:00 at the Bistro? A wave of disappointment washed through her.
“What’s wrong?” Cait asked.
“Nothing. Aiden’s running late.” She thumbed out a reply—Sure. Thanks for letting me know—trying to quell the hurt of being pushed to the back burner, and at the same time, she knew it wasn’t fair for her to be hurt. He had a right to enjoy his vacation, and skating with her and Cait probably wasn’t nearly as fun as sailing with Brant.
Leni sat back and studied her. “And you’re upset?”
“No, just disappointed. We had something planned that I was really looking forward to.”
Leni held her gaze with a look only a best friend could serve up—the one that said something was going on, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. “You know, you dated Paul for a long time, and you were never this invested.”
“Not everyone who dates is meant to be together forever,” Abby said as she put her phone in her pocket.
“I get that,” Leni said. “But you never put in much effort with Paul, and here you are, in the middle of huge life changes, moving back to the island and opening the restaurant, which would be enough to make me more closed off than ever, and you seem to be letting Aiden in.”
“Ever heard of chemistry?” Jules asked.
Leni gave her a big-sister eye roll. “Yeah, I get that. Even though I only went out with Abby and Paul a few times, the difference in how she and Aiden look at each other and treat each other is obvious. But why are you willing to put in so much effort when your entire life is up in the air?”
“I don’t know,” Abby admitted. “I’m sure this will sound like I’m lying, but I honestly don’t think I’m putting in more effort. I’m not shirking responsibilities to be with Aiden; we’re doing it together. This thing between us isn’t me rearranging my schedule to fit him into it. It’s just happening. We met, we clicked, and we really like each other. I haven’t ever had a relationship like this before.”
“That’s how it was with me and Jock,” Daphne said. “Suddenly we did everything together, and life was fuller and better. I was a nervous wreck at first because he had trouble with little ones, and I have Hadley, but it was worth every second.”
“But, Abby, what happens when he goes back to wherever he came from?” Leni asked.
Leni had always been straightforward, and Abby usually loved that about her, but she didn’t want to think about Aiden leaving. “We haven’t gotten that far, Leni. We’ve talked about still seeing each other, but you know me. I don’t like to put expectations on people.”