“Forget about all this for the weekend. Enjoy the time with your girls,” his dad encouraged.
He liked the sound of that. Because when he was with Emmy and Trinity, he was happier than he’d ever been.
And Emmy loved spending time with her grandpa. Tonight they’d eat pizza and take a walk to the nearby park where Emmy liked her grandpa to push her high on the swings and catch her at the bottom of the slide.
Jon hoped they didn’t have to move back with Steph and leave the two people he loved behind.
Chapter Seventeen
Things seemed to finally be going Jon’s way. He’d had two weeks where everything went as planned. Steph managed to work and care for Emmy on her days as scheduled. No Thursday evening phone call to come get her because Steph was done. He and Emmy had a video chat every night she was away. It seemed to ease her mind and make her more comfortable staying with her mom.
The calls kept Steph in line because she knew he was checking up on her, too.
The house renovation and redecorating was finished, and he loved how everything turned out. He’d taken Trinity’s advice and gone with the lighter shade of gray for the walls. She was right. The place was brighter and felt more open and airy. The color complemented the new white quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen, which Trinity loved. She used the space more than he did, and he didn’t mind one bit. She was a phenomenal cook. Emmy loved helping her make meals on the weekend.
They worked together really well. Trinity and Emmy. And he and Trinity. She spent more nights with him than she did at her own place. When she wasn’t with him, he missed her and couldn’t wait to see her again. He’d never felt that way about anyone.
And he needed to put some serious thought into what he wanted for the future, though it seemed to be coming together the way he imagined without him even really trying.
Trinity loved being at his place. They loved being together. She was great with Emmy.
Everything seemed perfect right now.
And as much as he loved having more time to spend with Emmy, visiting his dad, and working to get the ranch ready to house some horses and the puppy Emmy hadn’t stopped begging him to get her, he still found time to work on his pet project.
While Trinity kept him apprised of what she was doing at work, and how things were going with her plans to expand once Adria gave birth and was back to working full-time, he had a plan to make all their dreams a reality without them having to take out a massive loan, and travel and stay at the new locations for weeks at a time. And work sixty-plus-hour weeks to do it.
He had no idea what Trinity and Adria would say about his proposal. But he’d decided to do what he’d do with any other business owner and make the offer and let them decide.
He’d handled things badly when Trinity asked about what he did for a living. He let past experiences put him on the defensive and insulted Trinity. Money didn’t seem to be a motivating factor for anything Trinity did. Not in her work, where she lived, or how she lived her life. She loved being a chef and running her business with her sister-in-law. She liked the little apartment over the shop because it was cozy and all she needed right now for herself. She didn’t spend money on things just to have them. As far as he could tell, her love for chocolate far exceeded her love of expensive shoes, handbags, jewelry, or trips.
Unlike Steph, she never asked him to pay for anything. If she brought food from the shop, she didn’t hint or say outright he should pay her for it. When they took Emmy out shopping for new shoes and Trinity found a pair she wanted, she walked right up to the cashier and paid for them herself. She didn’t give him a look, or even an opportunity to offer to pay for them while he paid for Emmy’s.
In fact, she didn’t expect anything from him, except his company and time. She never complained that she wanted to be alone with him when they had Emmy. She never suggested they get a sitter so they could go out without Emmy. She understood that time was precious for him and Emmy both, and she didn’t interfere in their relationship.
And Emmy adored her because Trinity treated her like she was special. She showered Emmy with unconditional love from her great big open heart.
He’d be crazy to ever let her go. And stupid if he did something to ruin it.
Emmy might kill him if he screwed things up with her.
Which was why he hoped Trinity and Adria would be open to hearing him out about his business plan.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this nervous about a business meeting. He hadn’t seen Trinity in two days, but he had talked to her on the phone last night and asked for this meeting to her great surprise. He didn’t tell her exactly what he wanted to talk to her about, only that he had some ideas for her business and wanted to share them with her and Adria.
He walked into Almost Homemade right before their nine-thirty appointment, happy to see Trinity behind the counter talking to one of her employees. The store had a good number of customers shopping the shelves and hot counter.
He didn’t see Adria, but figured she’d join them for the meeting shortly.
Trinity spotted him and gave him a huge smile. He walked to the corner of the counter, away from where customers were lined up to get food and check out.
“Hey, you.” She eyed his dress shirt and tie. “Aren’t you handsome and so serious today?”
He’d ditched his new usual tee or thermal for his old business attire up top, but he kept the black jeans because while he wanted to look professional, he was meeting his girlfriend and her partner.
“You’re always beautiful and happy, and the best part of my day is seeing you.”
The bright smile was his second favorite to the sexy one she gave him most nights when they seduced each other in bed.
Trinity tilted her head. “When you asked to meet with me and Adria, I didn’t realize it was some kind of serious business you wanted to discuss.”
The guy Trinity had been talking to when he walked in hovered nearby, sneaking glances at Trinity. If the guy had a thing for her, he was shit out of luck. Jon let him know it with a hard stare before he focused on Trinity again. “Your business is all tied up with family. While we have a personal relationship, I wanted you to know this is business. If you don’t like what I have to say about my plans for Almost Homemade, then I’ll drop it and we’ll continue as we have been, no hard feelings.”
Trinity raised one brow. “You have plans for my business?”
The guy lurking in the background rushed forward and took Trinity by the shoulder, turning her to him. “I thought you said you weren’t interested in selling. You’ve turned down every offer so far.”
She’d never mentioned any offers to him. “How many offers have you received?”
Trinity shrugged one shoulder. “We get one every couple of weeks. We have since we opened the third store.”
“If you’re ready to sell, you should consider the offer I brought to you.” The guy eyed Jon, then turned to Trinity again. “It’s a good offer.”
Jon wanted to jump in, but his phone rang. He spared it a glance before he readdressed Trinity about his offer, but instead told her, “Sorry, it’s Emmy’s school.”
“Take it.” She waved him off and said to the other guy, “We aren’t selling the business.”