“No, we couldn’t do that...” I started.
“Oh, yes, you can, and you will. You don’t have a place to stay. Now you do. Only problem is that there’s only a queen mattress, but there is a couch. So one of you could have the bed and the other the couch until your other apartment is ready. And it’s super nice! Ready to go with all the essentials. You can move in tomorrow!” she breathed as though she could hardly contain her excitement.
“This isn’t a bad idea. That building is a prime location for a bakery and of course, having the apartment above does help us out a lot, Izzy,” Jasper added.
“The owner is an ass, but he’ll give you a screaming deal if you tell him you’re renovating it. Once all the businesses are fully up and running the guy will likely raise the rent, but it’s already really low for what you’ll get. You can have the property manager add a restriction on raising the rent the first two years like I did. And you saw how busy my store was. Imagine twice that if you’re a bakery. People love to buy treats while they shop.”
“We will also be doing specialty cakes for weddings and birthdays, call-in orders, boxes of homemade candies, fresh bread. Oooh, maybe Milo will teach me how to make traditional fry bread. It was by far one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth. And that’s saying a lot...” Jasper grinned manically.
Milo covered his mouth with a suspicious cough that sounded a lot like laughter.
“Jas...” I warned. “Keep it clean.”
He curled his lips and made a silly face at me. “You’re no fun.”
I laughed and focused back on Camden. “Evie mentioned maybe you could help us go over things. I mean, I understand if you’re too busy. We’re new to this family and I wouldn’t want to take advantage or put you out in any way.”
He scoffed. “Why would me giving you business advice be taking advantage? I’m happy to help my sister-in-law get her feet wet in the business world. And if Evie and Milo are willing to chip in on the financial side and with recommendations, I’m sure we could get the two of you up and running in no time. How about we meet up at the end of the week? I’ll have my assistant call and set up a time for the two of you to come meet with me at my office.”
“That would be amazing, Camden. Thank you.”
He smiled and it notched his handsome business-surfer vibe up a thousand degrees.
“In the meantime, I want the two of you to make a list of the things you want to offer in your business. How many people will be working with you? Guesstimate on how much you want to make and any employees you’d want to have...”
“I think it would just be me and Jas in the beginning until we got really comfortable. Right, Jasper?”
“Definitely. We make all the decisions and set it up how we want before we add anyone else into the mix,” he agreed.
Camden nodded. “Makes sense. You also need to start thinking of your bakery’s theme. What sets it apart from others? What makes it special? What are you going to offer? What do you think you want to charge for those items? Also, you’ll need to look at equipment. What are you going to need to purchase appliance-wise? Then of course there’s the location. If you choose the space next to Gypsy Soul, you get the benefit of the apartment on top. That’s a big plus since you both don’t have living arrangements for the foreseeable future. You’ll need to name it, and think about vendors you want to work with for the packaging materials, your supplies of milk, eggs, butter and the like.”
My mind was blown.
“Wow. There’s a lot that goes into this.” I lifted my hand and brought my thumb to my mouth to worry the nail there.
Jasper instantly grabbed my hand and glared. “No nail biting. You’re not alone in this, Izzy. You’ve got me, and your sisters and brothers to help guide us. We’ll do our homework and make lists. Tons of lists. You love lists.”
“I do love lists,” I whispered.
“Me, too!” Evie beamed, obviously appreciating something we had in common.
“And, sister, I just opened my business last year. I know a ton and would be happy to have you and Jasper hang out at Gypsy Soul and talk through some ideas. Take some notes about things you’ll need to be aware of. Maybe I’ll have more to add so you’ll be ready for your meeting with Cam.”
“Also, guys, we can meet twenty times if that’s what it takes. There is no limit to my help. I can also connect you with Turner Brothers Construction. They did Suda Kaye’s store and it was done well, quickly and under budget. We can trust Kyson to do right by you.”
“Kyson?” I asked, my cheeks flaming instantly. Thankfully, the bonfire was pretty hot and I didn’t think anyone would notice the change.
“Yeah, he’s a good guy. Once I got his lips away from my wife,” Cam grumbled.
“Honey, it was just a kiss...” Suda Kaye rolled her eyes dramatically.
“It was a full-on make-out session. I know what I saw,” Camden fired off, a hint of irritation in his tone.
“Wait a minute, you dated Kyson? The guy I met today?” I asked, my stomach clenching and my heart pounding even more wildly.
“Um... I wouldn’t call it dating,” Suda Kaye said, though the way she said it made me believe she was downplaying it.
“Only because I made my move. Otherwise, who knows? You might be shacked up with Kyson right now.”
I’m pretty sure that was the moment that my eyes almost bulged right out of my head and I felt as though someone had punched me in the stomach.
“That is not true in the slightest,” she groused, her voice rising. “Kyson’s all about a fun time, no strings attached.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah,” she said nonchalantly at the same time Evie said, “Suda Kaye!”
Suda Kaye turned her head from her grumpy husband and then realized what she said. “No. I mean, I don’t really know him that well. I...uh, ugh! What I meant to say is he’s a super-nice guy. I wouldn’t have let him ask you out if I didn’t think you’d have fun going out with him.”
“You’re going out with Kyson Turner?” Camden asked. “Damn, one day at work and I miss everything happening in my wife’s family.”
“Well, that settles all. I’m definitely not going out with him now! He’s kissed my sister.” I scrunched up my nose and made a gagging sound even though my stomach was twisting violently, and my heart had plummeted to the pits of despair.
Man, I’d really liked him. I’d dated a lot of good-looking guys over the years. I mean I’m not horrible to look at, but I never had instant chemistry with any of them or dated anyone who had such charisma. Not only had he already made out with my sister, he was also a no-strings-attached player. Those were the worst of the worst in my book. They just wanted to get in and get out. I was so not down for that. It wasn’t that I was a prude or judgy about what people wanted to do with their bodies, but I wanted to spend time with a guy. Get to know him before I became intimate. Which was also why I had a strict six-dates-to-sex rule. Sure, we could get hot and heavy before then, but I never broke that rule. Seeing as I was still single, it clearly hadn’t served me well, but it definitely weeded out the douchebags who just wanted to get off and move on to the next piece of ass.