Page 83 of Return To You

“Oh right. She’s not from around here, so you wouldn’t have known her. She’s our only CPA here. Most businesses use her. Strong woman. Raises her kid alone. She helped me—helped us—a lot, when Chris first came back home with baby Skye. With, you know, tips and stuff. Skye and her daughter are best friends. Lots of playdates and sleepovers. It helps.”

“So she helped you start the spa?” he says, getting me back on track.

“Right. By that time, Colton and Chris were already starting their own businesses, so I knew it could be done. We’d talk a lot about the bottom line, and seed money, you know. And Kiara too. Actually,” I pause with my fork midair, trying to remember the facts accurately. There’s so much Ethan has missed! “Actually, we met Kiara at a start-up incubator we all attended. That’s how we all became friends with her. And then she moved to Emerald Creek.”

“She moved here?”

“Yeah.” I wink at him. “Dunno if you heard, but we’re hard to resist.” I smile, but he takes a long sip of his coffee, exhaling loudly. “You okay?”

He sets his hand on mine. “Never been better.”

I wave my fork in the air. “What was that, just now?’

He shakes his head slowly, his lips tilting up a little. “Nothin’. Just… you know.”

“What?”

He nods slowly. “Feeling like I missed out on a lot of stuff.”

“Ts’okay.” I shrug. “I’m sure a lot of people who stayed here wish they could have had your career. Greener grass and all that.”

“I guess. You only really know what you had when you lose it.” His eyes mist a little when his gaze sets on me. His hand still on mine gives me a quick squeeze.

I set my fork on my plate. Take a deep breath to keep my own emotions in check. “We shouldn’t do this. This-this-this what-if. It’s gonna kill us.” Tears well up despite my bravado.

He sits up straighter in his chair. “You’re right. Tell me more about your spa. Your staff.” His voice is cheery, his smile genuine. “Claudia’s a hoot. How did you find her?”

“She’s actually my latest recruit. I got her through Chris. One of his apprentices—Isaac—his dad is a real dick. Ended up in prison. His mom was looking for a job. I needed a receptionist. So I hired her.”

“Simple as that, huh.”

“Simple as that.”

“How about the others?”

“Oh. I could write novels about the others. Never-ending drama. Lots of love. Lots to give. Okay so, Fabrizio—not his real name, but don’t tell anyone—was trained in Paris—”

“—Really? Why isn’t he Fabrice, then?”

“You can ask him that,” I laugh. “He has a perfect eye for style and our brides love him. Shanice has the magical hands of a healer. Swear to god, some women actually choke up when she gives them a facial. She has some kind of gift. I’m trying to convince her to move onto massage therapy. And then we have Hope, our longest employee—she can do anything—and finally Cheyenne, our nail artist. And when I say artist, I mean it. She’ll do your regular mani-pedis, but where she really shines is in her artistic creations.”

I stop there, or else I’ll bore him to tears. Probably already did.

“So what’s with the landlord?”

“Oh.” Between Ethan’s lovemaking and my focusing on just my staff, I’d almost forgotten about that detail. “You know, he wants to sell the building. What can I do? I have a right of first refusal, but there’s no way I can afford the house. I don’t even want to contemplate that kind of a mortgage. It’s too early for me.”

“So if he sells to someone who wants to live there, you just have to pack up and leave,” he grunts.

“Yup.” I take another sip of OJ, but I’m not fooling myself. I just don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to ruin this perfect moment.

He turns my hand in his, trailing the inside of my wrist. “What are your dreams for your spa, long term? Wherever it might end up being.”

My heart stutters at his question. I love that he gets I don’t want to talk about the lease issue, at least not right now. I also love that he refuses to see that bump in the road as the end of my business. “Long term, I want the spa to expand into a sort of… holistic wellness experience. It’s still a little fuzzy in my mind, but… I don’t know. I could see early morning meditation and yoga, or maybe even sublease one room to an acupuncturist to have that seem to be in-house. Things like that. Down the road, I’d like to organize day-long retreats with a whole range of offerings. But something that would make sense to the needs of each person. Something thought-out for them.”

Ethan’s gaze roams from my eyes, to my mouth, to my throat. It’s official. “I’m boring you to tears.”

He frowns. “Not at all, quite the opposite. You want to create a Wellness Sanctuary. Addressing mental and physical needs tailored to each individual. I think it’s brilliant.”

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