Page 9 of Cherry on Top

Then there was the meticulously laid out, sparkling clean commercial kitchen in the back. He’d spared no expense, because he’d wanted a place he loved coming to work every day, and Cherry’s had become all of that and more.

“I don’t know about that,” Will said. He set a hand on his hip. “I just know I’m super busy. But of course, you’ll have to tell him to stop by for some ice cream.”

“Oh, I will,” Giana said and her eyes were glimmering with mischief and promise.

He supposed he should’ve been more afraid of that look of hers but he had two more sundaes to make, and the line in front of Mari was nearly to the door now.

“See you around,” Will said, turning away and whipping up his milkshake. He spooned it carefully into one of the clear fluted glasses that he’d already prepped with a caramel drizzle and then topped it with a beautiful swirl of whipped cream and more caramel. He nestled a snickerdoodle in and a bunch of his signature cherries next to it.

He was just pulling out two more dishes for sundaes when Kate wondered, “Gonna stop by for ice cream, is he? Or maybe something else?”

Glancing up, Will rolled his eyes. “I was trying to be nice. Friendly. Welcoming.”

“You gotta be careful,” she said. “You’re too friendly. Giana’s gonna take that as a positive sign and never give up. She wants you.”

“At least it’s not for herself?” Giana was still beautiful, sure, but she was definitely at least twenty-five years older than Will, and the wrong kind of sex for him to be interested in.

“It might be easier to dissuade her if that was her end goal,” Will continued with a reluctant sigh. “But hopefully Enzo is just as weirded out by his mom’s matchmaking as I am.”

“I’m sure he’s gonna be thrilled to find out that she’s been coming around, pimping him out,” Kate said with a grin. “Or maybe he’ll actually be glad. You never know. Maybe he has trouble getting dates, just like you said.”

“Maybe.” But Will wasn’t convinced. He was sure the first time he met Enzo Moretti, the two of them would share an awkward and uncomfortable moment, hopefully be able to laugh about it directly after, and then move on.

Chapter Three

It had been another very long day.

Will was torn between being glad that Cherry’s had really caught on with the locals and with the tourists filtering into town for the summer, and wishing that maybe they were a little less eager.

Maybe then his feet and the small of his back wouldn’t be aching like this.

“Flip the sign,” Will said to Mari.

She was currently wiping up tables, streaked with smears of chocolate and cherry pie filling and God only knew what else, but she skirted around one of them and flicked the switch that turned the curly-lettered open sign, executed in bright cherry pink, to off.

“We’re gonna have to hire someone else. And consider staying open later, in the summer. Seven PM might not be late enough to take care of the crowds,” Kate suggested as Will leaned against the counter and wondered if it was better or worse if his toes had gone numb. At least they’d stopped hurting for a second?

“Yeah.” Will dragged a hand over his face.

Kate wasn’t wrong, but that was a problem for Tomorrow Will.

“Especially,” Mari chimed in as she went back to scrubbing a particularly stubborn stain off one of the tables, “on nights when there’s events at the high school. They’re all gonna want to come here. There’s only the little diner at the edge of town that’s open late enough for that crowd.”

“Good point,” Kate agreed with a nod. She turned to Will. “Boss?”

Will sighed. “I’ll look into it tomorrow.”

She gave him a bit of a shove. “You were here even earlier than me. You’re exhausted. Go get some fresh air. I’ll work on cleaning up back here.”

Will almost asked her if she was sure, but he heard his mom’s voice echoing in his head, if you hired her, why can’t you trust her? It was even more annoying because he knew she was right.

“Alright, but I’ll be back in a few, to help you guys finish up,” Will said.

He pushed open the door. “Lock this behind me, yeah?” he said, motioning towards Mari, and she nodded.

It was still warm outside—Kate wasn’t wrong, either; they needed to start staying open later, to take full advantage of the summer and its crowds—even though it was dusk now, bordering on full dark, stars emerging overhead, the streets mostly abandoned at this hour.

Will turned the corner and stopped in his tracks.

---