Page 42 of Like You Love Me

Diamere’s grinned as his eyes perused the space. “Absolutely. I see there’s room for plenty of possibilities.”

“Yeah, quite a bit.” London signaled for them to follow him in from the cold wind. “Come on, let’s check out the entertainment side of the building.” Adrenaline was running high in his blood as he gave them a tour of the available space. They talked animatedly about what they wanted to see happen, and again London could see the excitement on all their faces. The bookstore and cupcake shop would be on one side, while Diamere planned to lease the space to the left side for his new nightclub. It was going to be something else.

Rance ended a call and said, “One of my boys on the team, his wife, has a day spa with five locations, and she is interested in tapping into this location. I told him you might have a few spaces left for leasing.”

London nodded. “Hey, any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

“All right, I’ll let them know it’s a done deal.” He tapped a text message on his phone.

“I want to get things popping off here. I feel confident reopening this strip mall will help revitalize this area,” London said.

There were several head nods.

“I think so too,” Diamere chimed.

“My goal is to have this entire strip mall open and operational within six months. What do all of you think about that?”

Debra’s eyes twinkled. “I think it’s doable.”

Diamere slapped his palms together. “Then let’s make it happen.”

The three shook hands.

“I guess this means we are officially in business together.”

“Yes, it appears so.” Debra grinned.

Diamere nodded in agreement then glanced down at the expensive-looking watch on his wrist. “All right, we got the business out of the way. Since your restaurant is burnt down, where does a brotha go to get himself something to eat around here?”

London chuckled. He had been so caught up in business deals that he hadn’t given lunch a passing thought. And on cue, his stomach growled.

“Come on. I know a place I can take you. It’s not as good as my chicken, but it’ll do.”

“Okay, lead the way,” Rance said as he took his wife’s hand and escorted her back to the car.

Smiling, London locked up the building. He couldn’t wait to share the details with Bianca. Hopefully, the news of a new marketing campaign would help return that sparkle to his wife’s brilliant brown eyes.

Chapter 10

Friday finally arrived. There was still so much to do, Bianca left work early. She stopped long enough to pick up Chinese food and then headed straight to the house. When she walked in and put the food on the counter, London stepped into the kitchen.

“Hey, babe. You’re home early,” she crooned.

He leaned in close and covered her lips with a kiss. “I knew you had a lot to do this evening, so I figured I’d get home and help out while you get ready.”

“Thank you for being so thoughtful.” She removed her coat, slipped out of her boots, and left them in the mudroom. Padding barefoot, she moved back to the counter while London lifted the containers from the plastic bags. “It’s Friday night. What are the two of you going to do this evening?”

“Sierra’s going over with Jabarie’s bunch, and I plan on being at the auction.”

Bianca’s eyes widened as she looked at him. “The auction. You?”

“Hell yeah. There’s no way I’m going to miss watching your cousins be auctioned off like cattle.” He chuckled as he reached for an eggroll and took a bite.

She tossed her head back and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. “Are you serious?”

London nodded. “They’ll be plenty of us there tonight coming to get our laugh on.”

Bianca punched him playfully in the arm. “Be nice,” she warned.

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