Page 105 of Burn for You

Caio nudges his shoulder into mine. “Without a doubt.”

chapter thirty-seven

RAFAEL

Today is the big day.

I stand in the middle of the new Olive&Vine and take a deep breath. The space looks amazing. May took it upon herself to help me with the new design direction of the restaurant, and honestly, I couldn’t have done it without her.

Classic sets of tables and chairs take up the majority of the floor space, with deep red leather booths sitting against two of the walls. Those I wanted to keep. The rest we changed.

When May told me she felt like it needed to be ‘roughed up a bit,’ I was wary, and when she took a sanding block to one of the dining chairs, I nearly choked. I hate to say it, but she was right. That’s exactly what it needed. The whole place has a rustic feel to it, with scuffs in the edges of the tables and chairs, and even along the edges of the olive-green painted window frames. It feels homey, as if it’s always been like this, or maybe that it was always meant to look this way.

May dragged me down to the antique store yesterday to pick out a few lamps and ornaments to fill some gaps, and once we hung the red checkered curtains late last night, the finished product made my eyes sting. May just pulled me into a warm hug, and I knew from the way her small arms squeezed mymiddle that she could feel it the same way that I could, just how special this was.

Now here I am, dressed up like I’m going to one of Caio’s fancy events, and my staff are running around behind me as I prepare to open the doors for the grand reopening of Olive&Vine.

A hand lands on my shoulder. “Ready, boss?” Gianna stands beside me, smiling wide.

I try to steel myself. I know there’s a crowd of people outside, just waiting for me to open that door and let them in. I can’t deny that a little part of me worries that they won’t like it. That they’ll wish I didn’t change it so much. That it looks nothing how my nonna would’ve imagined it to be. But I roll my shoulders, ridding myself of the doubts.

I send my mind back to last night when May had her arms wrapped around me. I felt proud. I felt like she was proud of me, too. I let that feeling warm me from the inside out, and then I nod. “Ready.”

I walk up to the door and open it, the new golden bell that May added above the door jingling as I do. The crowd turns towards me and then they’re clapping. Hoots come from the back of the crowd where I see my friends looking like they just won the lottery with how excited they are.

Who I don’t see is May. My eyes search every face in the crowd, but I don’t see hers. Everyone is looking at me expectantly, a few heads moving to see around me and inside the building. I feel like I should say something.

I clear my throat. “Thank you all for being here tonight. As most of you know, this restaurant has been a part of my family, and my life, for as long as I can remember. I was scared to change it, to somehow wipe the history from this place, but as I worked on it, I created a new history. A new story that I am so excited to share with you all.” As I look around the crowd, all I see are genuine smiles. People don’t look worried about what changes I might have made; they look excited, eager to see what I've done with the place, and pride settles deep in my tummy at that. “Sowelcome to the new and improved Olive&Vine, how about we make some new history tonight?”

Everyone in front of me claps, and I feel Gianna’s hand land on my shoulder before she whispers, “Good speech boss.”

I move aside and people start to filter through the doors, eager to see the place. My friends stand at the back of the line, everyone is here, even Heath, but still no sight of my little spitfire.

Isla must see the look on my face, because she rests a hand on my arm and smiles up at me. “She’s coming.”

“Who?” I ask, attempting to play it cool considering the way I haven't explicitly told any of our friends about May and me, Isla and Caio catching us at the gallery before I could say anything. But by the way her face pulls into a grin, I don’t think it worked.

She looks at Marina. “She told us.”

“Yeah, and they told us.” Leo claps me around the head. “Why didn’t you?”

“Uh…” I don’t really have any excuse. I’ve wanted to shout from the rooftops that May is mine since that day at the cabin, but I didn’t want to push her boundaries.

Vanessa walks up to me, planting a kiss on my cheek. “And we told everyone else.”

Caio rolls his eyes. “You two just can’t get enough, can you?”

She shrugs. “What else are two old ladies meant to do with their spare time? Our favorite restaurant has been closed for a month. We’ve been bored.”

I chuckle. “You better get in there, then.”

She nods and scurries through the door. Marina and Isla follow close behind.

Caio throws an arm over my shoulder. “I’m happy for you.”

“Don’t get too excited. She’s not even here.” I sound like a sad sack, but that’s how I feel.

It doesn’t feel right opening this place without her. She was such a big part of it, and this place was a big part of us. This is where we opened up to each other. More than once, and I don’t know if that would’ve ever happened otherwise. This is whereshe promised me to stop pretending, where she gave herself over to me on the table of the booth just by the door.

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