Page 118 of Suck My Puck

Emotion surges up my chest. “It’s just…you’ve been incredible, planning all this and taking care of everything. And I don’t just mean today. The way you helped me when I had to move out of my aunt’s place blew me away. And how supportive you’ve been about my coffee business. I’ve never been treated like this. I feel so taken care of.”

Braden blinks at me, his soft blue gaze focused and intense. “I like taking care of you, Bella.”

Warmth burrows in my chest at the conviction in his tone.

He laces his fingers in mine. “I know you can take care of yourself. I know how strong you are. I see how hard you work every single day. I’m in awe of you. I just want you to know that you deserve to be taken care of too. You deserve to rest and take breaks. You deserve to be spoiled with spa days and vacations and fancy dinners and anything else you want. And I love being the guy who gets to spoil you.”

Tingles fly across my body at the same time that my heart races.

“You mean that?” I ask.

A tender smile dances across his lips. “More than anything.”

The server returns with our entrees. We dig into our beef bourguignon and cacio e pepe.

When I take my first bite of beef, I moan. “Oh my god, this is incredible. Here, you have to try this.”

I feed him a forkful of the tender meat. His brow lifts as he chews. “Wow. That’s really good. Want a bite of my pasta?”

I savor the rich, sauce and al dente noodles. “So yummy. The beef is better though.”

He chuckles. We chat and laugh while eating and sipping our wine. When we finish dinner, the server takes away our empty plates and tops off our wine glasses.

My phone buzzes with a call from Ingrid’s mom. I frown at the screen before looking up at Braden.

“It’s Ingrid’s mom. Shoot, maybe she has an issue with the coffee she ordered from me this week. I should take this.”

“Yeah, of course,” Braden says.

I stand up and answer the phone as I walk toward the restrooms at the back of the restaurant.

“Hi, Amy.” I find a quiet corner to the side of the ladies’ room.

“Bella, honey! Hello! I’m so sorry to bother you in the evening like this.”

“It’s okay. Is everything alright with your latest coffee order?”

“Oh yes, everything is amazing. I brewed a pot formyself and my husband this morning and we loved it. I think your French roast is our favorite so far.”

“I’m so happy to hear that.”

“The reason I’m calling you is because I was at dinner with my girlfriends this evening and we were all raving about your coffee and how it’s a shame that more people don’t know about you. And we got to thinking, what if you open your own coffee shop?”

A sad smile tugs at my lips. “That’s my biggest dream, to have my own coffee shop. I just don’t think it’s in the cards for me anytime soon.”

“Why not? You’re young and an incredibly hard worker. You could make it happen.”

“I wish I could, but I’d need to save a lot of money before I can even think about opening my own place.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I should have said this in the first place. My friends and I would be your investors.”

I fall against the wall. “What?”

“We would give you the money to open your own coffee shop. That way you wouldn’t have to take out some predatory business loan.”

I stand there, my mouth hanging open as I struggle to process everything Amy says.

“Wait, you’re serious? You and your friends want to give me money to open my own coffee shop?”

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