Page 53 of Romancing My Grumpy Goalie

Aubrey and her mom are parked in front of my shop where Eliza is covering for me. When I pull up, Mrs. Wheaton opens her car door and opens her trunk. “I heard from my friend Mary that there was a power outage at the textile factory, and no one can work. These poor people are probably thirsty in this heat,” she tells me as I climb from my car. “I brought lemonade for them.” She pulls a table from the back of her minivan.

“You’ve come prepared,” I note.

“Yes, dear. We can’t let these people go thirsty.” She winks at me. “And you never know. It might drum up some business for your shop.”

Aubrey and I help set up the table with the lemonade. Mrs. Wheaton has thought of everything. Cups, napkins, and a large dispenser full of ice and lemonade.

“I have cookies I can donate to the cause,” I offer.

People are already beginning to come over for refreshments, so I go inside to get the cookies.

“I didn’t get the loan,” I tell Eliza after filling her in on what we’re doing outside.

Her eyes are full of pity. “I’m so sorry. Would it help if I worked fewer hours?”

“I can’t do that to you. I’ll figure out something. It’s nothing you need to worry about.” I head over to the cookies and gather some before returning to the hot April afternoon. There’s a decent-sized crowd surrounding the lemonade table now.

“Thank you for doing this,” one of the moms says. “I’ve never noticed this place before. I’ll have to go inside and check it out.”

“She has incredible candles,” Mrs. Wheaton pipes up. “Come with me, and I’ll show you my favorite.”

We all go inside to enjoy the air conditioning, and Mrs. Wheaton picks up the “Smoky Campfire” candle. “This one says summer nights roasting marshmallows.” It’s a good choice in this heat. People are probably thinking of camping already.

The customer buys the candle, which I can understand because it really is a good one.

Eliza and I are busy for the rest of the day as people flow in and out of the shop. And Aubrey and Mrs. Wheaton stay past when Nolan shows up after school, all the way until closing.

“Boss, come look at this,” Eliza says after Nolan goes outside to practice soccer.

I head over to the register. She has the screen with the sales for the day up. “This is better than we’ve done in the last week combined. We haven’t had a day like this since December.”

“I know.”

I grab my phone with the sudden urge to call Lucas with my success, but I set it down again. He probably wouldn’t answer anyway. I keep waiting for the day when Lucas drops the mentorship, and then we’ll truly have no reason to talk to each other.

I told Jeremy it was over between Lucas and me, and he backed off on pursuing legal action, thank goodness.

Mom and Mrs. Wheaton are comparing their favorite soaps, and Aubrey joins me and Eliza at the register.

“Have you heard from Lucas today?”

I shake my head. “I think he’s completely done with me now.” As I say it, the weight of my words sinks over me like a heavy fog.

“You think he’s ghosting you, but he could be busy preparing for the big game he has coming up,” Eliza points out.

“What about Nolan’s birthday party next weekend?” Aubrey asks. “Are you inviting him?”

I sigh. “I’m considering it.”

“Do you know why today was so awesome?” Eliza says, changing the subject. “People liked what they saw. You didn’t force anyone to buy anything. Don’t you see it? You have what it takes.”

“But they didn’t know about me before this because of my crummy location,” I say.

Nolan came back into the store from playing outside. “I can’t wait to show Lucas how great I’m doing on the moves he taught me! Do you think he can come over for dinner tonight so I can tell him?”

“I need to tell you something about Lucas.” I take his shoulders and lead him into the back storage room. “It’sprobably best if Lucas doesn’t come over. He and I aren’t going to date.”

“But I thought you liked him.” His eyes are big and vulnerable, and it’s like I’m telling him all over again that his dad is moving away.

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