Page 30 of Cody

I walked around inside, picturing how I wanted my shop to look when it was done. I wanted it to be a simple, welcoming layout with a few tables for those who wanted to meet up with friends for coffee or wind down their day in a relaxing atmosphere with a cup of decaf. Homemade bagels and biscotti made by Mom, along with a few other specialty pastries, would be highlighted in the display case. I had a list of local bakers I wanted to reach out to later.

The sign that would hang outside under the eaves was already being made. I’d decided to keep the same name as the shop I’d had in San Diago, Special Perks Café. I was still deciding on the window verbiage.

I opened the door to the small back room I was going to turn into a storage area and my office. Other than a desk, filing cabinet, and chair, most of the space would be occupied with shelving. I was making a list in my head of the stock I wanted to keep on hand when my phone alerted me that I’d received a text. I dug it out of my purse and glanced down to see it was from Mia letting me know that the Sunday night poker game was cancelled.

“Starting without me?”

I let out a small shriek and spun around, relieved to see that it was only Max, and he was walking up behind me. “Jesus, you scared me!” I covered the area over my heart, smiling in spite of the fright he’d given me, and slipped my phone back into my purse. I’d respond to Mia later.

He laughed, not one bit sorry that he’d frightened me. I liked Max’s easy-going nature, and he was easy on the eyes, too. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

His gaze moved over me appreciatively. Even though it was a business dinner, I’d chosen to dress up in a teal summer dress. The buttoned, square-necked bodice was a lighter color and fit tight over my breasts, while the darker skirt flared out to my knees. I knew it looked good on me.

“You didn’t hear the door open?”

I shook my head. “No. I was too busy dreaming.” I opened my purse and took out a pad and pen to make a note. “Doorbell,” I spoke as I wrote it down.

“Good idea.” He glanced over my head where I stood in the doorway. “So what’s going in here? Storage?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “And this corner—” I pointed, “—will be set up as a small office for me.”

“You gonna want it sectioned off?”

I thought about it for a second before deciding. “I want to keep the cost down back here. I might just get a partition wall, something I can see over but gives me a little privacy. It’s not like anyone will come back here.”

“True. So you’ll want to go with industrial shelves for storage.” He studied the area for a minute, and I could almost see his thoughts swirling. “I bet you could get twenty in here.”

I nodded in agreement and forced him to take a step back when I moved to close the door. “I’ll start out with ten.”

“What do you need from me?” he asked.

“Three things to start out with.”

Grinning, he crossed his arms and waited patiently.

“I need a new floor put down. I have porcelain tile coming in next week. And I’ll need a twelve-foot-long display case that will go over there.” I indicated towards the area. “You know, the kind with a window in the front so customers can see the food items? Finally, I’d like a bar-height table to fit the length of the front window, industrial look with a wood top and iron legs. Can you build something like that?”

Max nodded. “Sure. Do you want the shelves in the display case angled or square across?”

“I want three evenly spaced shelves, glass ones. The tables I ordered are walnut, so I’d like everything to match. I’m still tossing around some other ideas for merchandise, maybe a wall unit. I’ll let you know when I make up my mind.” I met his warm eyes. “I think that’s a good start, don’t you?”

“What about painting?”

I smiled, thinking about the conversation I’d had with the girls at the cookout. “I want to do the painting myself. In fact, Crissy and Sarah offered to help.” I thought about the wall mural I’d already ordered; I couldn’t wait to get the walls painted.

He released a heavy breath. “Good. Now can we go eat. I’m starving.”

“Sure, and dinner is on me tonight. I can write it off.”

“I can tell I’m going to like this job,” he joked, waiting while I locked the door.

We headed to the Italian restaurant where Max had made reservations because it was a busy time of evening. When we went inside, almost every table was full. No host greeted us, and I realized that nothing had changed since the last time I’d been there. They had a simple process that worked. If you made a reservation, they simply put your name on a card and placed it on a table. I followed Max, and as we continued past the first empty table, I caught the names “Cody and Tina” written on a card, and my heart sank.

Damn. How many men named Cody lived in Coldwater?

“This place hasn’t changed,” I commented while Max held out the chair for me. “And I haven’t been in here for ten years.”

“Does anything in Coldwater change?” he grinned. “It’s one of the first things I learned after moving here—if it works, don’t try to fix it.”

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