Page 58 of Cozy Girl Fall
Penny sipped her tea, thinking over his words. “That,” she said slowly, “might be a brilliant idea, Dad. Thank you.” Ethanhadsaid Nicky would be back from his travels this week.
He lifted an imaginary hat as he gulped his tea. “Just doing my duty, little lady.”
They drank their tea in companionable silence as Penny thought about that empty storefront, excitement buzzing inside her to the point that she thought she might start vibrating.
“I think there’s something I need to do.”
Philip raised his hand, attention already back on his paper. “Bye, pumpkin.”
She kissed him on the cheek and grabbed her keys and cell phone, shutting the front door behind her as she dialed. “Tash? Hey, I was wondering if you might help me with something.”
By the time Penny parked up in town and walked over to Main Street, Tasha was already waiting outside ofthe empty store with an unexpected yet familiar figure next to her.
“Uh, hi, Mr. Blake,” she said, confused, as she raised a brow at Tasha. She hadn’t seen Keith since the dinner party a few weeks ago and as far as she knew, his opinion of her—something close to being a vapid heartbreaker who might ruin his son’s life at any moment—hadn’t changed.
“He’s the realtor for the space,” Tasha explained, clearly sensing Penny’s hesitation. “And as you’re practically family, I’m sure he can get you a good deal.”
Penny flushed, worry rising inside her as she expected Keith to refute Tasha’s words. She waited, expecting him to make fun of her for thinking this was an option for her, or maybe to tactfully try to persuade her that this wasn’t the right course of action. To her surprise, though, he stayed silent as he turned and unlocked the store, beckoning them inside. As he looked at Penny again, she thought he saw something soften in his face, but couldn’t be sure.
“Let’s let her see the space first, Tash,” he said. For once, Penny could see the resemblance between Keith Blake and his son, the approval in his warm eyes at once familiar and not. “It has a fully functional kitchen in the back, the flooring is real hardwood—with a polish, and some fresh paint on the walls, this place could look great.”
Penny walked around the space while Tasha and her dad spoke softly. The ceilings were low enough that thespace could feel cozy, but the windows were big enough that she could have a fresh ambience if she chose. She followed the line of the back wall and pushed through the swinging double doors into the industrial-looking kitchen. All the surfaces looked like stainless steel, a sea of shiny metal reflecting her warped reflection. It all looked relatively new, aside from a large burn mark on the tiled floor near the six-ring stove. There was a walk-in freezer and another room off to the left that looked like a staff break-room.
It was perfect.
But there was still a voice of doubt in the back of Penny’s mind. Was she good enough to do the space justice? She really needed to talk to someone with experience.
“What do you think?” Tasha and her dad were still standing in the same place Penny had left them as she came back through the double doors.
“It’s incredible,” she admitted. “Better than I ever could have imagined, to be honest.”
“Oh, Pen, this is so exciting! Do you think you’re going to go for it?”
Penny wanted to say yes, willed herself to, but the doubt in her mind held her back. “I don’t know, Tasha. I mean, I’ve never done this before. Am I stupid for thinking I can do this?”
Penny jolted when Keith’s hand dropped down onto her shoulder. She’d been speaking quietly to Tasha and hadn’t realized he’d been listening too.
“Can you imagine if nobody ever did anythingunless they’d done it before? Nobody would get anywhere. Imagine if we could have put man on the moon and instead decided,Nah, we haven’t done that before; better not.You won’t know whether you can do it unless you try, Penny.”
Tasha blinked at her dad, apparently lost for words until she shook her head and looked Penny in the eyes. “As strange as this sounds, I think he has a point. When you left town all those years ago, it was new and scary but you also knew it was exactly what you wanted to do, and you did. So this is another big step for you, and of course you don’t have all the answers right now, but that’s what learning and research is for. If you think this is what you want, then I say go for it.”
“Yeah?” Penny’s voice was small but she was bolstered by the confident nods the Blakes offered. “OK. OK, let’s do this.” Tasha whooped and Keith grinned, the emotion transforming his face so that Penny once again saw a glimpse of his kids in him. “Wait, wait. Budget-withstanding, then we’ll do this,” she amended and Tasha snorted.
“This is Magnolia Springs, I can’t imagine the real estate is that pricey.”
Mr. Blake nodded. “You’re making a good decision, Penny. Why don’t you come back to my office and we can discuss it properly?”
She swallowed hard at the unexpected praise and flicked her eyes to Tasha who gave her a tiny nod before Penny agreed. “Sounds good.”
They shuffled out of the door and Penny glanced back several times, already missing the space. Maybe Tasha and Ethan were right—maybe everything did happen for a reason.
Penny couldn’t wait to tell Ethan about what she’d been planning, but had decided to keep it under wraps until the restaurant was ready to show him. She wanted the news that she was staying to be a complete surprise. She’d gone back to Mr. Blake’s office to discuss the details of the lease and the price was almostexactlywhat she had remaining in her savings. She’d taken the plunge and, subject to credit checks and other legal stuff she was letting Mr. Blake handle, she would hopefully pick up the keys later that week.
It felt like it was meant to be.
But she hadn’t forgotten about her talk with her dad, and his suggestion to talk to Nicky had been a great idea. Hopefully Nicky wouldn’t think she was an idiot for opening up her own place without really knowing what she was doing, or even what kind of food or mood she wanted for the space.
She and Ethan had just finished dinner at Carter & Sons and were in the middle of looking at desserts when she remembered to ask him for Nicky’s number.
