Page 40 of Sugarlips
I pulled back from the hug, holding her at arm’s length. “You barely need to stop the car. Just slow down enough for me to do a badass commando roll. I’ll even let you give me a little push.”
Elaina snorted a laugh. “Well, now you’ve got a deal.”
We arrivedat Beefcakes thirty minutes later, and there, parked out front, was our glorious food truck. I took a deep breath as Elaina slowed the car, and my heart thrummed heavily against my ribcage. What in the actual fuck did I think I was doing here? Instead of a salaried job with benefits and a 401k, I thought this would be my path?
Shit.
“Hey,” Elaina said softly, reading my mind. “It’s going to be great.”
I nodded, even though I didn’t quite believe her.
Just then, Finn shoved through the front door of Beefcakes, holding a tray of goodies with Liam following behind him, heading to the truck. “What do you mean we can’t afford to pay off Mom’s surgery in full? Didn’t Neil just win half a million dollars?”
“Finn, it’s complicated. The debt on the bakery was compounded by interest, and shockingly, five hundred thousand dollars doesn’t gothatfar after taxes.
“So… what? Mom doesn’t get the surgery she needs?”
“Of course she will. It’ll just take us a little longer to pay off the second mortgage. It’ll be okay. We’re still in a much better place than we were…”
Their words faded as they climbed into the truck and went out of earshot for us. I glanced over to find Elaina biting her bottom lip and I cringed. “I don’t think we were meant to hear that.”
“Clearly,” Elaina said with a sigh. “They’re right, though. The prize money is awesome and we’re both in a better position than we were, but it only goes so far. Especially knowing how in debt Neil’s mom was before her cancer treatments began.”
“Now I feel even more pressure. Like this food truckhasto be successful for the entire Evans family’s sake.”
“Hey,” Elaina said, turning in the driver’s seat to look at me. “Relax. It’s going to be great. But also, be realistic. It can sometimes take a business a while to find its groove and turn a substantial profit. And don’t blame yourself. Liam knew the risks here and chose to do this just like you did. And you told me the work you’re doing to promote Beefcakes on social media is already improving their sales numbers, right? That will help their situation.”
I thanked my sister and got out of the car, my heart feeling a whole lot heavier than it did earlier. Because what Elaina just said… it wasn’t exactly true. Just like always, I barreled through and practically forced Liam’s hand into this. I bought a truck way sooner than he expected. I scheduled this soft open faster than he’d wanted. And maybe this was why. Maybe he was hoping to go slower because of everything with his mom—and I just freaking steamrolled right over him.Like I did with everybody. I gulped, my stomach feeling heavy with emotion. It was what Dan always said about me. I charged in with little consideration for anyone else and I dragged others down with me.Tasmanian Chloe.
Tears pricked my eyes as I stared up at the food truck. Not this time. We were going to succeed at this. I literally would not stop until I helped Liam earn a good living doing something that was his dream… not his mother’s or his brother’s.
I blinked away the moisture in my eyes and climbed my way into the truck, where I could still hear Finn and Liam chatting about their mother. I intentionally made a show of my entrance, loudly stumbling and hitting the door so that they knew I was coming—and their discussion immediately halted.
“There she is!” Finn exclaimed and came over to give me a hug. “Excited?”
“I think I’m going to puke.”
Liam smirked as he met my gaze and placed the pre-rolled macaroni and cheese bites into the fridge. “Come on, now. This is the exciting time. We can puke when we look at the books after the first week.”
“Great, that’s just what I needed to hear.” I rolled my eyes as Liam hooked an arm around my neck. I had no control over the way my heart sped up in response to the close contact—or the flush that surged across my neck and chest from where his wrist brushed the side of my cheek.
Finn hitched his thumb and pointed at his chest. “The good news is that, now that you’re here, I can go back to work in the café before Neil gets even grumpier.”
“Uh-oh. I take it his mood hasn’t improved since the other night?”
Liam grunted and, with a quick pat on my shoulder, released his hold on me. “Seeing Elaina stirred up the Grinch in him. Besides, I don’t think his mood has been good since they got back from New York.”
“And lucky me,” Finn said, “I get to work with him while you’re running the food truck.”
Liam winced. “Sorry, man. I really appreciate it, though. Hopefully the food truck will sell out of all the goods in record time each day and I’ll have the time to run both spots.”
I blew out a breath and the ball of anxiety in my chest coiled even tighter. “Let’s hope so.”
“Come on,” Liam said, jerking his head in the direction of Beefcakes. “We’ve got a few more trips to load up the truck with the food. Then… it’s official. We’re open for business!”
14
Liam
