Page 53 of Drive Me Wild
He pulls his arm away, and I watch him walk into the house as I soak up the fall sun hitting my face.
Zoe IS amazing. I hope I don’t screw this up.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Zoe
Caleb and I snuggle on my bed after a lazy afternoon of sex. There’s a lightness in the air that was missing before, and I know it’s because we’re out in the open with our relationship.
Renée and Cole seemed wary for a few moments, but then they embraced our choice. It means the world to me to have them on our side. Renée has been my best friend for as long as I can remember, but there’s been a divide between us for the last few weeks, and I know it’s because I’ve been hiding my growing feelings for Caleb.
Around dinner time, he heads out so I can work on my business proposal. I want to talk to the bank this week about a loan, so I need to make sure everything is in perfect shape. If they approve the loan, I plan to hire someone to run my current business so I can keep it on the books as collateral.
I make a pot of mac-n-cheese and sit at the small table, munching and editing my large document.
It has to be perfect.
I hear a soft knock on my door and holler for whoever it is to come in, knowing it is probably Renée.
Instead, it’s Caleb with a few business planning books.
“I thought you might want to have a few reference books just in case.”
My heart feels like the melted cheese in my dinner. “Where did you get those?”
“I popped by to see Mabel right before she closed. Told her I knew someone who was working on an important business plan. I think she knew it was you.”
He sits down in the only other chair in the apartment. I reach over and thumb through the books.
“That was incredibly thoughtful of you, and I’m a little ashamed I didn’t think of it myself.”
“You’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, but you literally just went to the business I’m trying to buy to get resources. That’s the first thing I should have done.” I feel my chest shrink inward. “Can I do this? Can I pull this off? I mean, this is not just buying the inventory and name. I’m buying the whole building, which she’s spent her whole life living in. There’s so much to cherish and honor there.” My skin feels hot and clammy as if the temperature has just increased twenty degrees.
“Caleb, she has no children, so I will carry on her legacy.” The air gets thick around me, and I push the pot of mac-n-cheese away as my breathing becomes labored.
“I don’t think I can do this. I mean, look at me. I am not going to be able to get a half-million-dollar loan from the bank. I’m twenty-three, with a business that has been struggling for three months, and I don’t have a credit history. There’s no way this is going to work.”
“Hey, hey.” He comes around the table and kneels on the floor in front of me, taking my hand in his. “You are brilliant. And capable. You built a business from the ground up right out of high school, and just the other day, you declared that you aregoing to do what it takes to have what you want. And I’m pretty sure you want this. You want that house and the bookstore. Right?”
I nod and lean forward until my head rests on his shoulder.
“Why does this feel so overwhelming?”
“Because there’s more at stake than you’re used to. I know what that’s like. I bought the building and Buzz’s business and had to contend with his legacy, too. But I know you, and I know you can do it.”
I turn my head slightly so my mouth is near his strong neck. Part of me wants to crawl back in bed and pretend I don’t need to be this much of a grown-up today. The other part knows he’s right.
Ever since I saw Mabel’s bookstore, I was in love with that place and with what she’d created. I saw myself there, tending to customers, puttering around that house, pushing kids on a swing set my future husband would put in the back. I need to push through this last part of the plan and get the loan. It was the only way to get more than what I was good at.
“Huh.” I lift my head and look at him, a feeling of foolishness washing over me.
“What?”
“I think this is what it feels like to be afraid you won’t be able to accomplish something. This is the feeling that accompanies great risk and reward.”
He chuckles and then stands up. “I should leave you to your greatness.”
“Thank you for bringing those books. How much do I owe you?”
