Chapter 13 Lily
LILY
Thursday
The constant chatter, laughter, and whir of the coffee machine was music to my ears.
It meant people were happy in my café, enjoying each other’s company, in addition to their drinks or pastries.
Jules had stopped by earlier today to conduct a client meeting for her interior design firm Campbell Creations.
It had been nice to see her during a busy week at work.
After interviewing a few candidates, I decided to hire Tiffany, who moved to Golden Falls about a year ago with her husband and five-year-old twins.
I’d gotten to know Tiffany and her family well over the last few months, and we got along well. She often popped into Purrfect Blend with her kids in the afternoons.
Tiffany had owned her own café before having kids but had sold it when life got busy.
Now that her son and daughter were a little older, and her husband wasn’t traveling as much for work, she wanted to get back to her career.
She wasn’t interested in opening her own business but wanted to find a job in the service industry, and when she saw that I was looking for help at Purrfect Blend, she thought it would be a great fit.
I agreed.
I couldn’t wait for her to get started. I was going to take time this weekend to finalize onboarding materials and how to ease her into the routine here, which was honestly easier after going through a similar process with Gabe.
Tiffany would mostly be helping me make and serve drinks, but she had a background in baking, too.
I couldn’t wait to learn from her and have the help.
It would be one thing checked off the list—and one step closer to Gabe leaving Golden Falls.
I was busy making a toasted marshmallow chai for Layla, who owned Golden Finds Thrift Store and was one of my regulars, when I heard the door to Purrfect Blend open louder than usual.
Marnie sure knew how to make an entrance. Not only that, but her hands were filled with bags of groceries. Why would she get groceries and then come here?
I was about to walk around the counter to help her when a mischievous smile crossed her lips. I stayed right where I was, confused.
But then, when I saw Gabe walking over from the table he was sitting at and asking Marnie if she needed help, I had a feeling about what she was doing. I rolled my eyes with a shake of my head.
“Oh, why thank you for your help. Gabriel, right?” Marnie asked as Gabe took the groceries from her hands. I’d seen Marnie carry twice as many grocery bags without any problems—even refusing help, for that matter.
“Of course. And just Gabe is fine. Did you want to sit at one of the tables or up by the coffee bar?”
Marnie locked eyes with me, sending me a wink. “Let’s go up to the coffee bar. I need to say hi to my dear Lily.”
Layla glanced over her shoulder then leaned in to whisper, “That’s Gabe Nelson?”
“Sure is.” I sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the whole building thing.” I waved my hand. “He’s helping me out at the café for the time being while Hal figures out what’s next.”
She hummed in thought. “Okay, but not a bad deal…” She trailed off, biting down on her bottom lip before looking at me. “He’s really handsome. No wonder Louise and her friends are fawning over him.”
While residents overall were still wary of Gabe, the older ladies in town were definitely the most intrigued.
Turned out, Gabe made a better impression on Louise than I realized.
And now with people seeing how helpful he was being to Marnie, that was only going to get him more points. What was his game here?
“He’s average looking,” I lied to Layla.
She raised her brows without a second thought, calling my bluff immediately, but I didn’t budge.
“Did you see the latest article? Nelson Group is proposing another high-rise in Milwaukee. I don’t want them anywhere near this building.” I finished making Layla’s drink and snapped the lid on the cup before handing it to her.
An article in the Milwaukee Times popped up on my phone this morning about the first round of proposals that were submitted to the city for redeveloping a vacant warehouse.
There was still time to submit additional proposals, especially because the council member quoted made it sound like the common council wasn’t all that intrigued by the ideas.
It was more of the same, including a mixed-use development with luxury apartments from Nelson Group.
She took the cup from me, giving me a duh look.
“Obviously, I want you to own the building. You’d be amazing at it, and you know this town better than anyone.
Just saying your competition isn’t too bad to look at.
” Layla brought the cup to her lips. She hummed in delight.
I also prided myself on making drinks that were the right temperature to take a sip of right away.
“Delicious as always. Thanks, Lily. I’ll see ya next week, if not sooner. ”
On her way out, Layla greeted Marnie and introduced herself to Gabe. He gave her a polite smile before nodding for Marnie to follow him over to the counter.
“Why don’t I put these back in the kitchen for you?” Gabe offered. “It’ll be better than setting the bags on the floor.”
“Why thank you, Gabe. I’d really appreciate that. Once you’re done, make sure to come right back. I’d like to get to know you better.” Marnie pulled out a stool and made herself comfortable.
“You got it. I’ll be right back.”
Once Gabe was gone and out of earshot, I crossed my arms over my chest and gave Marnie a pointed look. “Marnie, you know I love you, but what do you think you’re doing?”
“What do you mean?” she asked innocently, taking off her coat and setting it over her lap.
While her tweed coat was a dark gray, the clothes Marnie wore underneath were loud and bright.
She had on a flowery blouse with embroidered jeans and a pair of suede winter boots.
Her nails were painted blue with tiny snowflakes to match her earrings of the day—also snowflakes.
“You’re fraternizing with the enemy!” I whispered with wide eyes. “That whole grocery bags thing was a test.”
“It sure was,” she confirmed matter-of-factly, her attention quickly going to the pink bakery box with her name on it that I’d set aside. “And he passed.”
I picked up the box and handed it to her, along with a small plate. “What do you mean?”
“As soon as he saw me, he got up. No hesitation.”
I twisted my lips to the side as I realized Marnie was right. I turned around to fill a mug with hot water and grabbed three different types of tea for her to choose from. “Okay, yeah,” I said, confused, “but that doesn’t mean anything. Anyone would have helped you.”
Marnie reached over for the mug and tea, thanking me. Her ring-clad fingers picked up the peppermint tea bag and tore the wrapping. “Because they know me. He doesn’t, and he helped without expecting anything in return. That doesn’t come out of nowhere. Your enemy might not be as bad as you think.”
My stomach flipped, that same inkling of guilt I felt when I was talking to my mom gnawing at me. Was I being unfair to Gabe? I was trying to be confident and stand my ground—this was my café—especially after our brief interaction yesterday. He didn’t want to be friendly. That much was obvious.
When it came to Gabe, I was in an impossible position. My first instinct was to be nice. To avoid conflict. To be agreeable.
But I didn’t want to do any of that, and it was clear he didn’t want that from me either.
I had worked my ass off to prove to Hal that I could handle owning the building. So, the fact that Gabe was here for the first time in his life as a contender for the building frustrated me. But it also felt wrong not to hear him out and to automatically have all these assumptions about him.
My grumpy older brother had acted similarly when Jules first came to town over the summer, and I’d scolded him for it.
Marnie dipped the tea bag into the hot water, a patient smile on her face as she waited for me to come out of my thoughts. “I know it’s an unfair situation you’re in, but maybe some good will come out of it.”
I looked toward the kitchen as Gabe came back into the main room and started striking up a conversation with Marnie.
I wanted to believe Marnie. I trusted her.
But I didn’t trust Gabe, and I didn’t think I ever would.
Sunday
After the third heavy exhale from the other room, I peeked my head around the corner to see if the person was okay. When I saw Gabe pinching the bridge of his nose, my pulse picked up and my chest tightened. My first thought was that something was wrong, either with him or Hal.
“What’s wrong?” The question came out quickly, and his shoulders jumped from surprise.
He looked at me, puzzled. “Should something be wrong?”
I exhaled in half-relief. If something was wrong, then that wouldn’t have been his response. But the response he gave me didn’t give me insight into what was going through his mind.
Reluctantly, I approached the table he was at, pulling out a chair and sitting. “I don’t know,” I said with a gentle laugh. “You tell me. You’re the one sitting here sighing every couple seconds.”
We didn’t do this—we didn’t talk or ask how the other was doing. We said our good mornings, our see you tomorrows, and the usual comments about the weather. Oh, it wouldn’t be so bad out there if it wasn’t for the wind.
But since I’d asked him if he liked working with his dad, we hadn’t talked about anything real.
He let out a chuckle, resting his forearms on the table and looking up at me. “I honestly didn’t realize I was doing that. I guess…” he started but stopped. He drummed his fingers on the table.
While he contemplated if he wanted to tell me, I stayed quiet, wanting to give him the space to decide.
“It’s nothing,” he said ultimately. “It’s stupid. I’m overthinking it and being too sensitive.”
Initially, I wasn’t going to push him, but I didn’t like the way he dismissed his own feelings. “It’s not stupid. Something’s clearly on your mind. I mean, you don’t have to tell me, obviously, but don’t dismiss it.”
Something I couldn’t pinpoint flashed in his eyes, like he’d heard those words for the first time in this very moment. Gabe was right when he’d said we didn’t know each other. Did I have him all wrong?
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Sugar Plum was adopted.”
Understanding dawned on me. While I didn’t want to admit it, seeing Gabe interacting with the cats every morning and afternoon was among the highlights of my day. He was so gentle and patient with them, and I knew from the first day that he and Sugar Plum had formed a quick bond.
“I didn’t realize that. Jodi usually gives me an update, but I haven’t seen her yet.”
“See, I told you it was stupid. I’ve known that cat for…what? Less than a week? I shouldn’t get so attached.”
“It’s tricky,” I admitted. “It took me a while to find a balance of bonding with the cats but also being excited when they find a home, and even then, it’s not foolproof.
She was really social around you, and maybe that’s why she got adopted today,” I offered.
I hadn’t been exaggerating when I told Gabe earlier this week that Sugar Plum was one of the shy cats.
She normally hid under the couch or behind one of the bookshelves until it was just me in the cat room.
This week, she’d been roaming around, especially when Gabe entered.
“Here,” I said, getting up, “let me take a look at the paperwork and see who adopted her.” I walked to the counter, flipping through the stack of papers until I saw Sugar Plum’s application.
“Tom and Susan adopted her. They’re two regulars.
I’ll introduce you next time they stop in.
” I set down the paper and walked back to the table Gabe was sitting at.
“Their youngest daughter recently went off to college, and it’s the two of them now.
They have two cats—well, three now, I guess—and a dog.
I think Sugar Plum will like it there, especially since she’s good with other animals, even if it might take her a little bit to warm up to them.
And Tom and Susan are so nice. If you asked to stop by to say hi, they would one hundred percent let you.
” The corner of my lips tipped up in a smile.
“Something tells me you like cats more than people, huh?”
A laugh escaped him, a smile staying on his face as he looked up at me.
Light returned to his honey-brown eyes, a sparkle I hadn’t noticed before.
“I guess I do sometimes. It’s easier to interact with them than some of the people in town.
The cats don’t have preconceived notions of me.
They just see me as the person who brings them food. ”
I twisted my lips to the side as his words set in.
Everyone in town had their thoughts about Gabe, including me, but we didn’t really know him.
That couldn’t have been an easy situation to walk into.
I wanted to bring that up, but I also didn’t want to ruin this moment.
We were finally having what felt like a real conversation.
I settled on a light-hearted response. “And if you don’t bring their food, they’ll scream at you to make it clear that’s what they want. ”
“Exactly.” Gabe chuckled. He ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Thanks, Lily. I really appreciate you taking the time to see if I was okay. I…didn’t realize it until now, but I needed that.”
I nodded. “Of course. I’m glad I could help.” I rolled my lips. “I’m going to see if Jodi needs anything before I close up. Feel free to head out whenever.”
I started to make my way toward the cat room, my hand pressed against the door. In a split-second decision, I turned around. There was something I wanted to tell him before I second-guessed it. “What you felt and the reason for it wasn’t stupid. It means you care.”
I pushed the door open, quickly walking away before he could reply.
I had a feeling Gabe cared a lot more than he let on. I wasn’t sure why he hid it. Or why I wanted to find out.