Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
VIOLET
It’s been a week since the night at the bakery with Ezra. I wish I could’ve stopped time and stayed in the moment with him. But life called, and the bakery has taken so much of my time.
“How does this look?” Haley asks, turning on the violet lights in the display cases.
My mouth parts. “I love it. It looks great.”
Haley found tiny lights that she placed around the display cases that will hold the baked goods that need to be refrigerated. The lights give it a pop of color but not too much to overshadow the way the baked goods will look.
I’ve asked myself every day how I ever thought I could pull this off on my own. There’s no way I’d be this far without Haley and Ezra. They’ve done so much using their connections and finding deals I never could’ve gotten on my own. Thanks to them, things are finally taking shape.
We managed to fit four tables comfortably on the floor, each topped with a white surface and surrounded by chairs with violet-colored cushions on both the seats and backs.
It adds the perfect violet accent to the place.
I found little glass vases and will fill each with fresh purple flowers.
Something simple but cute. They will go on the center of every table.
When you walk in, the ordering counter sits to the left, and against the left wall is a wooden shelf where I’ll display fresh loaves of bread.
Above the counter hang two signs: ‘Order Here’ and ‘Pick Up Here’ painted white with violet lettering to match the theme.
The menu boards are black chalkboards with violet writing.
Standing here, I can finally see it. My dream that I never thought I would move forward with, but here it is turning into something real.
Haley squeals, clasping her hands together in excitement and lets out an exhale as she turns towards me. “I can’t believe it’s done. It looks amazing.”
“Because of you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Girl…you need to give yourself more credit. I just decorated. After this, you’re going to be doing the hard part.”
I let out a nervous laugh because she’s right.
I haven’t even thought that far ahead. Hiring employees, managing shifts, and baking.
The thought hits me, and my stomach tightens.
How the hell am I supposed to bake, take orders, and run the entire shop at the same time?
And to make matters worse, I decided to sell coffee, adding one more thing to do.
What if we run out of something? Isn’t that bad for business?
My laugh fades into a nervous sigh as I rub my temples.
“Oh god,” I mutter. “I really didn’t think this through, did I?
” I walk over and take a seat placing my head into my hands.
The sound of Haley sitting down in front of me makes me raise my head.
“You’ll be fine. Find someone who can take orders and make coffee. It’ll be very simple.”
Hopefully, she is right because right now I feel way over my head with this. It’s all so overwhelming, and with everything else that has been going on in my life, I’m crazy for doing this.
“How have things been at home?” she asks, and I can see her eyes soften.
I shrug my shoulders but then a wide grin forms on my face.
Her brows crease as she sees my smile growing. “I’m assuming good?”
I nod, staring at her, but then I drop my smile and say, “I’m not back with my husband.”
“Oh.”
The last thing she heard was my husband cheating, and I haven’t told her anything else.
It’s been hard not talking to anyone about what’s been going on with Ezra and me.
Rya used to be the one I would go to for everything.
I wasn’t sure if I could trust Haley, but after everything she’s been doing for me, I go ahead and tell her everything.
From the beginning of my childhood friends until now.
Once I get to the part of Rya and Zayn, her eyes grow wide and her mouth parts.
“Holy shit. You’ve been going through all that?”
I nod.
“That is a lot, and you’re handling it so well.”
Then I tell her everything about Ezra. “Without him, I would probably be more of a wreck.”
“So are you and him together now?”
“We’ve been acting like we are. But my feelings are all over the place. I’m worried this might not work out between us, and it ends our friendship. I can’t handle losing someone else. But I do nothing to stop it. I continue on with him as if we’re together.”
“How does he feel?”
“He wants us to give it a chance, but he understands I need more time. He also doesn’t want to stop what we are doing now, so we’ve been taking it day by day.”
“What do you want?”
“I’m happy with him, but I’m worried we’re rushing into this.”
It almost makes me feel guilty for having these feelings for him and guilty for second-guessing everything.
It feels like I’m healing from Zayn because of him and not doing it on my own.
And how will that make me heal properly for myself if I have him?
But is it also bad for me to heal while being in a relationship?
There’s so many things that feel conflicting, and all it leads me to is being scared when I sit and think about it too much.
“Do you want something with him?”
“Right now, yes. But I’m worried I’m only feeling this way because I’m so hurt.”
“There’s no right or wrong way of doing anything that brings you happiness, and he seems like a good guy if he’s been there for you and is giving you time to figure it out.”
“He’s been the best. I just don’t want this to be a rebound situation.”
She shakes her head. “After hearing about you two’s past, I don’t feel like this is a rebound. Rya is a bitch for doing what she did. Sounds to me it should have been you two long before her.”
It’s like we’ve been living Rya’s life instead of our own.
A gentle smile settles on my lips. “Thanks. Talking about it has helped.”
“Of course. I’m here anytime.”
She gets up from her seat and walks over to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and pulls me toward her for a few moments. “I need to take off. Let me know what day you decide to open so I can blast it all over social media.”
Not only did she help me decorate this place, but she also created an Instagram page and is marketing the bakery on there. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay you for any of this?”
She smirks at me. “No. This is fun for me. I love decorating.”
“I feel bad.”
She grabs her purse, shaking her head. “Don’t. I enjoyed every bit of this.”
I give her another hug. “Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
After she leaves, I head for the back and look over all the ingredients I bought earlier. I’ve been needing to bake something in here to make sure everything is working, even though Ezra’s inspector said it was. But I need to get a feel for it myself.
I made vanilla cupcakes with blackberry frosting. I thought it would be fitting for Violet’s Bakery. The color turned out better than I expected, a pastel purple with a blackberry right in the middle of it.
After cleaning up, I unwrap one cupcake, and take a bite. The sweetness of the vanilla mixes perfectly with the tangy blackberry and my taste buds burst with flavor.
“Mmmm,” I say to myself. “I forgot how good I bake.”
It’s been so long since I’ve actually slowed down to enjoy something I baked instead of rushing through it or worrying about the next batch. I lean my lower back against the table, licking a bit of frosting off my thumb. I’m enjoying this quiet moment, when a voice cuts through the silence.
“Hello.”
I freeze, set the cupcake down, and chew the last bite faster. I spoke too soon and jinxed this quiet moment.
I walk out to the front, and a girl with blonde hair has her back to me.
“Please don’t be Rya,” I whisper to myself. Even though I know that wasn’t her voice, seeing the blonde hair makes me question it. “Hi,” I say hesitantly.
She whips her body around so quickly her hair goes flying with her. “Hey.” She has a bright smile on her face, and her blue eyes shine as bright as a clear blue sky. “What is this place?”
“It’s a bakery. Well, it will be. I haven’t opened it yet.”
She nods her head, looking around. “It’s pretty.”
“Thank you. Can I help you with something?”
“Um,” she starts and then hesitates biting her lip. “Are you hiring?”
“Actually, I am—”
“Really?” she cuts me off in excitement. “Can I apply?”
My stomach twists at the other thing I haven’t even thought about. “I don’t have that set up yet.” Then I think about what Haley said. ‘Find someone who can take orders and make coffee. It’ll be very simple.’
“Well, how old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“What work experience do you have?”
Her face falls and her shoulders slump a little. “I’ve babysat. That’s about it. But I promise I’m a quick learner.”
“All you would be doing is taking orders and ringing them up on that iPad,” I say, pointing to the iPad on the counter. “And making coffee orders.”
Her eyes light up. “I can do that. Sounds simple.”
“Are you in school or anything?”
She groans softly and her cheeks flush pink as her gaze drops to her feet.
“Ugh, no. I graduated high school this past May, and I was supposed to go to college. Well, I started college, and I hated it, so I dropped out. I don’t know what to do with my life, and I’m like way too young to know right now.
” She exhales a long breath. “So my parents are mad at me for dropping out so soon since they already paid for the semester. They told me I had to find a job and pay them back. So here I am.”
She sounds a lot like me. Not knowing what to do, but starting college anyway and then dropping out. She’s right. Eighteen is way too young to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life.
“I’m free to work any day, any time,” she says, pleading her case even more.
“What’s your name?” I ask, stepping closer to her.
“Olivia. Liv, for short.”
“Okay, Liv. You’re hired.”
Her mouth parts and her eyes grow wide. “Just like that.”
I can’t help but smile at the shock written all over her face. “Just like that.”
“Thank you,” she mumbles, her gaze fidgeting around the bakery as she takes it all in. “But why so fast?”
“You remind me of myself.”
“Yourself?” she asks, brows knitting together.
I nod. “Yup. I was once your age and confused about what I wanted to do with my life. And I hated school.”
Her lips purse as she tilts her head slightly. “So you own all this without going to school?”
“Yes. You don’t need to go to school to start your own business.”
“You don’t?”
I shake my head.
“I thought you would need a business degree or something.”
“Nope.”
“Wow, that’s actually really cool.”
I let out a soft giggle, watching her fidget with excitement. Maybe I can inspire her to see that life isn’t always learned in classrooms.
We exchange numbers, and she hasn’t stopped smiling. I watch her go, and as the door swings shut behind her, I feel a small warmth settle in my chest.
I lock up the bakery and step into the cool evening air, thinking about the day I had and how excited I am to share it with Ezra when I get home.