CHAPTER TEN
As April unlocked the bar the following Wednesday and took in the space, she couldn’t quite believe how much it had changed.
She’d thrown herself head first into helping Noah to finish whiteboxing it in time for a meeting with Ethan that morning, but she hadn’t stopped to take a step back and admire all their hard work until now.
The once-sticky and creaking floor had been scrubbed within an inch of its life, re-nailed, sanded down, and stained, leaving a gorgeous dark wood base that felt both warm and grounded at the same time.
The walls were a bright white which made the space feel airy and spacious, a far cry from how dark the bar had felt originally.
Brass curtain rails had been added above the windows, ready to be furnished after the real painting was done.
Even though there was still a long way to go before the shop was ready to open, April couldn’t help but feel proud of how much progress they’d already made.
April’s laser-focus on sorting out the bar may have also had something to do with her trying to drive any lingering thoughts of Luke from her mind.
Spoiler alert: it hadn’t worked. As she’d scrubbed, nailed, primed, and painted, flashes of that afternoon in the kitchen had played in her mind on repeat—his hands on her thighs, his lips on her neck, the heat between them as they’d moved in sync.
Even though she had failed miserably at keeping Luke out of her thoughts, she’d at least done a good job of channeling her frustration into working even harder.
Sunshine poured through the large windows as Noah entered the store, followed closely by a tall blond man who paused in the doorway, taking in the space with appreciative eyes.
“Gorgeous,” Ethan muttered before turning to April and Noah with his eyes lit up.
“Hey, April, it’s good to see you.” He turned back to look around the room once more.
“There are great bones in this place. I honestly think most of the work will be cosmetic; the overall architecture in here is amazing. I mean, that ceiling alone is a masterpiece. The new stuff they’re planning on building soon just won’t be able to compare.
” He smiled. “They just don’t make ’em like this any more. ”
They looked up, following Ethan’s pointed finger, and April’s eyes widened.
She hadn’t noticed it before, probably thanks to the cobwebs and it being so dark, but now with the sunlight’s assistance she could see the designs carved into the high ceiling in patterns of swoops and swirls that matched the scrollwork on the small columns outside.
“I can definitely work up some designs for you. Do you have anything in particular in mind?” Ethan looked to April, expectant, and a wave of nerves hit her.
“Um, well,” she floundered, momentarily panicked.
She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath before trying again.
She could do this. “I don’t have any firm ideas of what I want it to look like exactly, but I definitely want a bright color scheme, something that will complement the flowers—maybe green?
Oh, and we’ll need to factor in a large counter, because I’ll need space for the cash register as well as for creating arrangements and tying bouquets.
Maybe if that was toward the back on the left it would make the most sense, to leave all of this space”—she gestured to the wall on the right-hand side—“free for shelving that we can use for displays, and maybe we can then put some smaller table displays up front, too.”
She was surprised at how quickly the ideas had come to her once she’d started talking. Noah was grinning from behind Ethan, and helpfully added, “Sort of sounds like you do have some firm ideas of what you want it to look like, Bug.”
“Yeah, I guess I do,” said April, grinning back at him.
“That all sounds really strong, April,” Ethan said, nodding as he jotted down some notes in a small notebook.
“That’s more than enough to work with for now, and you can of course let me know if anything else comes to mind that you might want to incorporate.
This initial consult is free, as are any preliminary design discussions, and then if you want to work together we can discuss rates. ”
“Thanks so much, Ethan. I can’t wait to get started!” April replied, unable to keep the smile from her face.
“Oh, and obviously you’ll get a discount if you do take me on,” he added with a small smirk at Noah. “Us B-Ball Baddies have to stick together.”
A startled laugh flew out of her. “I’m sorry, you what?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Ethan’s brows knitted together as he glanced between April and Noah, the former shaking with laughter. “We’re on the same amateur basketball team.”
“The B-Ball Baddies,” she gasped out, trying to catch her breath. “Please tell me you have shirts or something.”
“Of course—”
“Well, it was great seeing you,” Noah cut Ethan off, glaring at April when she tried and failed to contain her cackling.
“Let us know when you’ve got some next steps.
I’ve got to run, Ethan—why don’t I walk you out?
” Noah led Ethan out and April waved as she wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.
God, she would never let him live this down.
Walking through the space after Noah and Ethan had left, April tried to imagine it with painted walls, packed with gorgeous flowers of every color.
It was a pretty picture—soothing, even—and suddenly she was beyond grateful that her friends and family had pushed her toward taking this leap.
Her mind was still buzzing with possibilities and ideas, so when her phone vibrated in her pocket, she answered it instinctively before she checked the caller ID.
“Finally. Thank you for picking up.”
April froze, pulling the phone away from her ear and mouthing a curse as the name on the screen confirmed what she already knew. Tyler.
“April?” he asked when she said nothing.
“Hi.” What the hell was she supposed to say to him?
She wasn’t even sure if she was angry anymore, or at least not in the same way.
At first she’d been pissed as all hell about the betrayal, crushed that he’d had the nerve to bring someone home into their bed, but then she’d realized she was more angry about the time she’d wasted in New York, time she could have spent with her dad while he was still alive.
Instead, she’d been in the city living some kind of falsely perfect life that hadn’t been true to herself or her potential.
“I’ve been calling and texting,” he began, oddly hesitant. It wasn’t a tone she’d heard from him before.
“I know.”
“When are you coming home?”
“I am home, Tyler.”
“You know what I mean. Your real home, here with me.”
She wasn’t sure it had ever really been her home. She’d lived there, yes, but it had never felt like her sanctuary. “That’s not going to happen. You guaranteed that when you slept with your secretary.”
“I know how that must have looked—”
She laughed. She couldn’t help it. What excuse was he going to come up with now? He’d just slipped and accidentally cheated?
“I deserve that,” he said quietly. “I know what I did was wrong. But I was scared. Things with us were moving so fast, what with the engagement, and then your dad … Well, you just needed me so much. It was hard on me too.”
A kernel of anger re-ignited at his words. “Oh, I’m sorry if my dad dying and my subsequent grief negatively impacted you.”
“Don’t do that,” he bit out. “You’re making me sound like an asshole.”
“I think you’re doing that just fine all by yourself.” She put the phone on speaker, tired of holding it to her ear. “What do you want from me, Tyler? I’m starting over here, I’m opening my own flower shop like I always wanted, and—”
“That’s ridiculous,” he scoffed. “You don’t have the experience for that, baby. You’ll lose a bunch of money and waste everyone’s time. Just come home, and I can take care of you.”
As Tyler’s words settled over her, a familiar panic began to squeeze at her chest, doubts rising up, telling her that Tyler was right and her plan was never going to work. Her breathing began to grow shallow and she started to feel light-headed.
Don’t sell yourself short.
Izzy’s words suddenly flashed through April’s mind, and they stopped her panic in its tracks.
She thought of her best friends’ encouragement, of Noah’s belief and support in her idea—hell, even her mom had told her to put herself out there and follow her passion.
She realized with a jolt that the doubts weren’t her own; they were Tyler’s criticisms in the sound of her own voice, parroting her fears back to her before she’d even tried to take a chance on herself.
Hearing him spell it out so plainly only made her more certain of her choice.
She was doing this, and she was going to do a damn good job of it.
“I’m hanging up now.” She didn’t wait for him to reply before she cut the call off. He immediately tried to call back and she declined it, half tempted just to block and delete his number and be done with it—but she’d need it at some point, once she was ready to go pack up her stuff.
A low whistle behind her made her jump but she relaxed when she turned to find Penny in the doorway. “He sounds like an ass. Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just coming over to congratulate you.”
“It’s OK.” April smiled. “Congratulate me for what?”
“For taking the plunge and starting the shop! Ethan just swung by the restaurant, told me all about your vision for this place. It sounds amazing—I can’t wait to see what you do with it.” Penny beamed at April, green eyes sparkling in the sunlight.
“Oh, thank you! Yeah, I feel like this place could really be something special with a bit more TLC.”