Chapter 21
“Alright, Didi,” Fiona said, turning her client in her seat. “What do you think?”
Didi gasped, and lightly touched the tendrils that hung around her face.
“Absolutely perfect, thank you!”
“Of course,” Fiona said. “Don’t forget to send us some pictures after you’re in your dress. Cassie was gushing about the dress you two found.”
“Oh, I definitely will,” Didi said. “And I’ve got a few friends I’ll be sending your way soon.”
Fiona walked her to the front door of the building, and headed back to her own suite. She all but collapsed into her chair, her legs aching. Didi was the fourth client of the day, and they’d started at 6 a.m. Timing everything would be so much easier if they were in a shared space.
Just then, Fiona’s phone buzzed in her pocket.
Porter shared: New Property Listing
It was a link to a storefront downtown, with a text that said:
“Just became available. Free tomorrow to check it out?”
Fiona laughed. Just from the pictures she could see, it was a definite no. But she had agreed to consider other options, so she just said, “I’m free after two,” and left it at that.
She didn’t tell her friends what she was doing. If Porter managed to find a property that was worth considering, then she’d loop them in. But right now, she was just appeasing Porter for the next couple weeks.
She wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to convince him to give them the space, but she intended to figure it out.
“No.”
“Are we sure it’s a no?”
“Well, I can’t speak for you,” Fiona said. “But it’s a hard no for me.”
She followed Porter to a tree-shaded bench and sat. They had just toured the property he’d sent her the day before, but the whole time, she was comparing it to the spot next to the restaurant.
“Because…”
“Because,” she started. “There would be way too much to move around or install. I need a sink, Stella needs a sink, Cassie needs a fitting room…that place is filled with weird walls and rooms that don’t make sense. It won’t work.”
Porter blew out a frustrated breath. “Well, onto the next one. I’m assuming you’re looking, too?”
“Oh, yeah,” Fiona said sarcastically. “The options are endless.”
Porter sighed.
“You already know the place we want,” Fiona told him. “And we are just as entitled to it as you are.”
Porter shook his head. “What are we going to do when we have to give Laura an answer?”
“Flip a coin? Pull a name out of a hat?”
Porter dropped his head in his hands.
Fiona looked over at him, slightly concerned now. He’d seemed particularly tense during the tour, but she hadn’t thought much of it. She had the urge to reach for his hand, but she decided against it.
“Bad week?” she asked.
He nodded. “First, I learned that you want our lounge, and you’re quitting. Then I told David that I made a deal with you, and he won’t talk to me now. My mother thinks renting that space is a bad idea and we’re jumping the gun. David is dead set on it. And then there was the thing with Sergio–”
“Sergio?” she asked, frowning. “What happened with Sergio?”
Porter’s face showed instant regret, but all he said was, “It’s a long story.”
Fiona nodded slowly, though she was still curious.
“Oh, about your mom,” she said. “She booked an appointment for next week. She and her sister are having a girls’ night out.”
Porter closed his eyes. “So she was serious about that.”
“Yeah,” Fiona said, confused. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
Martha Dawson had been very excited when she called, Fiona recalled. She said it had been way too long since she’d gotten dressed up for a night out.
“She’s going to try to set us up,” Porter told her.
Fiona sucked in air so fast she nearly choked.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s just her thing,” Porter explained. He was so casual about it that Fiona had to assume Martha did this sort of thing often. “She’s afraid I’ll end up alone forever, and she’ll never get to fulfill her dream of having grandchildren. So if she tries to get you to marry me, don’t take it personally.”
Fiona frowned. “Well, that is a lot to process.”
She looked around them, and spotted a bar with a happy hour sign outside.
“I have a great idea. Follow me.”