Page 35 of Semi Sweet (Working For Love #1)

A fter a bit more visiting and small talk, Sean showed me to my room.

I sat on the edge of the bed, taking in the cream walls and the pictures hanging on them.

Sean lingered. It was like he knew he needed to go, but couldn’t.

I’d hoped we would be sharing a room like we had the previous night, an event that felt like a lifetime ago, not twenty-four hours.

It seemed that we were going to be separated until the morning.

I was sure he was being respectful to his parents, but I could feel it adding to the tension.

“You’re troubled,” I said as I watched him stare into space.

“I’ve had my eye on that place since I was twenty-two. It’s never been available at the right time or I couldn’t afford it. I’ve never even been inside.”

“Well, maybe it’s finally time to check it out.” I hoped being lighthearted would calm him down.

“I just moved to Denver,” he murmured. “I’m not ready.”

“Come on, Sean, no one is ready to do risky things.” I smiled at him when he finally looked into my eyes. “Trust me, I know.” I realized I probably wouldn’t have come to that conclusion without him.

He motioned for me to come to him. I squeezed him tightly when he took me into his arms.

“Am I insane if I want to go look at it? Is that just torturing myself?” he asked.

“I think you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“Come with me? I was planning on taking you around anyway, unless you have Rocky Mountain Press things to do.”

“My new editor told me to get settled in Aspen. I start coming to work on Monday,” I explained. “And I would be offended if you didn’t ask me to come along.” I also knew I was destined to sit down with Sean’s mother at some point and talk about my troubles, but it didn’t have to happen immediately.

Sean drew back so his dark eyes could bore into my blue ones. “I wish…. I want….”

I reached up and cupped his face with my hands. “Don’t worry about me right now. We’ve had a rough twenty-four hours. Just rest.” Wasn’t he just saying the same thing to me?

Once more, a wordless conversation passed between us. I rose up on my toes, brought his face to mine, and I kissed him. I was grateful we had a safe place to go, but I so desperately wished we didn’t have to be polite and could close the door behind us.

***

“The building has been a restaurant before, so there wouldn’t need to be any remodeling beyond cosmetics,” the sharply dressed realtor said. She oozed confidence in a plum and black power suit and spiked high heels.

“What about the inspection?” Sean asked. “Is everything up to code?”

I walked behind Sean and the realtor as we went on a tour of the building.

While it wasn’t the stuff of home improvement nightmares, it definitely was going to need some elbow grease before Sean could set up shop.

I could certainly see the potential though, and the street it was on was full of cute shops and restaurants to bring tourists in.

“The landlord had one done recently when the last tenant went out of business,” the realtor replied. “The bathroom needs new fixtures, but they would be willing to help with things like that.”

Sean nodded. “Is there a rent to own option?”

“Yes, but it would be more than the listed price.”

I’d glossed over the listing that morning at breakfast. The storefront cost less than the apartment I’d lived in with Evan. Maybe I could sleep in a broom closet if the Mizunos couldn't keep me long term.

“You have great credit and I’m sure the bank would be more than happy to take you on since you are Dr. and Mrs. Mizuno’s son. Though didn’t you just move to Denver?”

“Life has a weird way of bringing things up when you least expect it. Any other offers at the moment?”

The realtor shook her head. “Not yet. I think people get a little skittish around this place. It never works out. I guess that’s the risk you take when you try to sell vegan meals, protein juice shakes, and Moroccan traditional cuisine in a ski town.

A bakery is something everyone needs. I mean, Cash Value Market is great, but it’s just not the same as a real bakery, you know?

“Absolutely,” Sean said before he looked over his shoulder at me and smirked. “I’ll think it over and be in touch. Thanks for meeting with me.”

The realtor gave him her card and left for her next appointment. Sean and I stared at the large window that had beckoned him all those years ago. He let out a large sigh as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

“You want it, don’t you?” I asked.

“The most I’ve ever wanted something in my life.” He nudged me playfully. “Well, it might be tied with another goal I haven’t quite tied down yet.”

I smiled at the meaning behind the words.

“I say go for it. If I played it safe, I would still work in the booth at the store. I’d never have found out about the Rocky Mountain Press.

Someday, I’ll have to do it again to get a book deal or the editing job of my dreams. I wholeheartedly admit I should have been adventurous in all aspects of my life, but admitting it is halfway to healing.

Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. ”

“I have a year lease for my apartment.”

“So sublet it. It’s Denver.”

We were back to looking at the storefront’s large window. “I just got everyone at work used to me.”

“They will survive.”

“What if I fail?”

“Then we sell your cupcakes out of your Saab 900.”

Sean looked down at me. “We?”

My face flushed when I realized the slip up. I looked up at him through my eyelashes. “Yeah,” I said with a nod. “We can use my marketing degree for something useful.”

He stared at me for a long moment before he said. “Lunch? The pizza place next store is the best in town.”

We entered the small restaurant with checkered tablecloths and placemats depicting Venice and the leaning tower of Piza while Sean explained they had pizza you could buy by the slice. “We can sit down for a bit, and then there are a few more places I’d like to take you.”

“What did you have in mind?” I asked.

Sean opened his mouth to reply when a waitress stopped in front of our table. Her gasp sucked all the air out of the room. “Sean Mizuno, is that you?”

I watched my companion's expression turn to a scowl. “Hello, Katie.”

Eyes growing wide, I turned to take in the infamous cheating ex-girlfriend I’d recently learned about.

She wore her long brown hair in a messy knot.

Everything about her radiated beauty–perfectly manicured eyebrows, flawless skin–even her nails were finely decorated.

I didn’t consider myself scrubby by any means, but felt like this girl belonged with someone like Evan.

Or, if she hadn’t been unfaithful, I would still be dealing with him because Katie and Sean would be married with beautiful children.

“I thought you were in Denver now.”

“A lot of people keep saying that,” he deadpanned.

“So, just visiting, then?” she asked.

“For now.”

Katie must have noticed I was there because she gasped again and clasped her hands together. “Oh my gosh, is this your girlfriend? She’s cute.”

Sean and I locked eyes across the table and I couldn’t recall a time I’d seen him so visibly uncomfortable. Not even when Meg and Ariana, my former front end adversaries, grilled him about the disco masquerade.

Wanting to end the awkward altercation, I reached for his hand across the table and clasped it tightly. “I heard this place has pizza by the slice. I would love to know which kinds you have.”

Katie shook her head like she couldn’t understand how she’d gotten off topic. “Oh, of course. There’s pepperoni, bacon, buffalo chicken, margherita, cheese, and I think there will be a new vegetable coming out soon, or you could buy a whole pizza. We've got nearly forty options.”

“I’ll take two slices of that vegetable.”

Sean cleared his throat before he added, “Make it a double.”

Katie looked pleased as she wrote it down on her steno pad and told us to pick drinks from the nearby cooler before she flitted off towards the kitchen. I stared across the table at Sean with huge eyes.

“Oh my God,” I hissed. “What the hell was that?”

He looked around to make sure we weren’t being overheard. “I have no idea.”

“Did you know she worked here?”

“NO! Last I knew she worked at a daycare.”

I flung my body dramatically on the table. “She’s flawless.”

Sean shook his head. “You're prettier.”

We perked up and attempted to act naturally when Katie returned with our pizza.

She smiled at us and I was thankful for the divine intervention of an elderly couple who came in and wanted soup and pasta for lunch.

Sean and I quickly ate our food and left more than enough cash on the table to cover the bill.

We were out the door before we could be caught by her again.

“Sorry about that,” I said as we drove towards the mountains a bit later.

“You handled it well,” he assured me. “I wasn’t expecting her to be there or be so cordial. She’s pretty much oblivious to what she put me through.”

I noticed he started to drive up twisty residential roads. “Where are you taking me now?”

He turned onto a cul de sac and pulled his car into one of the lots at the end of the loop. It was a modern home–modest in comparison to the Mizunos’ house. The neighborhood seemed quiet and peaceful and the view of the mountains was better than the one at Sean’s parents’ house.

“I thought you might be curious about where I used to live.”

I gasped. “You lived here?” I pointed to the scenery. “Again, why the hell would you ever leave this place?”

Sean chuckled while he texted someone from the driver's seat. “Technically, I rented the first floor, and the Quitteros asked me to work in their home store. Thought it might help with the whole life plan thing.” He smiled. “I met you, so if nothing else, there’s that.”

Several moments later, a middle-aged man was standing on the lawn shaking Sean’s hand and asking how he’d been. I stood politely as he discussed moving to Denver and everything he’d been up to.

“Olivia,” Sean said, putting his hand on the small of my back and making my thoughts turn to static. We were starting to touch each other like it was second nature. “This is Dan, my old landlord.”

I shook his hand and he welcomed me to Aspen.

“Sean was a great tenant. Honestly, I haven’t found a match as good as you, kid. She’s still unoccupied at the moment.”

“Dan, I’m flattered, but you could be raking in the dough.” Sean looked pleased with his corny baking joke.

“Perhaps,” Dan said with a nod. “But probably dealing with noisy kids or weirdos or something. Plus, I really miss Bear. Where is that dog?”

“At my parents’.” Sean replied. “We had some unexpected business and I didn’t think it was appropriate to bring him along.”

“So what is your place in Denver like? Let me guess–two bedrooms, great view, lots to do.”

“Try the ground floor, just a step above a studio apartment. There is plenty to do, though.”

Dan made a face before walking towards a wrought iron gate that led to the backyard. “You want to see it? For sentiment's sake?”

“I mean, if it’s just sitting there unoccupied. I was just going to show Olivia around your place after we visited a bit.”

Dan guided us down a nicely manicured yard and a walkway to a sliding glass door where he put in a security code to get the key to unlock it.

I noticed a firepit several paces away. In addition to beautiful mountains, I could also see a quaint lake in the distance.

Job offer or not, I had to believe it wasn’t easy to walk away from this place.

The inside was cozy. There were leather couches in front of an electric fireplace and a small TV mounted above it.

The few large bookshelves were sparse and must have been set up for staging purposes, but I wondered if Sean had put anything in them.

I followed the men down a hallway with two bedrooms on the right side, a bathroom with a walk-in shower at the end, and a kitchen even smaller than the one Sean had in Denver on the left.

“How did you bake in here?” I asked, noticing only a microwave and single hot plate in the modest space.

“Creatively.” He wasn’t really paying attention to me, he was so deep in thought.

“I wish I could find someone who would treat her right,” Dan said as we headed back out to the living room. The glass door with the stellar view. “They would have big shoes to fill, obviously.”

“I think I might have someone, if you are open to it.” Sean was gazing out the door, still looking pensive. Dan and I both were surprised to hear this. “Olivia just got a job in Aspen.”

“Uh, it’s not a job yet,” I clarified.

“She’s got a paid internship with a local publishing company.

She’s not coming back to Denver with me.

She was going to stay with my parents, but I’m sure she’d prefer to have a place of her own.

” He nodded before adding, “I may be joining her again. Bear and I will need a place if you still want us.”

Dan and I looked at Sean incredulously. “What?”

“I think the universe is trying to tell me something. It might be time to finally buy that bakery.”