Sophie Love - For Now and Forever

“Can’t we sleep in a little longer?” Emily replied. “It was a very trying evening if you recall.”

Daniel shook his head. He seemed far too energetic for so early in the morning. “I thought you wanted to run a B&B,” he exclaimed. “You won’t be having many lie-ins when you’re a hostess.”

“Which is precisely why I need them now,” Emily said.

Daniel plucked her out of bed, Emily squealing with laughter, and plopped her onto the stool by the dresser.

“Oh, looks like you’re up now anyway,” Daniel said with a cheeky grin. “May as well get dressed.”

Once Emily was dressed, Daniel drove her to Joe’s. They both ordered coffee and waffles, then got to work going through Emily’s figures. She’d always been terrified of going broke and if she really did decide to give the B&B idea a go, she’d need to use all her savings. Her three-month buffer would be gone entirely. If this went wrong, she’d be left with nothing. Looking at the list of things she’d need to buy was daunting. From the ludicrously expensive things like getting the Tiffany window in the ballroom restored, to the cheap ones like replacing the blown-up toaster, Emily wasn’t sure she’d be able to do it.

She threw her pen down. “It’s too much,” she said. “It’s too expensive.”

Daniel reached out and picked up the pen. He crossed the cheapest thing off the list, the toaster.

“Why did you do that?” Emily asked frowning.

“’Cause I’m going to go into the department store after breakfast and buy you a new one,” he said.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“You’re right. I want to.”

“Daniel – ” she warned.

“I have savings,” he replied. “And I want to help you.”

“But I should sell off the antiques first before you start making sacrifices for me.”

“Do you really want to do that?” Daniel asked. “To sell your dad’s treasures?”

She shook her head. “No. The sentimental value is too much.”

“Then let me help.” He squeezed her hand. “It’s just a toaster.”

She knew Daniel couldn’t be particularly rich. Although the carriage house was decorated tastefully, he’d been living there without paying rent for twenty years. He hadn’t received any money from working the grounds at the house and had probably only held down a few repair jobs here and there, just to get gas and food money and logs for the burner. Although it made her uncomfortable to know that Daniel was going to take money out of his savings, she nodded.

“And you never know,” Daniel said. “People in the town could probably help. My friend George said he’d come and look at the Tiffany window and see what he could do about restoring it.”

“He did?”

“Sure. People like to help out. They also like money. Maybe some of the townsfolk would invest in you.”

“Maybe,” Emily said. “Though they’d have no reason to.”

Daniel shrugged. “Raj had no reason to chop down that fallen tree for you but he did it all the same. Some people just like to help out.”

“But who around here would even have that kind of money?”

“What about Rico?” Daniel suggested, taking a swig of coffee. “I bet he’s sitting on a whole hoard of cash.”

“Rico?” Emily exclaimed. “He can barely remember my name.” She sighed, feeling deflated and anxious. “Really, the only person with any kind of wealth is Trevor Mann. And we all know how he feels about me.”

“Probably a whole lot worse than he did before thanks to the midnight visit from the fire truck.”

Emily groaned and Daniel squeezed her arm to reassure her.

“I’m not going to lie, Emily,” he said. “Doing this would be a huge risk. But I’m here to help, and I’ll bet the rest of the town is too. Do what you think is right, but know whatever you decide, you won’t be alone.”

Emily smiled, her fingers gently stroking down the length of his arm, reassured by his words.

“If you could get some investment,” he said, “what would be the first thing you’d do with the place?”

Emily thought long and hard. “I’d want a different front desk. The foyer looks too empty at the moment.”

“Oh yeah?” Daniel said. “What would you put in, in an ideal world, if money were no object?”

“Well, it would need a bespoke piece really,” Emily said, picking up her cell phone and starting to search on Google and eBay. “Something like this!” she said, showing him the screen and the amazing Art Deco piece.

Daniel whistled. “That’s pretty nice.”

“Yup,” Emily said. “And just look at the price tag. That’s a good few thousand dollars out of my budget.” Then she looked up and smirked at Daniel. “But if you’re ever stuck for birthday gift ideas…” She put her phone back down and sighed. “Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t even have the permit yet.”

“I have every faith in you that you’ll get the permit,” Daniel said. Then he stood suddenly, pushing his plate away. “Come on,” he said.

“Where are we going?” Emily asked.

“To Rico’s. Let’s see if he has anything you might want to purchase.”

Emily had been reluctant to go back to Rico’s, in part because the house was more or less complete, but also because of the unpleasant experience she’d had yesterday. The thought of going back in there unnerved her and she didn’t feel much like reliving the moment. But with Daniel holding her hand, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad.

“We literally just did my budget! I don’t have the money to buy anything fancy!” she contested.

“You know what Rico’s is like. There might be some hidden gem in there somewhere.”

“I doubt it,” Emily replied. She’d practically scoured every inch of that place. But the idea of shopping with Daniel, of taking one small step closer to her dream, was too fun an experience to miss. Emily decided then that whatever gossip the locals had about them, she’d be able to handle it. She looked at her notebook filled with facts and figures, then snapped it shut.

“Let’s go,” she said.

“If it isn’t my favorite couple,” Serena said when she saw Emily and Daniel walk into the flea market. She was looking particularly stunning today in a floral sundress, stained, as usual, with multicolored paint. She kissed each of their cheeks in turn. “How’s the B&B looking?”

“It looks absolutely amazing,” Daniel said, wrapping an arm around Emily. “Emily’s done such a great job.”

Emily smiled and Serena winked at her.

“So it’s done then?” she asked. “When is the grand reveal? Will you be holding another one of your parties? That stew was to die for. Ooh, that reminds me, can you write the recipe down for me, I have to send it to my mother.”

“Your told your mother about my stew?”

“I tell my mother about everything,” Serena said, raising an eyebrow.

Just then, Rico came out from one of the back rooms. He was looking frailer than usual, the lines on his face more pronounced.

“Hi, Rico,” Emily said.

“Hello,” Rico said, taking Emily’s hand and shaking it. “Lovely to meet you.”

“This is Emily,” Serena reminded him. “Remember? We went to her house for dinner.”

“Ah,” Rico said. “You’re the young lady with the B&B, aren’t you?”

“Well, not quite yet,” Emily said, smiling. “But I’m hoping to open one, yes.”

“I have something for you,” Rico said.

Emily, Daniel, and Serena exchanged a look.

“You do?” Emily said, confused.

“Yes, yes, I’ve been holding it back. This way.” Rico hobbled off down the corridor. “Come on.”

Shrugging, Serena followed, Daniel and Emily tagging behind with equally bemused expressions. Rico led them through a door and into a vast back room. There were lots of sheets covering large items of furniture. It felt eerie, like a graveyard of furniture.