Page 60 of Peaches and Cream


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Sabrina’s nerves were shot.

She woke up Wednesday morning feeling jittery and buzzing, like she’d had too much caffeine…except she hadn’t had any yet.

Today was the day. Adley had accepted the job she’d offered, and today, they were going to meet. She’d texted her an hour ago to set the time. They were going to meet at noon at the ice cream shop and go over all the pertinent details. Sabrina also wanted to pick Adley’s brain about some equipment preferences and also wanted to let her in on the plans she had for the grand opening and the summer in general.

And she wanted to see her. Just…see her.

She had to put that in a box on a high, high shelf, and she knew it. But still.

The meeting was five hours away, and Sabrina needed to burn off some of the frantic energy she had or she might burst into a pile of ash from the nerves.

A run.

That always helped. She called Sprinkles in from the backyard where he was giving the perimeter his morning sniff-down. She laughed at how quickly he’d understood the yard was his now. They’d been there less than a week, but he’d already established a morning routine of sniffing along every inch of the privacy fence, nose to the ground, tail up in the air. She’d taken to sipping her first bit of coffee at the window while watching him do his thing. It felt shockingly domestic and homey, and she wasn’t sure what to do with that.

Now, she held the back door as he trotted inside and looked at her expectantly. She’d filled his Kong with peanut butter and some treats to keep him busy while she ran. She’d tried running with him once, but he was such a terrier. All he wanted to do was sniff every blade of grass, and her run had become a casual stroll, which burned off zero energy for her but completely pooped her dog out.

She ran until her lungs burned. Then she walked until her breath returned to normal. Then she ran again until her lungs burned. It was a chilly morning, and sucking in the cool, damp air made the run harder, but she pushed on, not stopping until she felt better. Less electrified. More herself.

Back home, she made herself some breakfast—running in the morning always famished her—and turned onTodayso she could focus on something other than her noon meeting. It worked for a short time, and then she gave up, showered, dressed, and headed to the shop a full ninety minutes before her meeting with Adley.

Bobby Unger was already on the premises, along with another of his guys. A small speaker sat on the counter playing classic rock. Bobby was the contractor she’d hired to do some updates, a local guy who’d lived in Northwood his whole life and who had his own small contracting business. His Yelp reviews were stellar, and she’d done extensive research on him, along with a phone interview, before hiring him.

“Hey, Sabrina, how’s life treating you?” He stepped off the ladder he’d been perched on to give her his full attention, something she really liked about him.

“Can’t complain, Bobby. Can’t complain.” She almost laughed at how much she’d sounded like her father just then. “What news do you have for me?”

He gave a small shrug and shook his head. “Not much. Everything’s on schedule. Once Jay and I finish rewiring the electric and patch the drywall, I think we’ll be ready for fresh paint.”

“Fantastic. And you’ll take care of that?”

Bobby nodded. “I work with a gal who’s been painting since she was a teenager. She’s good. We’ll need to meet with her about colors, but then she’ll take it from there.”

“Great.” She gave him a wave. “Okay, don’t let me disturb you. You do you. I’ll be in my office.”

Another nod and Bobby got back to work.

Because Sabrina had actually purchased the building, she’d been able to make some structural changes, and they included walling off some of the back area so there was a small office. It was the first thing Bobby had done so that she had somewhere to work even while the renovations were still in progress.

Her office was small, but cozy. She had a tiny window, so she could get some natural light. She’d purchased herself a nice desk and a top-of-the-line laptop and put all her accounting software and business applications on it. This was her thing, the business end. It was what she loved. The numbers and the profit/loss reports and the marketing.She’d been able to do little bits and pieces of those things here and there at Sweet Heaven, but there had been an accounting department. And a marketing department. And a new business department. And Sabrina couldn’t work in all of them. Once upon a time, all that travel had been appealing.

She’d had no idea how tiring it would be after so long.

But this? Right here? Her own office in her own shop that she owned? This was her version of very sweet heaven. And she was about to have the best ice cream maker she’d ever seen as her right hand. Did it get any better?

Her phone pinged a text and she saw it was Teagan. Opening it, she read,How’s the hideously inappropriate crush on your soon-to-be employee who’s pretty much an ex going? Good?That was followed by a slew of laughing emoji, and Sabrina shook her head and couldn’t help but smile.

She’ll be here in 1/2 an hour. I’ll let you know then.

She sent it back. Teagan let it drop and sent four baby photos instead. She was still looking at them and mentally oohing and aahing over them when there was a knock on the back door. All the nerves she’d worked all morning to subdue came back to life as if she’d plugged herself into an electrical outlet and suddenly had power.

She smoothed her hands down her thighs and stood up. Three deep breaths later, she headed out to the back door and pushed it open.

Adley looked gorgeous.

Uncertain and skeptical and a little ticked off. And gorgeous. Her dark hair was down around her shoulders, wavy and sexy. She wore cropped jeans, white sneakers, and an orange V-neck shirt that complemented her skin tone beautifully. It was hard for Sabrina not to stare.