Chapter 12
Olivia couldn’t figure out how she’d gone to see Austin so furious with his end-run at getting the website ordering system set up to having dinner with him now. She looked down at her navy skirt and Parker’s t-shirt and wished she’d worn something nicer. But how was she supposed to know when she’d come over to The Cabot to give Austin a piece of her mind that she’d end up having dinner in their fancy dining room?
And while things were confusing her, why had she blurted out her financial worries to him? She always kept them to herself. Didn’t even really talk about them to Heather. And here she’d just dumped it all out in the open for Austin to see. She chastised herself the whole time they walked to the dining room.
They got a table by the window overlooking the bay and both ordered a glass of wine. The server brought them menus, and she grimaced at the prices. Higher than she’d expected. But really, he was doing so much for her, and she was determined to snag the bill.
They ordered their meals—she found the least expensive item on the menu for herself—and sat and sipped their wine.
“So, Emily…she’s really smart. A quick learner. But I’m sure you know that.”Austin sat back and stretched out his long legs. They brushed hers under the table, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Shenoticed but ignored it.“Emily is smart. I’m so proud of her. She does well in school and works hard at her jobs. She’s starting to look at colleges.”
“She says she’s interested in history and technology. That’s quite a combination.”
Olivia grinned.“It is. But she’s passionate about both of them. I’m pretty sure technology will support her better, but I just want her to find a job she loves.”
“Do you love working at Parker’s?”Austin asked.
That was a hard question to answer. She paused while she chose her words.“I—well, I never really considered anything different. Mom was helping me raise Emily and needed help at the store. Plus, I grew up working there part-time. It just made sense to keep working there.”
“Do you ever dream of doing something else?”He watched her intently.
Too intently. She tried not to squirm under his gaze. He asked tough questions.“I used to. A bit. But then we built the cafe, and it’s all mine to run and make decisions on. That helps. I feel like it’s something of my own that I’m creating, I’m making happen.”She looked down at her silverware and straightened it before looking back up at him.“But I really don’t want to let my mom down. I need for the cafe to be a success. To contribute to our income.”
“I have no doubt you’ll make it a success.”
“I like your enthusiasm, but we won’t really know until it’s up and running.”
“The online ordering should help, don’t you think? Sometimes people just want to pick up a quick meal and take it back to work or home for dinner.”
“If you’re trying to get me to say that the online system is a great idea…it is. I just worry that we’re doing too much, too quickly.”
“We could get it set up and get Emily used to how it works but not bring it live until you have time to settle into running things.”
“That’s probably a good idea. Maybe wait a month or so.”She thought about it. At least that would be one less thing she’d have to juggle while she handled any opening glitches.
“So, I hear you picked a grand opening date. Emily was already working on some graphics for it to post to your TalkTime page.”
“Yes, it’s next Friday. I’m excited and…a bit scared.”To be honest, she was a lot scared, but she didn’t tell him that.“We’re planning on having baked goods and great coffee for breakfast. I swear I’ve tasted at least a billion brands and types of coffee.”
“Great coffee is important.”He gave her his affable smile. The one that assured her he was truly listening to her. Enjoying her company. Enjoying the conversation.
“Then we’ll have sandwiches and soups for lunch and supper. We’ll see how that goes at first, then might expand the menu. Evelyn is an excellent baker. She’ll do the baking and make the bread for the sandwiches. We’ll get the malt machine up and running again and still serve our ice cream.”
“Jesse assures me you have the best ice cream on the planet.”Austin’s eyes brightened.“I love ice cream.”
“I will admit it’s good. It’s Grace Parker’s recipe. Or maybe her daughter, Mary Lou’s. We’re not really sure. But my great-grandmother, Mary Lou, opened up the malt counter at Parker’s.”
“I can’t wait to try it.”
“We’ll have some ice cream the beginning of next week. You should come by and try some. On the house, of course.”
“I’ll do that.”
Their meals were delivered, and they continued their casual conversation. She liked that he was so easy to talk to.“So, are you enjoying staying at The Cabot?”
“I am. Though I will admit to missing the long beach walks I took every morning at Jesse’s house. It was nice to have the beach just right out the door.”
