“Of course. You said romance bookstore, and I immediately knew I had to be here for this. Plus, power in numbers and all that. Didn’t you say it would be a bloke showing you around?”
I nod. “Yeah. It was originally supposed to be Elisa, the woman I spoke to on the phone, but…” I trail off, wiping my hands on my dress.
“You’ll do great,” she says, picking Bea up and holding her on her left hip.
We chat for a few minutes, and just as I’m starting to get worried, a black sedan pulls up and parks right in front of us.
I swallow and stand up straighter, holding the folio in front of me with one hand. A middle-aged gentleman exits the car, and his expression pinches slightly when he takes in the way Stella, Bea, and I are all waiting out front.
“Sorry I’m a few minutes late,” he says gruffly. “I’m Jake.”
I reach my hand out to shake his, but he doesn’t do the same, so I awkwardly drop it to my side. When I glance over at Stella, she mouths,Arsehole.
“That’s okay. I’m very excited to see the place,” I tell him eagerly.
He huffs a dismissive laugh. “You’re the only one. It’s not exactly a looker, if you know what I mean.”
My brow furrows as he unlocks the door, and then we step inside.
Oh.
My smile falls as I take in the crumbling facade. Elisa had sent over the floorplan, but she said pictures weren’t currently available.
Now I see why.
The floorboards are disintegrating, the wallpaper is peeling, and there are cobwebs everywhere. When I drafted my proposed renovations, I didn’t include new flooring—that would eat into my start-up budget.
“Oh my God, this place has incredible bones,” Stella says, her voice encouraging and excited all at once.
“I need to make a call. I’ll give you a few minutes to look around,” Jake says, leaving us alone in the space.
I bite my lower lip to keep from crying.
Spinning around, I try to find any redeeming qualities, and I can’t. Just like when the house was under construction, I couldn’t see past the mess.
All I see before me is impossibility.
“Look,” Stella says, carrying Bea on the other hip and pointing to one of the walls. “Original crown molding. Plus, some of this floor can be salvaged. I bet we could get Kai to help fix the floors, slap a coat of pink paint on the walls, and call it a day, babe.”
I almost sob at her optimism. “It needs a lot of work.” The space is certainly large enough for a bookstore—we could even do a fun display in the window, and I’d still have room for a reading nook in the corner. “Alotof work,” I add.
Stella sighs and sets Beatrix down. “Please don’t touch anything, darling,” she instructs her daughter, who only nods as she precariously starts to walk around, inspecting the empty space. “These two walls can be built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves,” she starts, walking over to the two main walls on either side of the front door. “And a few individual shelves back here in the reading nook—themed shelves, special editions, maybe some merch. And here,” she says, walking into the middle of the room, “We can put two sofas and a coffee table. The counter can go there,” she adds, pointing to where I’m standing, “And we’d still have room for a table in the front window display.”
I swallow, attempting to see her vision, but I can’t see past the filth.
“Also, how fun would it be to have a giant inflatable cock right here?” she asks, cackling as she points to the space above my head.
I laugh just as Jake clears his throat, having opened the front door without either of us noticing.
“So? What do you think?” he checks his watch, and my stomach sinks. If I want this place, I should say something. It’s now or never… “I have another meeting soon, so I should probably lock up.”
Before I can overthink it, the words tumble out. “If you knock five hundred dollars off the rent each month—to cover the renovations I’ll have to tackle—I’ll take it. Right now.” I straighten up, surprising even myself.
An hour later, Stella and I are waving goodbye to an annoyed Jake, who is late for his next meeting, and I’m clutching the folio to my chest. He still has to run a background and credit check, as well as verify the funding, but he made it seem like the place was mine if I wanted it.
Even better, he agreed to lower the rent. Despite initially trying to dismiss the idea of a romance bookstore, Stella had won him over eventually with her charm. By the end, he seemed almost impressed with us.
I’m so glad I asked her to accompany me today.
