Gripping her own napkin, Lexi’s throat felt tight. Scratchy.
“I know my parents aren’t perfect, Gwen. I’ve probably known since I was a young child. I get what you’re saying. I appreciate your insight. But my dad is a selfish man.”
Gwen reached out, set a hand on Will’s forearm. “That may be true. And some people aren’t as good at parenting as they should be. But if you take out the dad part, he’s also a man who has worked for years toward something he thought was a guarantee. He was blindsided. Likely hurt. And maybe even a little vulnerable when he realized that life doesn’t always go the way you plan it. When you have no plan B, you can make some pretty poor choices while you’re scrambling.”
Pursing his lips as her mom removed her hand, Will met her gaze, his full of confusion and uncertainty. Her mom took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before picking off a piece of her chocolate croissant.
“Tell me about Side Tap, Alexandria.”
With Gwen’s words floating around in her brain, trying to find a place to land, Lexi caught her mom up on what she’d been doing for the second location.
“I met Ethan’s brother and his wife. All three of them are technically my bosses but I work mostly with Ethan. He set up a little corner of his office for me. This week I’m ordering furniture, checking in on building permits. I’ll be setting up everything from our napkin supplier to our entertainment schedule until we get people hired for each of those roles. But when we do, I want to be able to hand over information on suppliers and retailers, best costs.”
Will, who’d started setting the baked goods in a container, stopped and smiled at her. “You really love it.”
Lexi laughed, sat up straighter on the stool. “I do. The titlemanager of operationsseemed so abstract, but it’s incredible. There’s so many moving parts, things that have to happen, schedules that have to line up and work in tandem.”
“I’m so glad you’ve found this, sweetie,” Gwen said, now reaching out to squeeze Lexi’s arm. “All of this. Will, this job. Happiness.”
There was an undertone of sadness despite her mom’s smile that concerned her.
“We deserve good things, Mom. Isn’t that what you tell me?” She pulled her arm away, got up to put her plate in the sink. “Speaking of, Maisie says the piece you’re making for the wedding couple is absolutely extraordinary. When do I get to see it?”
“Your miniatures are such a unique hobby. I absolutely love them. I hope it’s okay that Lexi showed them to me last night.”
“Of course.”
Will put the juice away, loaded the dishwasher. “Would you consider another commission piece?”
Lexi’s chin snapped up. What was he doing?Oh God, please don’t commission our cake topper in an attempt to make my mother happy. Don’t dig us any deeper.
“For you, absolutely. What were you thinking?”
Will leaned on the counter close to Gwen, his forearms resting on the marble slab. “I’d love to do something special for my grandfather. I have a photo of him standing in front of the store fifty years ago when he opened it. Think you’d be able to create a miniature version?”
Gwen’s eyes lit up. “I don’t see why not. Do you have the picture?”
“I do.” He stood up, rounded the counter, planted a kiss on Lexi’s mouth for absolutely no reason, letting his hand slide along her shoulder as he headed for the study. “I’ll grab it.”
Gwen stood up, walked to Lexi, and took both of her hands. “You’ve found forever, sweet girl. He’s perfect for you.”
“Mom.” Lexi tried to swallow around the thickness in her throat. The things that weren’t true were feeling dangerously possible. Terrifyingly real. And now, from the look on her mom’s face, it wasn’t just Lexi falling. It was her mom, too.
Gwen was just rising from the ashes of her husband’s death, taking almost full breaths again. What if she found out the truth and it destroyed her, made things worse? What if it undid the progress and damaged their relationship at the same time?
Worry formed knots in her stomach as Gwen hugged her, held her tight.
Lexi didn’t know how to tell her the truth at this point. Especially since her feelings were becoming more real every single minute.
When Lexi brought her mom home shortly after a walk of Will’s beautifully landscaped grounds, they’d both puttered around, getting little things on their own lists done. A few hours later, Gwen asked her to come into her workroom.
Lexi came into the room to see Gwen standing by the table, a glossy white box with a decorative lid set on top of it. “Maisie’s coming to pick this up.”
Lexi stared at her a moment, the smile creeping up on her. “You finished it?”
Gwen’s gaze brightened. “I did. Just now.”
With great care, Gwen opened the box and pulled out her creation.
