November, 2019
Gage had never been one to struggle with self-control. His mom had tried telling him one time that not everyone was as tightly wound as he was – she’d been trying to tell him to give Chris a break but had been couching the argument in vague terms, as if she really could be talking about anyone at all – but his legendary self-control was being tested to its absolute limits by a certain Cady Walcott.
He couldn’t blame her – she wasn’t trying to be temptation on a stick – but that didn’t make it any easier, honestly. Watching her relax around him, around everyone, slowly gaining confidence, losing her instinctive, protective layer and revealing the soft, gooey Cady underneath…it was heaven.
Or hell.
He hadn’t quite decided which, yet.
He was falling in love with her more every day, but was forcing himself to take it slow, not say anything, not scare her into running the other direction. He couldn’t risk their relationship now. Not after it’d taken so long just to get to this point.
He found himself relying on Sugar more than ever, even hiring a second teenager to come in after school to get caught up on the tasks she usually took care of during the day, so she could do his job and he could be next door, helping Cady put the finishing touches on the Smoothie Queen. The electrical wiring was up to code; the aisles between the shelves on the right-hand side of the store were wide and accommodating; the tables on the left-hand side of the store sturdy but cute, giving the store the welcoming vibe Cady was striving so hard for.
She had a few overhead lights but had paid for outlets to be placed everywhere, making it possible to light the store via lamps without also creating a trip hazard in the process. The hodgepodge of lamps that Cady had bought from Second Time Around were especially useful in creating that eclectic yet homey feel.
After the delivery men brought in the shelving boxes a few weeks earlier, Gage had spent his two days off that week doing nothing but assembling shelves. He’d been surprised at first when he realized how short they were. Unlike a normal store where the shelves were 12-ft tall, these shelves were so short, even Cady could see over them without a problem.
Even Cady can see over them…
Which was when he’d realized, of course, why it was that the shelves were so short. No man was going to be able to sneak up on her without her seeing him coming.
She was also careful not to create any dead ends, where a man could corner her. Every aisle, every table, every corner of the store had an escape route built in.
As he saw it, she had a healthy fear of what could happen. Not an irrational fear that overpowered her and kept her from living her life, but a healthy fear that kept her aware of her surroundings at all times.
He was damn proud of her – every week, changing and growing and expanding just a little more.
He’d never lived in another person’s pocket like this. Even when he was at the bakery, working away in the kitchen, it seemed like there was the constant excuse available for him to go to the smoothie shop, or for her to go to the bakery. Taste testing. Pricing discussions. Supplier debates. Buy new appliances and walk-in coolers with all of the latest features, or used with a much more affordable price tag? She understood what it was like to be a small business owner, unlike any other woman he’d ever tried to date. She didn’t make him feel guilty for staying late and doing inventory; quite often, she’d join in and help.
The crossing back and forth between stores was getting to be obnoxious, though. Whether they went through the front doors or the back doors, it was still a walk around the wall in the middle – a solid wall without the smallest connection in it to the other side.
Much like our relationship was in the beginning. Solid, impenetrable, not a crack or a bit of wiggle room in sight. She stayed on that side; I stayed on this side. But now…
Gage pulled a large cake sheet pan forward, the peanut butter bars cooled enough to cut, and began slicing them into 3" squares for the display case out front. He took a corner piece and slipped it onto a napkin. He’d go over and visit Cady with a cup of coffee and the peanut butter bar. See how she was doing. Take a peek at the other side of the wall. Do some mental measurements. Decide if he was brave enough to pull this off.
With a wave to Sugar, he headed out the front door and over to the still-closed Smoothie Queen. Another two weeks, and Cady would be open for business; she was opening the week before Thanksgiving. It was crazy how quickly her self-imposed deadline had snuck up on them.
But all of this meant that it was now or never to make this happen.