Honey Pie (Cupcake Club) - By Donna Kauffman Page 0,74
the right person’s ear to whisper in.”
“That much, I’ve figured out.”
Dylan smiled. “Don’t let her unbridled enthusiasm about setting up shop here affect your decisions on things,” he cautioned. “If we could bottle her energy, we could shut down the power grid. She means well, and her intentions are generally good ones, but don’t let her railroad you.”
Honey turned her gaze on him. “When were you going to tell me you owned this place? Before or after you seduced me into staying?”
His eyes went wide at that. He opened his mouth, shut it again, and ground his back teeth together.
Honey broke out laughing. “My God, you should see your face right now. I was kidding. Okay?” She tried to look sober and repentant, but the quivering corners of her mouth gave her barely suppressed giggles away.
“You totally deserved it, by the way,” she added, once she got herself under control. “I think, given the events of the past day or two, the least we can do is be completely up front with each other. You should have told me straight off.”
“I was going to tell you once we’d talked through whether or not the space would even work for you. You’d kind of dismissed it out of hand, if you recall.”
“Because I can’t afford rent on a place the size of Bea’s tailor shop, much less something like this, so there was no point in getting my hopes up.”
“So, are you saying that, if rent wasn’t an issue . . . you think this might work?”
Whatever rational answer she thought she might give him, the fleeting look of yearning in her eyes was all the answer he needed. It was a replica of the one he’d seen in the alley the moment he’d first laid eyes on her. It was as powerful now as it had been then. More so, maybe, because he knew more of what was behind it. And, perhaps, because there was hope along with the aching vulnerability.
“I can’t pay you,” she said, then lifted her hand. “And no, I’m not making any wisecracks about other forms of payment. I really was just kidding. We might not know each other all that well yet, but I think I have a pretty good handle on the type of code you live by.”
“Do you now?” he asked, bemused.
“I think so. Anyway, it’s all moot because no money is no money.”
“This place is sitting here earning me exactly nothing, whether someone is in it or not. To my way of thinking, it’s better if someone is at least in it, right?”
“Fair point, and appreciated, but the renovations—”
“You had some plan for renovating Bea’s place, right?”
“I did, but it’s a much smaller space. I was going to focus on getting the front area set up to show off my pieces, use the back room for my work studio and her apartment upstairs to live in and as my office, then gradually upgrade as I could. I’d save the more dramatic changes for when the farm sells. Then I would get my own place to live, make the entire downstairs the showroom, keep her upstairs apartment as my office, and renovate the rest into a workshop. Maybe even a small classroom.”
He could envision all of that, and she’d be good at it. It was brilliant in its own way, because she’d be instructing and demonstrating, which invited people directly into her world, allowing them to get to know her. At the same time, by keeping her students’ hands on their work . . . she’d have more control in keeping them out of her immediate personal space. It was a way to immerse herself in the community, get close to people, allow them in, but still preserve that tiny bit of physical distance she needed to insure she stayed on an even keel.
He thought back to how extreme it had been for her when she’d been transported back to the garage fire, reliving that terror through his eyes. He realized what a great risk it was to put herself in any position where that might happen in a professional setting. It was one thing for it to happen between the two of them, or even on Miss Barbara’s front porch. But what if she was in the middle of a class? Or ringing up a sale?
Who would help her then? Who would protect her?
The ferocity of his immediate internal response to that question floored him. There was leaping tall buildings, and then