The Trouble With Bachelors (Windy City Bachelors Book 1) by Caitlyn Blue

Author:Caitlyn Blue [Blue, Caitlyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781946121028
Publisher: The Sassy Muse LLC
Published: 2017-03-20T18:30:00+00:00

16

Emma

It’s Thursday morning and Mom’s day off. I’m at the register, tagging some cool costume jewelry from the fifties and daydreaming about Zach. It’s been six days since that night in his condo when he rocked my world. True to his word and despite his raging hard-on, he didn’t make any further moves on me and I’m not sure whether to feel respected or undesired.

The tinkle of the front doorbell warns me that Pewter and I have a customer. I look up and spy Julie heading my way. Pewter gets up from his cat bed and stretches luxuriously, preparing to do his thing and greet her.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” I ask.

“I had a dental appointment and thought I’d swing by to talk to Mom before heading back to the office.”

“She’s not here.”

“Oh, that’s right. It’s Thursday.” Her gaze roams around the store, but I don’t sense there’s anything in particular she’s looking for.

“So what’s up?”

“Are you happy doing this?”

Well, that’s incredibly random. “It’s all I thought about doing since I was a kid,” I say. “Why?”

I’m assuming this is about her, not me. As much as I love my sister, when it comes to topics of conversation, she’s way more likely to pick something that affects her.

“I was just wondering if you’d ever thought about doing something else.”

“Not really.”

I love antiques. Each item has a history. I can pick up a delicate china cup and picture a woman from the 1940s sipping tea with her friends. She’s wearing a fitted suit with a cinched waist. A darling little hat is perched on her head and she’s carrying white gloves.

“But what if you did think about doing something else. What would it be?”

“I don’t know.” Only I do know. I’d created a business plan for a store specializing in antique furniture and architectural pieces repurposed to infuse a homey touch into homes with modern styling, like renovated warehouses turned into condos. I’d shared my vision of Vintage Vignette with Zach. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

“I heard at the dentist’s office that Tony Holmes sold the building and the new owner is going to tear it down and build condos with high-end retail on the ground floor.”

The news stuns me for several seconds. “But we’ve been here for fifty years.” Where would we go?

Dread gathers in my chest as I glance around. We won’t be able to pay the rent the new owner will want and the idea of packing up the store is more than a little daunting. We have five thousand square feet of floor space and every inch is utilized.

“That why I asked if you wanted to do anything else,” Julie says, looking concerned. “I know the store isn’t doing all that great.”

“Who told you that?”

“Dad has mentioned it several times. He’s been trying to convince Mom to close ever since Great Aunt Lucy died.”

Why haven’t I heard any of this? Maybe sales have been lagging lately, but as soon as my rooms downstairs are complete, we should start to see our profits rise.

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