Page 75 of Dream House
That wide smile falters. “I-I-I’m not sure. It’s all kind of overwhelming.”
“What is?”
Stella glances down at the table then back up at me, looking embarrassed again. “I just don’t even know where to start.” Then she shakes her head as if clearing it. “Not with the business side, I mean. Iknowhow to run a salon.”
The way she says it makes me think she has opinions about where she works and how she’d do things differently when she has a place of her own. That spark of hers lights up the whole room. And then it dims just as quickly as it ignited.
“It’s just getting from here—” She gestures with an open palm to the dining room, “to Opening Day that has me tied in knots.”
“Do you know what you want? For the space, I mean.”
She blinks, surprised. “Sort of.”
“Do you have a contractor?”
Two spots of color rise on her cheeks. “No.”
I know the answer, but I ask anyway. “Are you embarrassed?”
I watch her swallow. “This is my dream. I feel like I should have all the answers, and I don’t.”
When she says this, not only does she look embarrassed, Stella Mouton looks vulnerable. I feel a tug in my gut that makes me want to push away from my chair and move to her side of the table. I don’t, but the urge is strong.
And so is the urge to help her.
“What’s your budget?”
Her laugh comes out jaded. “I have no idea. See? Do I even deserve to open my own business if I don’t know these basic answers?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation.
I haven’t lived here long, but I know that Stella spends most of her “free” time looking after other people. She’s working or running errands or cooking meals—yeah, breakfast is for everyone, but more than once I’ve come in at dinner time and seen her feeding Pen, Livy, or Nina. Or all three.
I don’t see when she’d have the time to figure out all the necessary steps to open her business.
“Let me help you.”
Her gaze shoots to mine, and I’ll be damned if she doesn’t look afraid. Why the hell would she look afraid?
“Wh-why would you do that?”
Too many answers line up to be voiced.Because you help everybody else, and it’s about time someone helped you. Because the way you smile when you talk about opening your own place is something the world needs more of. Because helping would mean I’d get to hang out with you.
“Because I can.” I say it like a dare, and I’m lucky that this is how Stella takes it.
“Oh, you can?”
“Yeah.” My tone may be a little cocky. “We’ll sit down together and work up a plan.”
“We will?” Again, she looks surprised.
“Yeah, soon. I can’t do it tonight. My sis-in-law’s coming over to meet with Nina, and I’m on babysitting duty.”
Her mouth drops open.
And I’ve just discovered that surprising Stella is one of my favorite things.
ChapterThirteen
