Page 26 of Change of Plans

Excitement swirled through me, making me giddy for a second. “Great minds think alike, eh?” I said, so happy we were on the same page.

“You’re the expert, though,” Diccon went on. “What did you come up with?”

“I might be the expert,” I said, diverting for a second, because I had something really important to say, and I didn’t want to wait, “but you’re really smart, too, you know.” I tried to say it casually, but we both knew I was addressing something bigger.

Diccon blew out a breath. “I’m insecure about college sometimes,” he confessed carefully. “It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the way some of my old friends reacted when I told them I wasn’t going. Some of them weren’t very nice about it.”

“Bastards,” I said, going for humor, even though it was a risk.

The risk paid off. Diccon laughed. “Yeah, well, it’s my bad for letting that old hurt get in the way of something good now.”

I let that sink in for a second, smiling as I did. Diccon thought we had something good.

“We’ve all got those stupid core wounds, or whatever they call them, that keep us from enjoying things sometimes,” I said. “You already know that I have a problem breaking my routine and that I get nervous about asking guys out in case they’re straight and I end up heartbroken.”

“That’s not going to happen with me,” Diccon said, his voice going soft. “I really admire you for taking a risk and going outside your comfort zone to get what you want. I need to take a page out of that book myself.”

“You’re doing fine as far as I can tell,” I said, wishing more than anything that this conversation wasn’t a phone call and that we could wrap the whole thing up on my couch, the way we’d done the other night. Or even in my bed. “You came up with the same solution to the problem as a seasoned architect.”

Diccon laughed. “You’re being too kind.” He paused, and again, I wished we were actually together. There was far more going on between us than a phone conversation. It sucked that it was too late to invite him over, especially when I now had important work to do in the morning.

“I’ll tell you what,” I said, shifting into business mode. “I know Kyle Jameson, the guy responsible for the expansion project, lives in the area. Why don’t I set up a meeting with him for as soon as possible, and you can attend that meeting. We’ll both explain the change of plans to him and see what he thinks, if he can work with us.”

“Really?” Diccon sounded surprised. “You’d let me sit in on a meeting like that?”

“Of course.” I smiled and stopped my pacing at last, sinking onto my couch. “It was your idea, after all. And besides, my office is currently Common Grounds. You’d be there anyhow.”

Diccon laughed. “We’re going to have to start charging you rent for that booth soon. Not that I mind having you there at all,” he rushed to add. “I kind of like looking at your red hair and your freckles while I’m trying to work.”

I beamed from ear to ear. “I don’t mind looking at you and listening to you call out people’s orders myself.”

Another silence fell between us, but it was a good one this time. I just knew Diccon was smiling, and it made me feel good inside.

“So are we good now?” I asked hesitantly, still uncomfortable with putting myself all the way out there.

Diccon hummed. “I don’t know,” he said teasingly. “We’ll have to wait and see how this meeting goes, whenever you’re able to set it up. I might be forced to serve you disgusting, blueberry coffee every time you come in until then.”

I laughed. “I still don’t understand why you think that coffee is so bad. I really liked it.”

Diccon made a scoffing sound, and I could practically see him shaking his head. “And here you’re the one with the four-year college degree. That just goes to show that they don’t teach you anything in a big, fancy college.”

“I’ll have to rely on you to be my tutor,” I said, lowering my voice to a flirty register.

“We’ll see,” Diccon said in a voice that made my jeans tighter.

We said goodbye, and I lowered my phone and stared across the room to the blueprints on the table. Kyle Jameson was a notoriously tough nut to crack, but I had a feeling that between the two of us, Diccon and I could convince him this was the best way to move forward. I had a feeling that together we could do just about anything.

CHAPTER 9

Diccon

Never let it be said that I couldn’t fix mistakes when I made them. I’d definitely messed up with Theo, but after our conversation on Sunday night, I felt better. Sure, the underlying reasons why I’d gotten so upset were still there. Common Grounds might still be in trouble and my insecurity about the possibility of Theo thinking he was smarter than me wouldn’t leave me alone, but progress had been made, and I felt hopeful.

I took that hope to work with me the next morning as I opened the store, along with Brian, Hannah, and Gilbert, who had come in early to get some work done.

“So you and golden-voiced Theo are back on good terms?” Hannah asked through the window into the kitchen as she got several batches of muffins going and I set up the cash drawer for the day.

“I think so,” I told her and Brian, who was giving the coffee machine its morning cleaning and starting a pot of regular brew.I was kind of amazed that the story of Friday night had already reached them, even though Hannah didn’t work weekends. “We still have a lot to talk out, and I probably need therapy after the way I reacted?—”