Page 376 of Safe With You
“But everything else grew with the store. Some things I knew I wanted from the beginning, and some came from paying attention to what people responded to.”
“Like Open Mic Night?”
“Definitely.”
“That’s actually how Chapter & Charm ended up on my radar.”
“I heard.”
“One of the people who attended told me I needed to look you up.”
“That still feels a little strange.”
“Why?”
“Because when we did the first one, I was mostly hoping people would show up.”
“They did.”
“They did.”
I smiled.
“More than I expected.”
“What made you nervous about it?”
“Everything.”
She laughed.
“I’m serious. Attendance. Seating. Whether people would actually enjoy themselves. I probably checked the RSVP list more than I needed to.”
“Do you still worry like that?”
“Sometimes. When something is yours, I don’t think you stop caring whether it works. You just get better at knowing which things deserve your panic.”
“That sounds learned.”
“It was.”
She smiled before glancing down at her notes.
“You mentioned the store growing based on what people responded to. How much has the community shaped what Chapter & Charm is now?”
“A lot.”
“How?”
I looked toward the front of the store.
A woman was browsing one of the display tables. Someone else was sitting alone with a coffee and an open book. Naomi was behind the register helping a customer.
“People tell us what they want, even when they don’t actually tell us.”
She lifted an eyebrow.
“What does that mean?”
