Page 66 of Fixed Up Ever After
For a moment, Javi thought he might have gone too far. Color rushed to Travis’s cheeks and his jaw clenched. Javi wasn’t here to sugarcoat anything and he told Travis as much on the phone. He agreed then, but had his mind changed since?
After a beat, Travis let out a resigned sigh and nodded. “I see. Well, we should find a table. I figure we have a lot to talk about. I like that you don’t hold back. It’s a good quality in a man,” he said and signaled the hostess. When he turned back to Javi, before they were seated, he said, “I want you to tell me what happened at the wedding and I don’t want you to sugarcoat a damn thing. It’s time I see what I’ve been allowing to happen for so long.”
Javi hoped this was a step in the right direction and the beginning of the healing process for Lola. Without another word, he followed Travis to their table.
CHAPTER41
Lola
THREE WEEKS LATER
Dreams tended to start as nothing more than a seed. With the right fertilizer, a good amount of water, and a little sun, a flower could bloom out of nowhere. That was how Lola felt standing in the middle of Phoenix today, seeing her bookstore come to life. It had started as nothing more than a vague idea. A “what if” that reshaped her whole trajectory.
And now it was complete.
The once-dated bookstore had gotten a major facelift. Out were the old-school browns and beiges and in were the pinks, whites, and grays of her new color palette. The room was more vibrant and open with floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Each section was marked by genre, spanning from romances, to memoirs, to fantasy, with everything in between.
Throughout the large room, various table displays were set up to grab readers’ attention. Mona had helped her last night to finish the displays before the big day. Her favorite they had come up with was a book display titled “Not Your Average Romances,” where they placed Latinx and BIPOC selections because if there was one thing Lola was doing, it was diversifying.
Off to the side was another small room with the perfect reading nook. When she had worked here all those years ago, Mrs. Sanderson had used it as storage, wasting precious space. She had always pictured an area for kids, full of bright colors and diverse books that reflected all types of children and families. This was the only space that didn’t follow the main color scheme.
A huge rainbow stretched from one end of the wall to the large window. The other walls were off-white, but the rest of the space was an explosion of color. Multicolored bookcases that reached up to her were pushed up against one wall, displaying board books at the bottom and picture books above them.
A larger set of bookcases were placed across the room for older readers who were just starting chapter books and middle-grade books. Her young adult section was within the main room because she didn’t want the older kids and adults who read young adult books to have to step through crawling toddlers.
Lola took it all in, the fresh coat of paint, the smell of old and new books, and the sound of the coffeepot making a fresh brew. Serenity like she had never felt before washed over her as she took a moment to think of all she had accomplished. It was so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the daily tasks of a small business owner that it was hard to remember the incredible job she was doing.
Yet, even through the pride and happiness, she could not deny the sadness creeping inside her each time she thought too hard about the last few weeks. Seeing Javi every day and not being able to talk to him had been brutal. It wasn’t for lack of trying either.
After the shock of seeing Ofelia three weeks ago instead of Javi, a feeling of wrongness lingered within her. She had been set on ending things between them, but the more she thought about her life and what she wanted out of it, the bleaker it seemed without Javi. Which was fucking scary, considering he seemed to be ignoring her.
The first time he had come in to work on the shop after the wedding, Lola had planned to talk to him. But then she had gotten lost in cataloging books and ordering new ones for the shop that by the time she finished, Javi was gone.
So she tried the next day, but the damn man hadn’t been there. According to his crew, he was busy getting more supplies they needed and would be back later. Which would have been fine if Lola hadn’t had to go to the bakery to help Mona out while Mattea was home with the flu. She couldn’t tell her best friend no, especially after everything she had done for Lola while she was at the wedding.
The third time she tried to corner him ended unsuccessfully and made her look like she was hovering over his crew, waiting for them to make a mistake. Javi had been skillful at avoiding her and hadn’t even tried to talk to her.
She had asked for space.
He had given her that.
But space fucking sucked and she regretted that with all her heart. But she also knew when she was being ignored and let down easily. She didn’t try to talk to Javi after that, but that didn’t stop her from looking at the man. Drooling over him as he worked because there was just something about a sweaty man building a bookstore that did it for her.
A small part of her, though the likelihood of it happening was zero to none, hoped Javi would show up to her grand opening. She was just setting herself up to be disappointed, but here she was—a delusional idiot.
“Hey, you doing okay?” Mattea’s voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up. She felt something wet on her cheek and went to wipe it away. That’s when she realized she was crying. When did that happen?
She grabbed a tissue from the whale holder it was in and dabbed at her eyes. “I’m okay. These are happy tears.” Mostly. “I’ve been thinking about this day a lot, you know? And now it's here.”
It felt significant in a way she had not planned for. Like she was taking back pieces of herself that her mom had tried, and failed, to rid her of. It was empowering to finally do something for herself and not worry about the repercussions. It had been a spur-of-the-moment choice that had completely changed her life for the better.
“I get it. Did Mona ever tell you how much I sobbed when I held the keys to the bakery? Not even opened or anything, just holding the keys.” Mattea smiled, leaning against the doorframe as she played with one of her braids.
“We had just gotten engaged and you know Mona, she can’t do anything half-assed. She knew I wanted to open a bakery. Girl barely had any of my desserts, but she had enough faith in me to forgo the ring and buy me the bakery. I was shocked and cried immediately. It felt so surreal. Like this thing that had been in your head for so long was finally tangible.”
“Do you still feel that way? About your bakery?”
“Every single day. Every single damn day I thank my lucky stars for Mona and the bakery. Always feels like I’m living in a dream world.”
