Page 62 of Hot Shot
“I came to see if you wanted to have lunch with me.” He glances at his watch. “Well, late lunch that is. Unless you ate already.”
“Lunch sounds good. Where were you thinking?”
“Tacos?” Hunter suggests, and I chuckle. A man after my own heart.
“Sounds good.”
“Want to follow me in your car? Or drive with me, and I’ll bring you back later for your car?”
“I’ll drive with you.”
We say goodbye to Brandon and head out the door.
Thirty minutes later, we’re sitting in Hunter’s kitchen eating tacos.
“How was your day?” Hunter asks between bites. “Anything exciting happen?”
I hesitate. Do I tell him about the conversation Rachel and I had, or do I keep that to myself?
I opt to tell him about the two cakes that I made this morning and the run on cranberry scones we had with the breakfast crowd.
“Cranberry scones?” Hunter chuckles with a shake of his head. “Seems random.”
“I know, but everyone who came in for like an hour wanted one. No idea why. I had to make two extra trays. That never happens.”
We eat in silence for a couple of minutes before Hunter says, “Do you ever think about starting your own cake shop, cake decorating place? You know what I mean.”
“A custom cake shop?”
“Yeah, that. Do you ever think about starting your own business? I’ve seen what you can do. Your cakes are amazing.” He tilts his head, studying me.
I put the last bit of my taco in my mouth, chewing and swallowing before answering.
“That’s what I was doing the day we met, actually. I had just come from a meeting with a lawyer when my car wouldn’t start. It never went anywhere, though. Rachel asked me the same thing today.”
“And?”
“I told her I’d think about it.”
“What are you afraid of, sweets?”
What am I afraid of? That’s a good question. I don’t know if I’m afraid of the uncertainty or the risk or something else.
“It’s a big risk to start a business. Do you know how many small businesses fail in their first couple of years?” I ask.
“A lot, I’m sure. But your cakes are amazing. I have no doubt you’d do well.”
“Yeah, but . . .”
“What are youreallyafraid of?“ He asks again.
“I don’t know if I trust my instincts anymore,” I mumble, breaking eye contact and staring down at the table, absentmindedly playing with my napkin.
“What do you mean?”
“My instincts were wrong with EJ.” Hunter starts to open his mouth, but I hold up my hand and continue.
“I thought he wanted to date me, had wanted to for a while, but for whatever reason, had never said anything. You know how that turned out. Six months before that the shop I worked at closed down. I took a job with a new place that was just starting. They planned to franchise and have locations all over the United States. I helped them get the business started, developed recipes. I work ten-to-twelve-hour days for a couple of months. Before they could pay me, they lost their funding, declared bankruptcy, and closed up.”
