I park in front of The Rush, looking around at the other cars in the parking lot. Maybe this wasn't the most professional place to meet but at least if Gabe reviews my plans and tells me they suck I can get a chocolate shake to console myself.
Inside, I grab a booth in the back. Miss Doris isn't on shift today so I give my drink order to Patsy, a middle-aged mother of two who also works over at the library part-time. How do I know all of that? Because she tells me in between explaining the specials and asking what all "that stuff" is for when I pull out my file folder.
I can't help but laugh as she walks away. It's going to take a little while to readjust to small town life.
Gabe enters the diner and when he spots me, heads to the back. Today he's wearing casual clothes again, jeans and a long-sleeved Henley shirt under a leather jacket. No glasses. No hat. Just Gabe. It's nice to see him like this with all the layers stripped off.
"Nice place. I like the fifties thing they've got going on in here." He slides into the booth across from me, his long legs bumping mine beneath the table.
"This place is an icon. I used to come here with my friends in high school a lot. It's been here for years."
I pick up my folder, busying myself in looking through the papers inside so he won't see how flustered I am. Gabe has agreed to help me but he's made it pretty clear that friends is all we'll ever be. I have to stop blushing and stammering like a schoolgirl around him or he's going to change his mind about helping me. If I'm ever going to prove to everyone that I can do this, I need his help.
Gabe peers at me. "Are you okay? You have dark circles under your eyes. You look exhausted."
I have to laugh. Honesty seems to be the thing that binds us together. "Is that your line today? I thought you were supposed to be charming?"
"Charm doesn't work on you. You cured me of trying that the first day we met. You'll always get the truth from me." He smirks and sits back in the booth.
I roll my eyes and hand him the two-page document. "Here's the budget I drew up."
Based on Eli's advice, I used online software to create the budget. The first page is the overview with a small graph and the second page contains detail on all the expenses.
"How did you come up with these numbers?" Gabe flips the page and looks at the detailed list of expenditures.
"Some of them are just rough estimates. But for the things like cleaning and construction, I got quotes from local businesses on how much they would charge for those services."
"Good. It's best to get as close as possible on the expenses. I can't tell you how many times I've been blindsided on how much things cost running the shop. How much contingency have you built in?"
We're interrupted when Patsy brings two glasses of water and my iced tea. "Hi, what can I get you to drink handsome?"
Gabe gives her that blinding smile and I can practically see her melting next to the table.
"Water is fine for now. But I'll have a cheeseburger and fries. Sasha?"
"I'll have the same. And a chocolate shake, too."
As soon as she leaves, I take a long drink from my iced tea. Gabe watches in amusement as I drain almost half of it away.
"Are you okay?"
I push the glass back. "No, I'm not okay. What is a contingency? And how was I supposed to know to get one?"
I'm in the middle of what feels like a full-scale panic attack when Gabe puts his hand over mine. Immediately I stop breathing.
“Relax. You've already done the number one thing any business owner can do if they aren't sure about something."
"What's that?"
He leans over and says, "Ask for help."
His calm, rational demeanor makes the panic recede. My hand flexes slightly under his and when I turn my hand over, our palms meet. That has my pulse increasing for another reason altogether.
He leans back and the cool air against my exposed palm reminds me where we are. I look around but luckily no one noticed my little freak out session.
"So, what is a contingency?"
Gabe points a finger at the bottom of the budget. "It’s usually the last line item under expenses. It's basically just a number that you estimate for emergencies. A cushion. Let's say that the cleaning you've budgeted at three hundred dollars actually ends up costing you five hundred dollars."
"I'd be two hundred dollars over budget, right?"
His eyes glow in approval. "Exactly. But if you have a one thousand dollar contingency, then your bottom line would still be okay. You'd actually be eight hundred dollars in the black."
Patsy appears then with our food, so I push the files to the side of the booth. Then she reappears a few minutes later with my chocolate shake. Gabe glances at me and then takes a bite of his burger.
"Chocolate therapy already?"
I pause with the straw halfway to my mouth. "How did you know about that?"
"You told me, remember?" His eyes twinkle with laughter as he takes another bite of his burger.
Mentally thinking back to all the things we talked about on the rooftop that night, I shake my head. "You remember that? I have to watch what I say around you."
"Paying attention to people is one of the things I do best. And you should definitely watch what you say around me. I have a long history of using the things I learn about people against them."
His reference to his past makes me wonder. Just who is he trying to warn off? Me or himself?