I waggled my brows. “The other dessert was better.”
I turned on to Rodeo drive.
“Aren’t most shops closed now? What do you need?”
I found a place to park. “I need you to not ask so many questions and follow me.” I exited the car and hurried to the passenger side and opened her door.
Her face lit up with intrigue. “I love it when you’re bossy.”
That wasn’t completely true. She sometimes bit back when she thought I was too demanding, usually related to my wanting to keep her safe.
“Then get out of the car.” I held my hand out to help her. Still holding her hand, I led her to the empty storefront.
“What’s this?”
I moved her in front of me, wrapping my arms around her and resting my chin on her shoulder. “This is your place.”
Her head turned. “What?”
“It’s Anne’s shop. Or will be when Troy does a little bit of remodeling.”
She turned; her eyes wide. “What are you saying?”
A tickle of doubt crept into my gut as I worried that she’d be mad that I’d taken steps to help her with her business.
“I’m saying it’s time to put your dream of a business into action. You have a million designs. It’s time to get them created.”
I held my breath as I waited to see if I overstepped or not.
“You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know. But I wanted to. I want to give you the world, Anne.” I tugged her close. “If you don’t like this place—”
“I love it. Holy crap, Bran. Rodeo Drive.”
I laughed, loving her enthusiasm. “It’s not like you couldn’t afford it.”
“I’d have been more frugal.”
I shook my head. “No frugality for you.”
She kissed me. I let her in and watched her as she took in the shop.
“In the back there’s room for a studio where you can design your watches or whatever. I do have a line on a top watchmaker for you to interview.”
She turned to me, her expression filled with joy. It was what I hoped for. It was my life’s mission to make her this happy all the time.
“Thank you. Oh my God. I can’t believe you did this. Well…I can believe you doing something like this. You’re so generous. But still, I’m shocked.”
Her excitement was like a drug. It made me feel euphoric.
“But I can’t take this.”
My euphoria dropped. “What? Why?”
She took my hands. “I need to build it myself. I need to give your money back too. There is no deal anymore. You said it yourself.”
“What’s mine is yours, Anne. Let’s just rip up the contract, and the money is yours because I love you and want you to build your dreams.”