“I can see that.” He opened his palm, waiting for me to give him the next decal.
I sighed. “I marked where that’s gonna go.”
He didn’t reply or even acknowledge that I’d spoken, but placed the exactly where I’d marked for it to go.
I took a deep breath. “So, how are you, Rose?” I started. “I’ve been pretty busy with work these last few days, and so have you. How are you? Did you manage to get a good night’s sleep last night? Are you excited about the opening?”
Then I answered myself. “Aww, thank you so much for asking, Jack. I have a killer headache right now, but I can’t complain too much. I did manage to sleep the entire night last night, thank you very much for asking. It was one of the very few good sleeps I’ve had since moving in with you. I guess you went back to your office again last night—how late did you get in? I think I was fast asleep. Also, did you have a good day at work today?”
Finished with the second decal, he glanced down at me with that look of superiority featuring the arched eyebrow he had probably perfected in a meeting room or wherever. It wasn’t helping that he was literally standing over me.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his hand open, waiting for the last one.
I placed Corner in his palm.
“Just having a conversation,” I answered, shrugging.
“With yourself?”
“With you. Since you don’t find me interesting enough to talk to, I’m making it easier for both of us and just doing it by myself. This way you won’t have to trouble yourself with asking random questions and making small talk. Plus, you’re up there, which means you can’t run away from me. So…win-win.”
For a long time, we stared at each other, and I did my best to look innocent. Then he just sighed and shook his head as if I’d lost my mind and he was astonished with himself because he’d married this weird person willingly. He turned back to the window.
“It’s not about not finding you interesting to talk to, Rose. You are probably the most interesting person I’ve ever met. I just don’t think we should get—nevermind I’ve had a long day, too—a long week, actually. That’s all.”
And didn’t that made me feel like a jerk.
“Oh,” I mumbled, shifting in place. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. Anything you want to share?”
“No need to apologize. It’s nothing specific, just lots of meetings and phone calls.”
“I baked some brownies to test out a recipe for opening day. Would you like some? Brownies always make me happy.”
“Maybe after we finish this. Why Around the Corner?”
I tried my best to keep my grin to a minimum but wasn’t sure if I quite managed it. “As Tom Hanks would say, the entrance is Around the Corner.”
“Tom Hanks?”
“I’m a big fan of the movie You’ve Got Mail. I love Meg Ryan’s character and her bookshop was called Around the Corner in the movie. It’s also simple, elegant, and sweet, not just because of the movie, but on its own. I like it. You’ve seen that movie, right? It’s a classic.”
“Can’t say I have.”
“No, Jack. Just no. No husband of mine can answer that question with a no. You have to watch it. Maybe we can watch it together one day when you’re free.”
“Maybe.” He paused, and I thought that would be the extent of our conversation. “It’s good,” he muttered.
“What?” I asked absently, looking out the window as people passed by with their umbrellas. The rain was starting to pick up.
“The name—it’s good for a coffee shop.”
That had my eyebrows rising and my attention going back to Jack. “Really? You think so?”
“Yes, it suits you for some reason, and it sounds like it has a good memory attached to it. You did a really good job around here, Rose. You should be proud.” He looked down. “This is it?” I nodded and he got down. “Good enough?” he asked, looking up at the decals.
I backed up and stood next to him. “It’s more than good enough. It’s perfect. Thank you. Can we do the same for the window at the front?”
Instead of making up an excuse like any other guy would have and leaving when I kept coming up with stuff I could use his help with, like arranging some of the tables and chairs—multiple times—he stayed put, and he complimented my brownies. When we were ready to leave, it had gotten dark out and the rain had started to fall harder. I still had the biggest smile on my face. Partly because of Jack, partly because of everything else. Like magic, Raymond was already waiting at the curb when we locked everything up, and we headed to Jack’s apartment.
On Saturday, I met up with Owen. Sally wasn’t coming in so I couldn’t introduce them, but it was Owen’s first time at the coffee shop with all the furniture set up nicely. I basically held my breath the entire time he was looking around and let out the longest sigh when he finally said he thought it looked amazing. We spent hours talking about what we wanted to do for the first month and created our menu together.