He could live with that. “Well, she did a damn good job of it as far as I can see.”
“Thanks.”
“You should sell these,” Jesse told her, wolfing down another bite of pie.
“That’s the plan.”
He stopped. “Is that right?”
Nodding, she said, “I love baking and I’m good at it.”
“I can testify.”
“I want to open a shop. Pies. Cookies. Cakes.” She paused as if she’d heard the excitement in her own voice and was embarrassed by it. “Well, that’s the dream anyway.”
“With talent like this, it should be more than a dream.”
She smiled and in the dim light, he thought he saw her eyes sparkling. Reaching back behind him, Jesse hit the switch for the overhead light. It was on a dimmer switch, so a soft glow settled over the table and the two people seated there.
“That’s nice.” She looked up at the rustic/industrial chandelier with glass spheres and curved iron arms.
“Yeah. Before dawn I don’t like being stabbed in the eye with light while I drink my coffee.”
She laughed a little and that low, throaty sound did some amazing things to his insides.
“So,” he asked, “why’re you working at the day care when you can cook like this?”
She shrugged. “I needed a job. Besides, I don’t have enough money yet to get a pie shop going.”
“How much do you have?” Jesse didn’t know why he was asking, other than that he wanted to see that excited gleam in her eyes again.
She looked as if she was going to refuse to answer and he couldn’t blame her. Kind of a rude question. But then she took a breath and sighed. “When I sold my grandmother’s mobile home a few years ago, I got fifteen thousand, but I’ll need more than that. So I’ve been saving and in a few years, I should be able to do it.”
He took another bite of the truly great pie and chewed thoughtfully. “We own half of Royal, you know.”
“Congratulations.”
“Not what I meant.” He waved his fork at her. “I think I know a shop on Main Street that would work for you.”
She gasped, clearly stunned, and he enjoyed the moment before she spoke. “Thanks, but like I said, I’ll need more start-up capital to—”
“The shop’s already set up with what you’d need. Used to be a bakery until the owner moved to Michigan for some reason…”
Her fingers tapped on the tabletop and he could see her thinking, wondering, worrying.
“But—”
“And if you need more capital, I can advance it to you.”
“Absolutely not.” She shook her head, squared her shoulders and sat so straight in her chair, it was as if she had a board stuffed down the back of her shirt. “The Sanders family has already set me up in an apartment. I took that because Mac needed it. But I don’t do charity.”
“Good,” he said roughly, keeping his voice stern and businesslike. “Because that’s not what I’m offering. I’ll be your partner.”
CHAPTER SIX
Jillian just stared at him. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How had she gone from bringing Jesse a pie to him offering to set her up in business? And why was she even considering this?
“Silent partner,” he added quickly and took another bite of pie. “I’ll back you and when the shop’s up and going, you can pay me back. Buy me out.”
Excitement shot through her, but she quickly stamped it out, as she would hot sparks before they could start a forest fire. She couldn’t do this. Jesse as a partner? Hadn’t she been telling herself to see less of him? Even if he was a silent partner, she would have to work with him. A lot.
Oh, why was she even considering this? It was crazy. Impossible. “It could take years to pay you back,” she said, firmly shaking her head.
“Not if you’re selling pies like this.” Jesse waved the fork at her. “Once people taste what you can do, you’ll be so busy it’ll make your head spin. The solid truth here is, you make a hell of a pie.”
That idea made her smile and everything in her yearned. Jillian had had this dream of her own shop for so many years now. And since Mac’s birth, the dream had become more fierce. She wanted to have her own business, make her own rules, live her own life and show her baby girl that you could do anything if you were willing to work for it.
She hadn’t expected this. Didn’t have a response ready. Maybe she should have said “no” right off the bat. But the thought of making her dream a reality years sooner than she’d hoped was too tempting to dismiss offhand. Still, she had to know. Understand.