More surprises...?

Shrinking back from Cameron I steadied myself and took a few deep breaths. Hayden really didn’t have anything to be mad about, if anything I should be the one who was frustrated. He was so short with me, always irritated about one thing or another.

“Well, guess that would be your cue to go. Looks like he has been waiting for you to get home,” Cameron

remarked, echoing my thoughts and pulling back into forward position and giving Hayden a slight nod.

“Guess I better.” Reluctantly I pulled open the door and stepped outside. It was a beautiful night really, and regardless of his attitude, I wanted to tell Hayden my good news.

Looking over towards me, and yet avoiding eye contact, Hayden glanced toward Cameron returning his nod of acknowledgement, and then went inside.

Pushing forward I walked up the front steps and into his townhome. Instantly hitting me was the smell of Hayden. He smelled like cinnamon and firewood, with an earthy undertone. Being in his house, there was no way of escaping it, and the scent literally made me weak in the knees. Had I been paying better attention to my surroundings, and less time lusting after my boyfriend, I would have picked up on the trail of violet rose petals leading up the front porch.

Halting and spinning around after finally noticing I walked back and allowed myself to follow the trail. Winding past his kitchen counter and into the bedroom I noticed the familiar flickering of candles through the crack in his door. My heart kicked up a few notches, and I took off my coat and hung it up on the antique coat rack I had bought Hayden on our last anniversary, smiling at the memory of him walking in

and finding it set up.

“I really do love that coat rack” Hayden remarked, smirking as he watched me looking at it, knowing exactly which memory I was caught up in.

Startled I looked up to find Hayden leaning against his bedroom doorframe with a look on his face like the cat who ate the canary. “What are you smiling about over there? Aren’t you supposed to be mad at me,” although the last remark came out breathless as I focused on the more finer points of him. Starting from the floor up I noticed the muscles in his legs flexing slightly as he shifted on his toes, to his abs flexing back and forth as he reached toward me.

“I’m smiling because you look absolutely sexy right now babe. Did you have a good day?” He retorted, chuckling to himself.

“As a matter of fact I did, and it looks like it is about to get better,” I reasoned, waving my hands over the petals, and finishing off with a glance at the now open door.

“You better believe it is,” and with that he closed the gap between us wrapping his arms around me, sliding his fingers up my shirt.

“Mmm, sometimes there is nothing better than having a great day, and coming home to you.”

“I know babe,” Hayden murmured into my hair, “but what I really want, is to hear about his amazing day you had.”

“You won’t even believe it. It was the most amazing thing.”

“Try me Liv,” pulling me into the bedroom.

Inside was beautiful, there were candles all along the top shelves he had lining the dark gray walls, inside mason jars of different heights. Along the windowsill were three vases filled with violet, red, and white roses, each with a ribbon of the alternating colors, and a single string of crystals wrapped around. In between the vases were more candles, reflecting off the crystals casting small sparkles onto the walls. The bed was covered in even more petals, and it single handedly had to be one of the most beautiful things anyone had ever done for me.

Bashfully Hayden’s upper lip lifted into the smallest of smiles, the one that I like to think he reserved just for me, “Well, what do you think? Is this the proper setting for you to tell me about your amazing thing?”

“It is more than that, what is all this?” Laughing a slipped off my shoes and laid onto the bed.

“I knew.” A simple enough statement, and yet it caught me completely caught me off guard.

“Knew what, exactly?”

“I knew about Maggie, and Cameron, and the shop, the deal, I knew about it all.”

“Are you kidding me right now Hayden?” I couldn’t decide if I was irritated at him for fooling me, elated that he hadn’t actually been mad at me, or frustrated that I didn’t get to tell him my news myself.

“Liv, don’t get mad. I didn’t mean to spoil your fun of telling me yourself, I just don’t like keeping things from you.”

Standing up I walked over to Hayden and rested my hands up on his shoulders, “Hayden…”

Surprise Surprise...

--I know I've been MIA for almost a year now...its been a really tough year for my family, but I'm really looking forward to getting back on track with this blog. Please comment and let me know what you think of the story thus far. :0) -Liv

“What do you mean not the only surprise..?” I stammered as I entered the shop and instantly became engrossed in the perfect balance of old fashioned-ness and elegance it upheld.

“I said, Maybe. Now, go look around, enjoy” Cameron essentially said to my back as I was well beyond listening at that point.

I feel like sometimes there are places in this world where someone really feels at home. A place where even though it is absolutely not your home, the sights and smells have a calming and soothing affect on your soul. This was my place.

I love ever nook and cranny-- every cobweb and discarded piece of furniture. I don’t mean to make the place sound like a dump, because it absolutely, is not, it is just not perfect either. Actually, that fact is probably the best thing about it. I think things in life are a little better with imperfections, less expectations, and more room for forgiveness and improvements.

Running my hand along a “new” (to the shop) dresser, I idled and opened the drawer. Gasping I reached down further and pulled out the paper inside, “Olivia”.

Spinning around grasping the paper in my hand I looked back at Cameron and Maggie who were looking back at me eagerly.

“Go on hun, open it” Maggie pressed.

Lifting off the top page, I looked down at the deed to the shop, written out to me.

“Seriously?” was about all I could choke out. This can’t even be real. There was just no way that the shop was going to be mine.

“Seriously.” Maggie chuckled back, waving me to come back to the front counter. Handing me a piece of candy she looked at me expectantly as I sat down.

“This is so unbelievable. So-so-…” I couldn’t even find the words to express the emotions running through me. “What’s the catch?”

Cameron sat down next to me and let out an exasperated sigh, “There is no catch Liv, this is real,

sometimes good things happen to good people”.

“Really, Olivia,” Maggie chimed in, “after all the years I have known you, you think I would play some cruel trick on you and include a catch with this arrangement.”

“I just am having a hard time believing that all of this is real, and that this could be happening to me. I mean I want this, so much, but I don’t understand..”

Maggie sat down in front of the bar and leaned forward slowly placing her fingertips together, “So let me explain”.

And explain she did. To sum it all up she simply cannot handle the shop anymore and the agreement is for a 60/40 partnership on the business for the next year. After one year if she is happy the deed to the shop will become under my name only, and the percentage of profit increasing in my favor 10 percent for the next four years, after which Maggie and her family will be given 20% of the profits (as it was their business to begin with) with as much interaction as needed per my request. Amazing is really what I would describe it as.

Shaking hands with Maggie I turned and walked away from the counter, leaving her and Cameron to discuss the finer points of our contract. I began up the first isle and immersed myself in every detail, taking pride in the fact that this was going to become mine. Wondering if a new paint color here, a rearrangement of furniture there would bring in a new clientele.

After what felt like minutes, but was more along the line of hours, Cameron walked up behind me resting his arms on a particularly lovely mirror, gold with small rosettes painted along the inside of the hand carved details, and reminded me that the real world was calling to him, and as fun as watching me think is, he’d like to get going home.

The car ride home was quiet at peaceful as I was still immersed in thoughts of my future. It wasn’t until Cameron pulled up in front of Hayden’s that my heart started pounding a little harder. And at the first sight of the scowl on his face, my stomach became filled with butterflies.

As Cameron put the car in park, he leaned over and kissed my cheek, a familiarity with him that was second nature and I hadn’t previously minded, until I looked off and saw Hayden’s scowl darken.