What Timber found most interesting was how Brian said Linda reacted when he mentioned wanting to invest in Carlos’s restaurant. She was totally against it and thought it would be a complete waste of money, and was beyond disappointed when he invested anyway. Then, when he decided to partner with Carlos, she really lost it and felt as though Brian should have consulted with her first. He figured that the real reason she was upset was because it meant he’d be spending even less time with her than he already had been. Not to mention she was convinced that the business would fail.
Timber just sat in silence as Brian spoke. She didn’t have to say a word. He could barely look her in the eye as he held his hands up and smiled sheepishly.
“I know, I know. It’s karma. I had it coming. But I apologized to you for the way I acted, didn’t I? So stop looking at me like that!”
Timber and Brian both broke out into laughter, then chatted a little while longer while they finished their tea.
Brian set his cup down and looked at his watch. “I didn’t realize how late it was,” he said before standing up. “I’d better get going.”
“Thank you again for dinner. It was excellent,” Timber said, walking Brian to the door.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad you agreed to join me. I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in a really long time.”
“Neither have I.”
Timber and Brian stood at the door, staring into each other’s eyes. He took a step towards her and placed his hands on her waist. And then, just as he bent down to kiss her, Timber’s cell phone rang and vibrated simultaneously inside her pocket, startling the both of them.
“Oh!” she said, grabbing her phone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize my ringer was on.” She looked down at the incoming call then back up at Brian. “It’s Eva.”
“Of course it is.” He laughed. “Go ahead and answer it. I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before leaving.
Timber picked up the call, knowing that Eva would have a thousand questions about her evening. But she wasn’t the only one with questions. Because now Timber was wondering what tonight meant for her and Brian, and where things between them would go from here; especially considering he still had a girlfriend….
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“You will never know how sorry I am,” Alex insisted.
“Oh, believe me, I know how sorry you are,” Timber replied, hoping that he had caught on to what she really meant by that.
Weeks had passed since Alex’s return from Australia, and he’d refused to stop contacting her. He had resorted to calling and texting and emailing constantly, begging her to hear him out. When she received the tenth floral arrangement in one week, she finally took his call.
“Those women didn’t mean anything to me, Timber. Don’t you know that? You’re the only woman who matters. There was nothing going on with any of them. We were just friends, and being seen together for publicity!”
“Alex, do you really expect me to believe that? I saw the pictures. You and those women seemed to be way more than just friends. And what about Alana? The woman who answered your hotel room phone and couldn’t seem to stop using your razor?”
“The water had gotten shut off in her room! That’s the only reason she was there. And we were waiting on our call time, so she answered the phone thinking it was a production assistant, calling to let us know that the director was ready for us.”
“Oh, you’re good.” Timber smirked, shaking her head in utter disbelief. “Well what about Sasha? You claimed to not even really know her when we saw her at the listening party.”
“Sasha? Please….” Alex said condescendingly. “That was nothing. I ran into her when I was out at an event, and we just so happened to get photographed together. That’s it. But blogs are messy and thrive on gossip and drama, whether it’s true or not. That’s how they grow their traffic and get paid. You know how the game is played.”
“Alex, I don’t believe anything you’re saying to me right now,” Timber said firmly. “The bottom line is you made a promise to me to be monogamous and you broke that. I can’t be with a man who I can’t trust.”
“Timber, I’m telling you. You can trust me. I haven’t done anything but love you and only you since we started dating. And you should know that I haven’t been seeing anyone since you left me. All of my time and energy has gone into getting you back.”
“Well you’re wasting your time and energy, because that’s not going to happen,” Timber said coolly as she emailed an updated ingredients list for her professional line of products over to the manufacturer’s lab.
Timber was so pleased with the progress that she was making in the opening of the Soothing Bliss store and spa. The furniture and equipment that she’d ordered had arrived earlier that week. The manufacturer was ready to ship out the first round of products that she’d be selling in the store. And construction plans were already underway for the spa area, which would start off with updated manicure and pedicure stations, then move on to adding facial and massage areas.
“Are you listening to me?” Alex asked as Timber heard her doorbell ring.
“Not really,” she said, running upstairs.
“Timber…I love you,” Alex uttered almost inaudibly.
She chose to ignore that last statement and looked through the peephole to see who was at the door, expecting it to be a delivery service. It wasn’t. It was Alex, standing there with a pitiful look on his face and a bouquet of orchids in his hand.
“What are you doing here?” Timber said into the phone.
“Can I please come in?”
“Why?”
“Because I need to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going crazy, Timber. I need you in my life. You can’t do this to me. Please let me in. Please?” Alex begged.
Timber threw open the door. “The only reason I’m letting you in is because you’re embarrassing me in front of my neighbors.”
“Thank you.” Alex sniffled as he walked in and looked around. “I really miss being here. But more than that, I really miss you.” He attempted to hug her, but she took a step back.
“Wow, am I that bad?” Alex asked with pain in his voice.
“Yes, you are. Now will you please—”
“Wait,” Alex interrupted, his eyes squinting as he glared at Timber suspiciously. “This is about that Barry guy, isn’t it? You’re seeing him again, aren’t you?”
“First of all, his name is Brian.”
“Whatever his name is—”
“Secondly,” she interjected, “It isn’t any of your business who I’m seeing. So again I ask, will you please leave?”
“Come on, Timber. You don’t want to do this. Don’t you know how much I love you? I wouldn’t be going through all of this if I didn’t. And I definitely wouldn’t have made the effort to be the driving force behind you opening the Soothing Bliss store if I didn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Timber said as her head spun from Alex’s claim. “Excuse me?”
“What?” Alex asked confusingly. “You do know that if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had the courage or the motivation to open the store.”
“Alex, are you being serious right now? I’m the one who shared with you the news that I wanted to move Soothing Bliss into a commercial space back when we first met.”
“The thought may have come and gone, but it never would have come to fruition without me.”
“How is that, Alex? You had nothing to do with it. You’ve never even helped me. Not once. All you did was make me feel like I wasn’t good enough for you without the store!” Timber said, her voice rising.
“Whoa, hey, whatever you say,” Alex said, moving in closer. “Look, I didn’t come here to argue about your company. I came here to tell you how much I love you and—”
“Get out,” Timber interrupted.
“What?”
“You heard me. Get. Out.”
; “Do you have any idea who I am and what you’re doing?”
“I know exactly who you are, which explains exactly what I’m doing,” Timber said as she opened the door.
“You’re going to regret this,” Alex told her, walking out slowly. “And when you come running back to me, I can’t guarantee that I’ll be willing to take you back.”
“Goodbye, Alex,” Timber said before slamming the door behind him.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“I am so excited,” Eva squealed after she greeted three customers who walked through the door of Soothing Bliss’s grand opening. “You got such a great turnout.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Timber smiled as she looked around. The store was packed. And beautiful. Her products filled frosted glass shelves, countertops, and tables. Customers were lined up in the back of the store by the registers, their shopping baskets filled to the brims. Anne and the two other women she’d hired were ringing everyone up. Timber and Eva were working the floor, answering customers’ questions and encouraging them to try out various samples.
“Look who’s here,” Eva said to Timber. She looked up and saw Brian walk through the door. He was carrying a huge bouquet of red roses.
Timber’s face lit up at the sight of him. “Hey, I’m so glad you could make it!” she said as he approached and handed her the flowers. “Thank you. These are beautiful.”
“A beautiful bouquet for a beautiful occasion. Thank you for inviting me,” he said, leaning in and hugging her, then Eva, then looking around admiringly. “Timber, this place looks incredible. You really outdid yourself.”
“Thank you.” Timber smiled. “I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Can I show you around?”
“Of course. I’d love to see everything,” Brian said, following Timber as she led him through the crowd towards her office.
“You know you could’ve brought your girlfriend with you had you wanted,” Timber said.
“That probably wouldn’t have been a good idea. She knows how tough our breakup was for me, and how much you mean to me. I wouldn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. Or threatened….”
“I don’t see any reason why she should feel threatened,” Timber said.
“I do.”
Timber looked up at Brian and felt herself melting beneath the sincere gaze in his eyes. She turned away before completely falling under his spell and led him inside of her office.
“This is really nice,” he said, looking around and taking in the plush, warm décor.
“Thanks. I actually designed this space myself. Come on, let me take you down to the basement.”
The pair headed downstairs, and as they walked through the space, Brian shook his head approvingly. “This is the perfect setup. The equipment looks like serious business though. Are you sure you know what you’re doing down here?” he joked.
“Of course I do.” Timber laughed as they finished touring the space, then headed up to the third floor.
“Now this area is still being worked on,” Timber explained, “But it’s where the day spa will be located. Manis, pedis, facials, massages, the whole nine.”
“Wow. This is so impressive, Timber. You can’t imagine how proud and happy I am for you.”
“I can imagine.” Timber smiled, “And I appreciate that.” She reached out and hugged him, her eyes getting a little teary. “It’s been quite a road for us, hasn’t it?”
“It certainly has,” he replied, hugging her tightly.
When the pair finally released their embrace and headed back downstairs, Timber noticed that the crowd had grown even larger. She turned to Brian with wide eyes, and he smiled at her happily.
“It looks like you’d better get back to work,” he said.
“It does,” Timber agreed. “Are you going to be able to stick around?”
“I actually need to head to the restaurant. Our manager called off sick and Carlos has been working nonstop, so I volunteered to cover the shift.”
“Okay,” Timber said, surprised at how disappointed she felt that Brian was already leaving. “Well, I’m glad you could make it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it. Hey, we should get together again soon.”
“I’d like that. We could go back to Bistro 57.”
“Next week?”
“That should work. I need to check my schedule first and I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”
“Look at you, having to pencil me in now.” Brian laughed.
“Well, I do have all this going on!” she said, holding her arms out at her sides and looking around the store.
“I know you do. Just let me know.”
“I will,” Timber promised, giving Brian one last hug.
After he left, she walked through the store and assisted customers until there were only a few shoppers left. Once they’d been checked out, Eva approached her and pointed at her watch.
“It’s almost six o’clock, boss. Should I have Anne and the girls start cleaning up?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Timber said, taking a deep breath and looking around. Several of the shelves were practically bare. “And would you please ask one of them to bring more products up from downstairs and restock the shelves while I lock the door?”
“Will do. Thank goodness you’ve got more interviews scheduled next week, because judging from the way business went today, you’re going to need the help. And needless to say, Soothing Bliss is off to an amazing start!” Eva exclaimed, giving Timber a huge hug. “Congratulations, girl!”
“Thank you! And you know I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without you.”
“Yes you would have. But I’m happy to help and glad to be a part of it all.”
“You’re the best,” Timber said, heading to the front of the store to lock up, then to the back to cash out. As she stood at the registers and emptied them, she took a moment to look around and take it all in, and gave herself credit for taking her wildest dream and making it a reality.
Chapter Thirty
It had been three months since the opening of Soothing Bliss, and business was on a roll. Timber could barely stock the shelves before the products went flying off and more had to be ordered. The spa was already up and running, and because her professional line of products had been prepared and packaged earlier than she’d anticipated, the technicians were already using them on their clients.
Today had been a long day. Several clients came in late for their appointments, so Timber had to stay even later than normal to close up. In the meantime she had plenty to do to keep busy, and once everything had been completed, she exhaustedly drove home. She was too tired to even eat dinner, and all she could think about was crawling into bed and calling it a night.
Even though running the store and spa had been more grueling than Timber had imagined, she was beyond ecstatic with the success of it all. The location was absolutely perfect, she’d built an impressive roster of regular shoppers and spa clients, and even her accountant was shocked at the profits that the company was bringing in. So as far as Soothing Bliss was concerned, Timber could not have been happier.
As for her personal life, she and Brian’s friendship was going strong. He was still seeing his girlfriend, even though they barely seemed to spend any time together. But for whatever reason, the couple was hanging in there with one another. He and Timber had managed to keep their relationship strictly platonic, and she’d honestly been too busy to even think about wanting anything more with him.
Brian, on the other hand, liked to drop little hints here and there about the two of them getting back together. But Timber never really took him seriously, especially considering he was in a relationship.
As for Alex, he’d call and text on occasion, but Timber ignored him. After all that he’d put her through, she couldn’t believe that he had the audacity to reach out to her. She’d heard through Eva that his last two movies bombed at the box office, and that his agent had dropped him. So his career was in limbo, an
d he was probably feeling sorry for himself and looking to her for sympathy. But Alex wasn’t someone who Timber wanted in her life, even as a friend. And while she’d been glad that he was gone, their difficult breakup had taken quite a toll on her. Thank goodness she had Soothing Bliss to keep her occupied and happy, which certainly helped to ease the pain, along with her remarkable friendship with Eva and her reuniting with Brian.
Timber pulled into her driveway and willed herself to get out of the car and into the house. She grabbed her mail on the way in, dropped her things in the bedroom, and headed to the bathroom to shower quickly. When she was done Timber climbed into bed, scrolled through her phone and answered only the most pressing texts and emails that she’d received that day. Everything else would have to wait until tomorrow.
Before drifting off to sleep, Timber shuffled through her mail and tossed the majority of it aside. But when she saw a letter from her landlord she opened it immediately, hoping that he wasn’t planning on increasing her rent considering it was already over her budget. When she opened the letter and scanned its contents, Timber realized that a rent increase would have been good news compared to what she had just read.
The letter had come from the landlord’s son. He was writing to inform Timber that his father had passed away, and unlike his dad and the generations before him, the son had no intentions of keeping the property where Soothing Bliss was currently located in the family. The son was already in negotiation with a buyer who had plans of turning the space into an art gallery, and was looking to close on the property and begin renovations as soon as possible. The son made it clear that if the deal went through, Timber would need to vacate the space immediately.
The Road To Bliss Page 20