Page 57 of Bolt (Iron Thunder MC 1)
I watched as my brother walked out of the cafe and I had no idea when I would see him next. Carol came up to me, she looked sorry.
“Everything okay?” she asked. Through the glass, I could see Chip crossing the street to the other side. I turned to Carol. I hadn’t told her yet about my plan to sell the cafe. So I smiled for now.
“It will be,” I replied.I felt unsettled after Chip left. It didn’t make me feel good that things were still strained between my brother and me, but it was a decision he made. Not me. I was still trying my best to help him. He didn’t think Bolt was good for me. He wanted our relationship to end and that just wasn’t something I could do for him.
Only time would help him see this was the right decision.
That—combined with the fact that I had now decided to sell the cafe—made the day go slow.
When Bolt showed up at the cafe, I was relieved to see him.
“Hi babe,” he said, walking straight up to me.
There was nobody else in here other than Carol, and Bolt looked around disappointedly.
“Business slow today too?” he asked. I shrugged.
“Everyone’s skeptical of coming in here these days.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about it anymore,” he said. “Everybody I know is going to come here for coffee. And I know a lot of people. Give it a few weeks and this place is quickly going to get just as packed as before.”
This was good news. I smiled at him, and when I looked at Carol, she was smiling too. I knew exactly what she was thinking—more sexy men like Bolt were going to start hanging out here! Jackpot!
It was sweet that he was doing this for me, to help my business, but I hadn’t told him yet how my plan was to sell this place.
“Thank you, Bolt. That will really help,” I said instead.
“What’s wrong, babe? Everything okay?” he asked. Maybe he could see the sadness and worry in my eyes. I wasn’t exactly hiding it well.
“It’s Chip; he came to see me today,” I said. Bolt’s brows crossed.
“What did he want?”
“Clearly, his only reason to see me was to try and convince me to break up with you.”
He stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
“What do you think I told him to do?”
A smile spread across Bolt’s face.
“Good, I didn’t doubt it for a second.”
Seeing him smile was all I needed to lift my spirits. I looked into his eyes as he leaned over the counter to kiss me. I was feeling better already. I wasn’t even thinking about Chip anymore. I was thinking about how amazing my life with Bolt was going to look.
All I needed to do now was take care of the house and then everything else would be settled.
“I have something to tell you, Bolt, about this cafe,” I said, looking up into his eyes.
“It’ll have to wait because I have a surprise for you first,” he interjected.
“A surprise?”
“You’ll have to come with me for it.”
“Go where with you?”
“You’ll see.”
I told Carol to close up here and I followed Bolt out to his bike.
“Are you going to give me a hint?” I asked.
“No,” he replied, smiling.
I got on his bike, clinging to him as usual, and he took us over to my family home.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, getting off. It was strange that I’d spent the whole morning thinking about this place and now this was where Bolt had brought me.
“I wanted you to be standing here, at the door, when I gave you the news,” he said. I followed him up the steps of the porch to the door I knew so well.
“What news? What is going on?” I could feel my stomach clenching with anticipation. Why were we here? What could he possibly have to tell me, right here?
Bolt stood in front of me, looking deep into my eyes.
“You don’t have to worry about this house anymore, Cassie. It’s yours, ours…”
“What are you talking about, Bolt?”
“I paid off the double mortgages. I spent all morning at the bank. It’s all done. You’ll be receiving the paperwork in the post soon.”
I stood staring at him with my mouth wide open.
“Are you serious?”
“Never been more serious in my life,” he replied.
I fell into his arms and he lifted me up, twirling me around. We were kissing and laughing and hugging each other tightly.
“I can’t believe this…” I cried. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say that you’ll move in here with me. That we’ll raise our children here together. This will be our home now,” he said.
I couldn’t stop kissing him. This felt like a dream. How did he do it? How did he know exactly what to do to make me happy? I didn’t even have to ask for it, not even so much as drop hints.
