Page 23 of Change of Plans

“Construction is a pain in the ass,” I said, borderline pissed off with my best friend. “The noise, the dirt, the blocked-off road.”

“Is the road actually going to be blocked off?” Brian asked, holding up his hand to keep me from going on.

“It will have to be,” I said. “Isn’t that what the flier that the guy who came in here the other day gave to Gilbert said?”

“Is it?” Brian asked.

I didn’t want to admit that I’d barely looked at the flier, or that I hadn’t understood what I was looking at when I scanned the thing. Admitting that came way too close to admitting that maybe I wasn’t actually smart enough to understand the implications of the project.

“Hold that thought,” Brian said, pushing away from the counter and heading off to the side, toward the office.

He was only gone for a minute. When he came back, he had the flier with him. He set it on the counter, and the two of us stood shoulder-to-shoulder, looking at it. Not only did it announce the project was going forward and set out a timeline, it had a map of the area, including the streets that would be blocked off so construction equipment could get to the site.

“See?” I said, pointing at the part of the map that showed Glenside Ave blocked off. “Forget parking, we’re barely going to be able to get any foot traffic once this mess starts.”

Brian hummed and frowned at the flier. “It doesn’t look good,” Brian said. He straightened and looked at me. “But that’s not Theo’s fault. My guess is the construction company came up with the plans for working on the site and closing off the road. Definitely not him.”

A new wave of guilt tickled my insides. “Are you saying that I ruined a perfectly good date night by getting mad at my potential boyfriend for something that wasn’t his fault, and I walked out on him unnecessarily?”

“You walked out on him?” Brian asked, then shook his head. “Dude.”

“I was upset,” I defended myself, but I suddenly wasn’t sure I was worthy of that defense. “He hit a nerve.”

“Did he know he hit that nerve? Did he actually try to hit it? Or did you let a whole other issue ruin a good time because, I don’t know, you were getting cold feet or something?”

I slumped, leaning my hip against the counter and staring at the flier. “I really like him. It makes my day when he comes in here to order his boring coffee every morning.”

“And maybe you didn’t want to ruin that by turning that fantasy into a reality? One that might disappoint you?”

“Dude. Stop being all wise and therapeutic like that,” I teased him. Because he was probably right. It’d been so long since I was this interested in anyone. I might have built Theo up in my head a little too much before we finally took the step of going out.

“So what do you want to do?” Brian asked. “Do you want to let this project and some insecurity get in the way of you having what could be a life-changing relationship? Or do you want to deal with things and take a shot at love?”

I couldn’t help but grin over how dramatic those questions sounded.

Instead of answering, I looked at the map on the flier again. “Right. Hear me out. Maybe this is crazy, but why did they decide to close the road off here—” I pointed at the map, “when they might actually be able to bring in construction equipment from the other side, here?” I pointed at a different spot on the map.

“I have no idea,” Brian said. “It would make more sense to close a residential street instead of a major road, if they have to close a road at all.”

“I wonder if anyone has even thought of maybe making the construction entrance here.” I pointed at another spot on the map.

Brian shrugged. “I have no idea, but it seems like that would work to me.”

“It would,” I said, certain of it. “So who do we have to talk to in order to get them to change things?”

Brian looked at me and smirked. “I think you know the answer to that.”

It hit me then that Brian was right. I could talk to Theo about our idea to change the construction entrance so it wouldn’t hurt the café and the other businesses on our street.

Theo, who I’d walked out on the night before. Theo, who I wanted more than I was comfortable with. He really was the kind of man who could change my life, in more ways than one. He was so sweet and smart. We got along so well in all sorts of settings. He was the kind of man I could see myself spending the rest of my life with.

If I hadn’t messed everything up last night just because I’d been feeling a little insecure.

“There’s only one way to find out,” I sighed, shifting back to stand near the front of the counter as a few new customers came in. “I’m going to have to go back to Theo and grovel a little over the way I walked out on him, and then I’m going to have to ask for his help.”

CHAPTER 8

Theo