Luca Chessman has been longing for love his entire life. The only problem is-he can't seem to find a guy that likes him the same way.
With his family cafe, Chessman's, struggling to keep afloat and no help from the bank, he's slowly accepting the d...
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I told Hazel I would take her out for dinner so that I can get a better understanding of her vision. I've spent a lot of time with Luca and not enough time with the person who actually owns the cafe.
It is her family business after all and I don't want to do any wrong to the cafe. I want her input on everything, including what colour she wants the walls and what decorations she wants to hang.
That isn't any of my business, I'm here to help with increasing their profits.
I took Hazel down to the local hardware store and we got samples of paint that she likes. I noticed that they don't own a car so they can't transport materials as easily as they wish. I told her that I'd help with all of the heavy stuff, if I want to see the cafe transform then I might have to be a taxi service for a little bit but I'm not complaining.
"Did you like those samples?" She asks as she begins eating her starter.
I hum in response. "I liked the light olive green, I think it would go well with cream."
Her smile increases. "I want it to look natural and vibrant at the same time. I thought with all the plants I wish to buy, the colours will morph into one another and it'll make the space look bigger and brighter."
"I like that idea," I agree. "And furniture?"
She lowers her fork. "Oh, I've wanted new furniture for the best part of three years. Ours are so outdated and some of the material is cracking. But funky chairs these days are so damn expensive and I really like the vintage style ones."
"Have you looked in charity shops? I bet they do those sorts of funky, retro chairs at car boot sales too."
"Mmm," she pauses for a moment. "No I haven't. But that is a good suggestion. Thank you, I'll definitely get into it. I want to try and save as much money as possible without the place looking tacky."
I wave off her words. "It can't look tacky, it's already classy and unique but I agree, it just needs a bit of a touch up."
Hazel stares back at me with a smile, the wrinkles around her eyes creasing gently. "I'm so grateful for what you've done for us," she says, beginning to eat again. "I'm sleeping better now that I can pay the mortgage this month without worrying about not being able to pay the electric bill."
The thought of Luca and Hazel going without doesn't sit well with me at all. They put so much time and effort into their business and for them to go home and not be able to heat their own house? It really makes me feel like I need to do more.
"Well, I've been talking to Luca about strategic ways of bringing in more income to the cafe," I tell her.
She exhales a sigh of relief. "Well I'm glad you're discussing that all with him because I know he's far better at all that stuff than I am. My boy has ideas, he's just afraid to voice them."
