All I've Waited For

he was the very opposite of what one would picture as a wedding planner. But this business had been his wife’s dream, and when she’d passed, he’d quit his job as a trucker and taken up her mantle, whipping up some of the most fabulous events Walker Beach had ever seen.
“Great. So, what did you want to talk about?” Ashley crossed her legs, then uncrossed them again.
“The future.” Kyle sighed. “I’m getting older, and as you know, the pace of this business can be stressful. Hiring you on has helped tremendously, but I’ve found myself more and more ready for a rest.”
Ashley released a whoosh of air. Nothing she’d done wrong, then. “I understand needing a vacation.” Kyle always seemed to have everything well in hand, but she really wasn’t surprised by his stress level given his business’s success and the way he held tight to the reins—even those he’d given Ashley charge over. “Are you planning to go soon? I can handle the Whitman wedding and the Dreyfuss anniversary party on my own, no problem.”
“No, Ashley. What I’m saying is that I’ve decided to retire.”
“What? When?”
“In about two months. Late June sometime.”
“I see.” Her days wouldn’t be the same without him here. Kyle could be gruff at times, and he expected a lot from her, but really he was just a big softie underneath all that bluster.
But wait. What was she thinking? This was his company. “What’s going to happen to the business?” Was she about to be out of a job?
Or maybe … maybe the chance to live out her childhood dreams was finally here.
For years, Ashley had wanted to start her own wedding planning business. After getting a bachelor’s in event management online while busing tables at Froggies—her aunt and uncle’s pizza parlor and arcade—she’d worked as an assistant event planner for the city of Walker Beach. A great experience, but she’d always longed to focus on weddings. So when Kyle had opened a position at Whimsical Weddings, she’d jumped at the chance and had loved every minute there.
Sure, she’d do some things differently than he did, and yes, she wished Kyle would trust her to handle some weddings by herself. But the chance to help brides have the most perfect day ever … well, that was right up Ashley’s alley. This job had been a fabulous jumping-off point for that. Yet still her desire lingered, tucked away in the corner of her heart for some time in the future when she had the time, energy, and money to devote to it.
But maybe “the future” was now.
Ashley leaned forward in anticipation of Kyle’s response.
He scratched his chin and looked away from her, studying the potted succulent in the corner of the room. It had started blooming since she’d last been in here, its baby pink flowers barely open. Ashley had given it to Kyle on the last anniversary of his wife’s death.
“Cathy started this company thirty years ago, you know. She built it from the ground up, and it meant the world to her.” His voice always went soft when he spoke of his wife.
“I know.” Cathy, who had been friends with her parents, was one of the kindest, gentlest souls Ashley had ever met.
“She always talked about leaving the business to our children, but …” Kyle cleared his throat.
Somehow, she remembered overhearing Cathy and Mom talking on the couch one day when Ashley was about ten. Cathy had cried and cried over yet another failed adoption.
Now, Ashley resisted the urge to cross the room and hug Kyle. Her boss probably wouldn’t appreciate the sympathy, which he would undoubtedly interpret as pity. “What’s your plan, then?” They may not be related by blood, but Kyle was a mentor to her, someone she trusted to steer her in the right direction in more than just business, and she’d like to think he thought of her as a kind of daughter—or at the very least, as a friend.
Were they on the same page? Was Kyle going to leave her the business?
Ashley gripped the sides of her chair, her stomach fluttering.
“I have a niece in San Francisco. She’s always been interested in event planning. Even interned with us several years back.”
The words punched Ashley in the gut. “Oh.” It was a miracle she could get the response past her lips.
“Are you all right? You look pale.”
“I’m fine.” What could she say? He had every right to do what he wanted with his business. “So, you’ve asked her then? She wants to move here and take it over?”
Frowning, he lifted the hat off his head and fanned himself. “Not yet, no. But I plan to go up and see my sister tomorrow, and her daughter will be there. Thought it better to talk about in person.”
So Ashley still had a shot—but should she take it? Cathy had wanted to keep the business in the family, and Ashley should respect that. She’d just let it go. “I hope the conversation goes well.”
Kyle’s hawk eyes studied her. “And if she doesn’t want it, well …”
Ashley’s gaze collided with his. “You aren’t going to close the business, are you?” He couldn’t, wouldn’t, not when it had meant so much to Cathy.
Not when it meant so much to Ashley—the chance it represented, anyway.
“I don’t know that I have a choice.” Kyle folded his hands over his stomach. “Not unless …”
Somehow Ashley had scooted to the front edge of her seat. “Unless what?”
“Unless there was someone else who wanted it.”
“Yes!” Ashley felt her eyes widen at the intensity of her declaration and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Kyle chuckled. “So you might be interested in buying me out?”
Her chest deflated. “I don’t have the funds to do that.” Maybe she could get a business loan, though. Something. “But if you give me a chance to look into it, I’d be interested.” She paused. “Very interested. It … it would be a dream, actually.”
“Is this some whim or something you’ve thought about before?”
“I never really thought about