“Be right back.” Cullen grabbed his wallet and headed through the main door of his showroom.

Tori watched closely as a tall, nice-looking, clean-cut man with sandy brown hair appeared from the showroom. He was close in age to the woman from the café. Probably the same age as Tori, maybe a couple of years older. But not by much. Maybe forty, but it was hard to pinpoint. She eyed him walk toward the sandwich shop, nodding at each person passing by. His face lit up when he spotted a striking honey-toned woman with long dark braids, half of which were wrapped around her head. She wore a beautiful purple caftan with exquisite silver and stone jewelry. Tori noticed the woman was coming from a stall that said:

SILVER AND STONE

Probably the owner, Tori thought to herself. It occurred to her that there were several people close to her age who had businesses. Careers. Sure she had a good job, but she had never considered it a career. She couldn’t complain, though. It was so much better than working as a hostess with ungodly hours.

Tori watched as the stunning woman gave a brief nod and smile to the tall, sandy-haired man. Tori thought they could be dating by the way they looked at each other. Something about the man’s face. There was a special light in his eyes. The beautiful woman had a gentle but innocent, maybe even shy look about her. The two people caught up with each other. They were smiling and laughing. Tori tried to remember what that felt like. The man nodded toward the door of the shop he had just left. The woman nodded back in acknowledgment as she placed her hand on his arm. Tori’s feeling was correct. There was some kind of spark.

She watched the woman walk to the corner where the man had come from and go inside. Several minutes later, the man exited the sandwich shop with a large bag and strode to the same door. Must be having lunch together. But what happened to the hippie-looking woman? Tori shrugged and finished her sandwich. Her eyes were fixed on the strange corner shop with the metal sculpture. Maybe she would take a look. She glanced in the direction of the café and calculated that she would be able to spot the woman if or when she returned.

* * *

Cullen strode into the workshop with three sandwiches. One for Luna, one for Chi-Chi, and his favorite sloppy lunch. “Did you bring enough napkins?” Luna teased.

“I’ll have you know that I am not a messy eater,” Cullen shot back.

“No, you are not. But the sandwich has different ideas,” Chi-Chi said with a straight face.