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Book: Mail Order Minx: Fountain of Love (Brides of Beckham) by Kirsten Osbourne
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Authors: Kirsten Osbourne
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mortifying. I learned my lesson." She would never lie to him again. She couldn't keep hurting him that way.
He had been thinking hard about what they could do to change things, so that life wouldn't be so hard on her here, and he had an idea, but he wasn't going to bring it up just yet. When she got what she needed to do down, then they'd talk about it.
*****
For Millie, all the days blended together. She worked from the time she woke in the morning until she went to bed at night, with little respite. The only day that was different was Sunday, and it was only different because they had to get up a little earlier to open the restaurant a little later. She felt like she was constantly cooking, but she learned, and she learned well. By her third Monday of marriage, she was able to do all the regular cooking on her own, while Connor did the baking.
She was so proud of herself for her accomplishments that she was all but dancing. She not only cooked all the meals that day, but she also served every single customer. Connor watched her carefully, nodding his encouragement.
At the end of the day, while they were eating their supper, he told her his idea. "I think we should start having the restaurant only open for the lunch rush." He knew she hated the long hours, and he expected her to be excited.
She stared at him in surprise. "But I finally learned that I can do it!" Did he think she couldn't handle the fast pace of running a restaurant?
He nodded. "You can do it. Here's my thinking on the matter, though. I didn't mind working fourteen hour days when I was a single man, but now that I'm married, I want more time with my wife, and I don't want to see my wife work herself into an early grave. I know many women work those hours, but I don't want you to have to." He thought about her father never allowing her to work, and how as soon as he married her, she was forced to do nothing but work.
She nodded, before asking, "But don't we need the money from the dinner hour?" How would they make it with the big loss of income? He was right and well over half of their income from the restaurant was made at lunch time, but surely they needed the supper income as well. Especially if they were going to get a house together someday.
He shook his head. "Not with my idea. One fourth of our income comes from the hotel. That will remain steady regardless. Three fourths of what's left of the income comes from our lunch rush. That's very little money that's coming in from supper time. I think we should close during supper, and instead, I will start baking and selling my baked goods. We'll work from six in the morning until three in the afternoon, instead of from six in the morning until eight or nine at night. We'll still put in a good day's work. The bakery should more than make up for the lost income from closing at supper time, and should even bring in more money."
She thought about his suggestion for a moment. "When would you want to start this?" She liked the idea of working shorter days. She would do what was necessary, but having more time with her husband would certainly be a welcome change.
"Well, I think one more week of this, but we'll post on the door that the new hours will start on Monday of next week. We'll also post about the baked goods starting Monday of next week. People are always asking to buy my pies, and we never have enough. That way I could do custom cakes as well." He grinned, liking the idea of being able to use his creativity on cakes.
"I like the idea. In fact, I love it." She took his hand across the small table. "My favorite part is getting to spend extra time with my husband." She wound her fingers through his, smiling at him as their eyes met.
He brought her hand to his lips. "I like that part too."
He wrote up a sign that they put on the front door, letting people know of the new hours and the bakery
He had been thinking hard about what they could do to change things, so that life wouldn't be so hard on her here, and he had an idea, but he wasn't going to bring it up just yet. When she got what she needed to do down, then they'd talk about it.
*****
For Millie, all the days blended together. She worked from the time she woke in the morning until she went to bed at night, with little respite. The only day that was different was Sunday, and it was only different because they had to get up a little earlier to open the restaurant a little later. She felt like she was constantly cooking, but she learned, and she learned well. By her third Monday of marriage, she was able to do all the regular cooking on her own, while Connor did the baking.
She was so proud of herself for her accomplishments that she was all but dancing. She not only cooked all the meals that day, but she also served every single customer. Connor watched her carefully, nodding his encouragement.
At the end of the day, while they were eating their supper, he told her his idea. "I think we should start having the restaurant only open for the lunch rush." He knew she hated the long hours, and he expected her to be excited.
She stared at him in surprise. "But I finally learned that I can do it!" Did he think she couldn't handle the fast pace of running a restaurant?
He nodded. "You can do it. Here's my thinking on the matter, though. I didn't mind working fourteen hour days when I was a single man, but now that I'm married, I want more time with my wife, and I don't want to see my wife work herself into an early grave. I know many women work those hours, but I don't want you to have to." He thought about her father never allowing her to work, and how as soon as he married her, she was forced to do nothing but work.
She nodded, before asking, "But don't we need the money from the dinner hour?" How would they make it with the big loss of income? He was right and well over half of their income from the restaurant was made at lunch time, but surely they needed the supper income as well. Especially if they were going to get a house together someday.
He shook his head. "Not with my idea. One fourth of our income comes from the hotel. That will remain steady regardless. Three fourths of what's left of the income comes from our lunch rush. That's very little money that's coming in from supper time. I think we should close during supper, and instead, I will start baking and selling my baked goods. We'll work from six in the morning until three in the afternoon, instead of from six in the morning until eight or nine at night. We'll still put in a good day's work. The bakery should more than make up for the lost income from closing at supper time, and should even bring in more money."
She thought about his suggestion for a moment. "When would you want to start this?" She liked the idea of working shorter days. She would do what was necessary, but having more time with her husband would certainly be a welcome change.
"Well, I think one more week of this, but we'll post on the door that the new hours will start on Monday of next week. We'll also post about the baked goods starting Monday of next week. People are always asking to buy my pies, and we never have enough. That way I could do custom cakes as well." He grinned, liking the idea of being able to use his creativity on cakes.
"I like the idea. In fact, I love it." She took his hand across the small table. "My favorite part is getting to spend extra time with my husband." She wound her fingers through his, smiling at him as their eyes met.
He brought her hand to his lips. "I like that part too."
He wrote up a sign that they put on the front door, letting people know of the new hours and the bakery
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