“Holy, shit,” Tony said.
I smirked. If I weren’t driving, I would have taken a picture of the looks on their faces.
I parked the car and Sienna barely waited until we came to a complete stop. She stumbled out of the car stared at the brand new diner in the same place the old one had once stood.
“How—when—how—?” she stammered.
Tony and I got out of the car and went to her side.
“Parker, man, this is uh—” Tony said, now speechless too.
“You told me to get a hobby….” I said to Sienna.
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “I could kill you right now.”
I put my arm around her. “I know.”
She squeezed me tight against her. For such a lithe woman, she was very strong.
I’d had the architect update the diner with better materials and equipment. The outside wouldn’t need to be painted as often, and I’d installed several fire safety features as well as increasing the amount of insurance on the place. If Sienna ever lost the diner again, she’d have more than enough to rebuild on her own.
“I know you hate when people help you, so I wanted to propose me being an investor in your company. I expect my rent money to be in by the beginning of each month.”
Sienna raised her eyebrow. “And how much rent are you expecting?”
I took a deep breath for dramatic effect. “I think a dollar sounds sufficient.”
Tony bumped her arm. “I think offering sexual favors might knock it down to fifty cents.”
“Fifty cents?” Sienna laughed. “Is that all I’m worth?”
“Speaking of sexual favors,” I said. “Tony, you can stop being a prostitute now. You weren’t making much money anyway.”
Tony laughed and offered his hand to me. “You’re a good man, Parker. Now how about we go inside? I want to see what you’ve done with the place.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Sienna twined her fingers with mine as we walked up the steps to the diner. I handed her the key and stepped back. I wanted her to experience walking through the front door this first time on her own.
She opened the door and I held it for her and Tony. She walked through, tentatively at first, but with a big grin on her face.
“I wanted to recreate the interior as I remembered it,” I said to Sienna. “But I left it undecorated so you could put your own spin on it.”
She nodded, wide-eyed and her gaze scanned the dining area. “It’s absolutely perfect,” she said.
“Can we look at the kitchen next?” Tony asked. He was buzzing like a little kid on Christmas.
Both of them raced for the kitchen. I went over to the pass-through and leaned in.
I’d had the most fun with the kitchen. I’d had the architect fill it with the highest-end appliances and with the best safety ratings.
Sienna dragged her hand over the shiny surfaces. “Parker, these are really expensive—”
“Only the best for you,” I said.
The corner of her mouth twitched. “Thank you.”
I nodded. How had I ever thought I belonged with anyone else? Sienna was the most selfless and modest woman I’d ever met. She liked to earn her own living. I wasn’t used to that with my other girlfriends. Proving once again that Sienna was one-of-a-kind and I was the luckiest man alive to have her by my side.