Hi! I know it's been ages, really no excuse other than that I got a bit of writers block and summer was here! :-) Hope to be back on track now.

Thanks for all the new follows and reviews. Let me know if you enjoyed!


Deja put a crate down and wiped her hair back from her face. She turned to Jess. "You have the other one?"

Looking around, Jess nodded. "The car is empty." Curious, she folded a flap back and peeked into the box. "Oh, it's pretty!"

"Right? You don't mind me buying it without conferring?"

"On glassware? Are you insane?"

Rounding the bar of her, their, new café, Deja shrugged. "You're my partner now, Jessie, for better or worse. We're supposed to make these kinds of decisions together."

It had been plain luck, to be honest, that Deja had found the property. She had visited one of her favorite places just around the corner of her old building, when she'd run into the owner, talking to a realtor. As it turned out, the owner wanted to retire and spent more time with his family, and she had caught him just as he had shown the realtor around. Deciding to be bold, Deja had asked if she could look at it. Two hours and a cup of coffee later, she walked out of her new cafe. It was only later, when she talked to Grisha about it, that she thought of asking Jess to fill in Lindy's old position, because running a café was so much easier with two.

The only thing that didn't sit particularly well with Dee was that she couldn't tell Jess the real reason there was no more old Indulge. Grisha was sending Eric and Nell over in a few days, as it was still weeks before the opening, to set up an intricate alarm system that should keep everyone out that didn't need to be there. Dee prayed that it would be enough.

"Well, I decide that I like your taste. Where in the world did you find these?" Jess held a blue-green water glass against the light. "The color is amazing!"

Dee nodded. "I was wandering in one of my favorite thrift-shops, looking for nothing in particular. You know how it goes." She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "They had brought in a few dozen of them, and Gerard thought it might be something for us."

"They're perfect," Jess said, wrapping the glass back in paper. "We have nowhere to store them yet, though. Not before we move all of the old furniture out."

"I know." Deja sighed. "I'll take them back to the car later, but I figured you should see them first." Reaching for her bag, she pulled color swatches for paint and drapery. The rest of the morning was spent talking about colors and how to redecorate the space.

Jess circled tables in a catalog and thoughtfully bit her lip. "It's going to be smaller," she said. "I didn't realize until now that we're adding up numbers. We're not going to have as many tables."

"Yeah," Dee agreed. "On the other hand, we can fit a small bar over the length of the window, with stools, which will give us a few extra seats. But yes, it's a bit smaller than what we had."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing." Jess looked around. "It makes it a bit cozier, I think." She stretched her hands above her head and yawned. "When do you want to do the menu? Can you squeeze it in this week, in between moving?"

"Not really." Deja touched her phone to look at the time. "We're showing the house to Garrison in an hour and a half, for the first time. I spent all day yesterday cleaning it for him, and then Grisha helped pack the last few things yesterday evening. I'll be so glad when the weekend is over and the move is definite."

"I can imagine. You want to push menu's to next week?" Jess leafed through her calendar. "And when are the interviews for the extra waiters again?"

Deja gave her a blank look. "We had planned those?"

"We had." Jess knew exactly when it was growing Deja over her head. Which was now. She chuckled. "Never mind. It's in an email somewhere. You concentrate on moving this weekend, we'll figure all the other stuff out next week, okay?"

Nodding, Deja rolled her eyes. "It's only a few more days. But it's juggling this new venue, with everything that comes with it, and Grisha has been working crazy hours lately, so he's trying to help and squeeze in time to help packing. Thankfully, the painting is all done, and I only have to pack the last few things and take Garrison shopping for new furniture. His kitchen and bathroom took longer than expected, so it's set us back at least a week." She took a deep breath, pushing her hair back. "I just want it to be over so I can concentrate on the fun things again."

"Moving is fun." Jess winked.

"Not when you're moving three things at the same time. It's a bit much. Feels like I'm ready for another vacation."

"It'll be Christmas before you know it."

"Let's hope so." Packing up the swatches and fabric pieces, Deja swung her bag over her shoulder and reached for a crate. "Help me put these back? Are you okay locking up?"

Five minutes later, Dee was on her way to her new house. They had purposely waited to show Garrison their new home. After Grisha decided that he wanted his father to have the guesthouse, they had looked to renovate and put in a new kitchen and update the bathroom. But that had resulted in having to paint the whole thing again, which had pushed their moving date back by two weeks.

Deja was ready for their move to be over, only because that would mean she had room to breathe, and to have her own home again. Not that she minded having Garrison around, but after three months, she wanted her own zone back.

With moving their house, and setting up a new café and everything she had forgotten about setting up again, she hadn't had a lot of time to breathe. Grisha had been gone for three weeks, doing a case in South-America, which he, of course, couldn't help, but Dee had cursed Hetty for having to send him away. Not one to sweat the little things, this was, for once, feeling like she'd bitten of more than she could chew. Thankfully, Garrison had offered to do the packing in their old home, which took something off her plate. There were times Dee hated her 'having-to-be-in-control' persona. She wanted her easygoing self back.

Pulling up to the curb, she couldn't help but smile. It was starting to feel like home. Not seeing Grisha's car, the first thing she did was check the guesthouse. Garrison's house. It was as impeccable as she had left it the day before. Heaving a sigh in relief, Dee went on to the main house. They had yet to tackle the garden, but if there was one thing Dee couldn't be bothered with yet, it was the garden. There would be plenty of time once they were actually living here.

The main house was close to being finished. A handyman was fixing up the last of the list she had given him and the painter only had the downstairs office left to do. For a moment, she reveled in the quiet. Then she heard voices and she went to open the door.

Grisha winked at her. "He's telling me it's too big for the two of us."

"It's perfect," Dee countered. "Come on, Grisha will give you the grand tour, while I try and answer this phone call." She made a face at her ringing phone. "Deja Barrow."

Grisha took his father through the house. "I'll admit it's not tiny, but it's not that huge either."

Garrison looked around and decided that he liked it. It had a different feel to it than their current house, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, this might suit them better. "How many bedrooms?"

"Three." Grisha pointed passed the kitchen. "Master bedroom up there, with an en-suite bath, then another down the hall there, and one downstairs, which Dee is going to use as an office."

Dee joined them when Grisha was showing him where the outdoor kitchen was planned. "Well? What do you think?"

"I like it," Garrison decided. "It fits."

"Right?" As exhausted as she was, Deja was still excited that they were finally going to move.

Grisha nodded to the other side of the garden. "There's one last thing we have to show you."

Garrison had noticed the little space, but hadn't commented on it. It was a sweet, little place and he wondered what they were going to do with it. Grisha opened the door; Dee stayed a few steps behind.

Looking around, Garrison admired the space. It was big enough, completely sefl-sufficient. A person could easily live here. He had looked at apartments but they had all looked lifeless. If he could find something with the soul of this…

"Go check out the bed- and bathroom, too," Grisha encouraged him.

Slowly, Garrison circled the place. In the meantime, Grisha was talking him through renovations. "The kitchen has been replaced, it's brand new and the bathroom has been updated. New showerhead, new toilet, part new tiling. Heating and air-conditioning has been double-checked. What do you think?"

"It's wonderful." The answer came out tentvely and Dee pushed Grisha against his shoulder.

"Come on, babe, tell him."

Grisha cleared his throat. "Well, Dee and I were thinking… We have this whole different house now, and where we're standing now… It's all extra. We were wondering if you'd like to live here."

Deja watched a range of emotions cross Garrison's face and she felt for him. Obviously, he hadn't expected this at all. "What do you think? We'll have to get you some furniture, of course, but other than that, it's all ready to move into."

He gulped and looked at his son. "Are you sure?"

Grisha nodded. "Haven't been more sure of anything in my life." He wrapped an arm around Dee's waist. "Well, almost."

Garrison circled around, then faced them again. "I'd be honored."