Breathe In (Just Breathe, #1)(33)
Jared pops up from the couch behind Nathan, catching me by surprise.
“Hey you,” I say with a slightly shocked look. “Did you stay over last night?”
Jared’s sheepish grin gives him away.
“Boy did he,” Nathan goads.
I shake my head at the two of them as they help Maggie and me with our bags.
“Do you ladies need to do any work?” Nathan checks.
Maggie and I reply in unison that we don’t.
“Great, follow me! I want to see what you think,” he continues, leading us up to his mezzanine above the kitchen.
“These are stunning,” Maggie disclose with definitive awe as she walks into Nathan’s workspace before me. “I want!”
“Wow,” I add when my eyes fall upon the fabric and pictures.
“You think?” Nathan nudges with a hint of uncertainty in his tone.
“Yes!” Maggie and I exclaim.
Our lack for words substantiates our impressions of his work.
“Really!” Nathan blurts with absolute giddiness.
“Do you have anymore,” I inquire, hungry to see them.
“No, but I have sketches. I didn’t want to go into a full line if I didn’t get good initial feedback,” he says cautiously. He opens his sketchbook to show me the colors and styles for the women’s line.
Cutting to the chase, I offer what he will never ask. “Do you need more financing to get them out and noticed?”
“Oh my God, are you serious, Emma?” Nathan’s voice has now gone up an octave.
I shoot him a look for questioning my interest.
“I couldn’t. You’ve already done so much.”
“Yes, you can,” Jared endorses, knowing what I’m getting at as he pets Sadie.
“My first round of investment in you was because I believed in you, and I still do. You know I wouldn’t offer if I honestly didn’t mean it.” I share with love and a hint of business acumen attached. “We don’t have to go over the details now. We’ll sit down and you can show me what you need and go from there.”
“I love you!” Nathan shouts, grabbing and kissing me all over my face.
“I love you too, sweetie,” I respond, wrapping my arms around him to get him to stop his assault of affection.
Suddenly, Jared and Maggie are hugging us too.
“Ooo, a four-way,” Nathan jokes.
We all laugh.
When Nathan was getting his boutique started in WeHo, I was able to help as a financial backer and he insisted on me being a partner. I agreed to be a silent partner and only assist with any business aspects that he didn’t understand. Nathaniel’s has been showing promise for its first year and a half. It’s in the green, which is not typical for any business within the first few years, though it’s not enough green to take on a second line. Naturally Me started openly pushing Nathaniel’s three months before the opening and Jared has been wearing some of the clothing on camera which has been a nice boost for sales each month. Maggie has had two team members from Raven Media working on the social media marketing for Nathaniel’s which has been the strongest proponent of Nathan’s fashion success.
“Once you get the women’s line going, you’re going to need to consider a diva pet line as well,” Maggie excitedly suggests. “Can you imagine, pet’s matching their owners?”
“That would line up perfectly with the pet division for Naturally Me with Sadie too,” Jared adds.
“Oh, my! That’s an awesome idea. I’ve got a bunch of ideas already running through my head,” Nathan shouts with absolute delight.
“One step at a time girls,” I politely chide. “We need to know that the current men’s line and what’s coming out for next season gets positive feedback as we dip into the women’s line before even entertaining the idea of pet fashion.”
“She’s right,” Nathan agrees without a change in his tone. “But, I’ll start dreaming and designing it all.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” I encourage.
“Are you girls hungry? Did you eat lunch?” Nathan asks.
“No, we came right here,” Maggie answers.
“Good! Jared and I just went shopping after breakfast, so we’re all stocked up for the weekend whether we go out to eat or not.” Nathan informs us, excited to entertain.
Nathan has been vigorously following many of the nutrition topics posted on Naturally Me and he’s mentioned how different he feels. He was never fat to begin with, but Nathan’s become leaner, stronger and more energetic. He mentions how the energy helps with his clarity and focus while designing and it’s obviously evident in the women’s line he’s been creating.
“You boys had breakfast?” Maggie mocks, finally being able to harass Jared.
“I was so excited about this weekend that I could barely sleep,” Nathan confesses.
“I couldn’t even tire him out,” Jared shares with a blushing grin.
“Wow!” I say rather impressed.
Being the two main cooks in the group, Nathan and I get to work on making lunch for the four of us while we all chat about incidental topics. We decide on making grilled cheese sandwiches with two different kinds of raw, organic cheese topped with a delicious homemade mustard mayonnaise spread I love to make, spinach, avocado, onion and tomato. Instead of butter, we use raw coconut oil on the cast iron skillet. We also have homemade lemonade with fresh peppermint leaves from Nathan’s little herb garden, a side salad with all the fixings and organic roasted red pepper and tomato soup.