I turn to find Vivian staring at me, lips parted, cheeks flushed. Not fear. Not embarrassment.
“How did youdothat?” she asks, her voice soft with wonder. “That woman is always so difficult.”
“Basic crowd management.” I shove my hands into my pockets before I do something reckless, like touch her. “Most people just need someone to acknowledge the problem and give them direction.”
She’s still looking at me like I’ve performed magic. Up close, I catch the flecks of gold in her eyes, and my mind is back on the fantasy of her in my bed.
“Thank you,” she says, putting her hand on my arm. “I was about to completely lose it. The reports I was working on... they’ve taken me days to compile, and now it’s probably all lost. I know I don’t save as often as I should, but... I didn’t need to be yelled at for something out of my control.”
“You lost important data?” My protective instincts flare again, different this time. Less physical, more primal—this is something I can fix. “What kind of files?”
Her face falls slightly. “Mostly spreadsheets, for inventory and budgeting. Nothing I can’t recreate, but...” She shakes her head, forcing a rueful smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.”
The way she hunches her shoulders tells me it’s not fine. Before I can offer to help with data recovery, the lights flicker back on. The espresso machine hums to life, and everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief.
“Thanks for being patient, everyone! We’re lucky it was only a brief outage.” Vivian turns to me, and a beautiful smile graces her face. “This one’s on me. Thank you again for your help!” Then she turns back to the customers lined up behind me.
As I watch her help other customers, an overwhelming protective instinct rises in me.
What is it about this woman that makes me want to break my rules about dating?
CHAPTER 2
VIVIAN
Thankfully, the power didn’t go out again after the mishap yesterday. Still, the memory of Owen commanding the room makes me smile. His quieting down everyone was so unbelievably hot.
“Oh my God, Viv! You missed the most amazing thing earlier, when you were on the supply run!” Mika bounces excitedly while wiping down the espresso machine. “That singer Izzy stopped in—you know, the one who’s been all over the radio? She bought like six drinks and a dozen pastries for her boyfriend’s work crew. Super sweet, totally normal, but I was internally screaming the whole time.”
“Really?” I glance up from counting the register. “I can’t believe I missed that.”
“She was so down-to-earth. Asked about our roasting process, complimented the shop’s vibe. And she left a huge tip.”
The point-of-sale system beeps another error code, and I resist the urge to throw it through the window. The machine has beendeclining every third card since the power outage yesterday and is turning into a nightmare.
“Great, and now thismachine is dying.” I force a laugh, but it comes out strained. “As if today wasn’t eventful enough.”
“Can’t you call the company?” Mika peers over my shoulder at the blank screen.
“Sure, for only three times what this ancient piece of junk is actually worth.” I pull the backup Square reader from the drawer beneath the register. The small white device feels flimsy in my hands. “Plus, it’s a crapshoot whether they could even send someone out to fix it soon.”
“At least you’ve got backup,” Mika offers, nodding toward the Square reader I’m holding. She’s such an optimist.
The weight ofitpresses on my shoulders.That glowing review inThe Jefferson Tribune last month called Daily Brew “a hidden gem with coffee that’s worth the trip.” Great for my ego, less great for my bank account when I’m too out of the way for most people. When I signed the lease here, a new condo building was slated to be built the next block over, but the developers put it on indefinite hold. The neighborhoodisgrowing, but not quickly enough for me to stay open much longer.
My eyes fall on the manila envelope tucked into my apron pocket. It feels like it’s burning a hole through my apron. Aurora Coffee’s buyout offer. All things considered, it’s a fairly generous offer. I could certainly pay off my debts from opening Daily Brew, but…this place is my baby. Still, we’re struggling, and I don’t know if I can afford to say no to their offer. That’s why everything I lost on my laptop during the power surge is so frustrating–I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth applying for aloan from the bank. But with the files seemingly lost forever, I don’t know if I can recreate everything before Aurora Coffee’s deadline next week.
“Speaking of your regulars...” Mika sets down her cleaning cloth, studying me with those too-perceptive eyes.
“Who?” I know exactly who she means, but I pretend not to know who she means. Mika is a great employee, but I’m also aware that our relationship is work-based, so I try not to indulge in too much personal gossip with her.
“Your Captain America.” She grins. “He sure stepped up when you needed it. He jumped up like lightning when that Karen started yelling.”
The memory makes me smile. The way he went from quiet to absolute authority in a heartbeat. It was undeniably hot. I’ve been attracted to Owen for a while, but thought his shyness was a sign of indecisiveness. But when he stood up for me and literally commanded everyone in the coffee shop, my heart flipped over, and desire erupted like a volcano in my core.
“You know,” Mika continues, her voice taking on a scheming quality I’ve come to recognize, “he seems like the kind of guy who’d know about technology. Computer stuff. I bet he could help with your laptop.”
I freeze. “Why would you think that?”
