“What the hell?” I snatched my arm away.
Vincent’s eyes widened, and again he looked around at the people who passed us. He quickly stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair as if trying to calm himself down.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” I told him, clenching my jaw. With that, I turned my back on him to continue to the destination I was going to before he interrupted me.
Flustered, I kept my head held high and glanced over my shoulder a couple of times just to make sure he wasn’t following me. I saw Vincent eye me with a scowl on his face before he turned and walked in the opposite direction.
“Asshole,” I muttered but did my best to shake off the encounter. I reminded myself that I was on my way to my new place of employment—a locale where I would be more than just another employee. I was to be the owner.
My ambition was to create an environment where everyone who walked through the doors of my café experienced a moment of joy and gratitude. Customers would come for the great tasting coffee and food, but they would remain for the welcoming atmosphere.
I let out a sigh, my shoulders descending from the anxiousness that my encounter with Vincent brought on. Corsica, Vincent, and whatever client account he needed help with were in my rearview mirror. I walked toward my future.
Right as that thought came to me, I smiled when I was about ten feet from the front door of my shop, and I spotted a familiar figure standing out front. A very large, looming figure who scoped out the front of the building.
I stopped to watch Brutus for a few moments. The people bustling about parted for him like the Red Sea. He had an energy all unto himself. I watched as more than a handful of women threw him appreciative looks. Then without warning, his head shifted and he looked my way.
The corners of his eyes creased as his smile was enough to light up the sky.
“Hey, baby.”
CHAPTER18
Brutus
It was as if everything around me had taken on a grayish pallor—one I hadn’t even noticed. And then, I glanced over to see Mia standing there. Smiles weren’t something I gave out easily or even too willingly, but with her around they come naturally.
The gray tones dissolved, and everything looked clearer.
“Hey, baby,” I greeted, pulling her to me when she was less than a foot away. I brushed my lips across hers, reminding myself to not get too carried away. We were in public, and I still had to return to work. Though everything in me wanted to call into the office and tell them I needed the rest of the day off.
That urge had been surfacing more and more lately.
“Hi.” Mia’s smile beamed as she peered up at me. “What are you doing here?”
“I can’t come to see your café?” I faked an affronted look.
She laughed. “Of course you can. I just thought you had to work.” She pulled back and squinted. “Wait, how did you know I was even going to be here?”
Mia took a step back and pressed her pointer finger to her chin. I could see the wheels of her mind working but I didn’t say anything. I wanted to see what conclusion she would draw.
“You didn’t do something creepy like hack into my calendar, did you?”
I barked out a laugh. “Baby, would I do something like that?”
“Yes,” she answered quickly.
I shrugged. “You’re right. I one hundred percent would.” She had no idea the lengths I’d already gone to just to be next to her. Like in Mexico when I had the reservation for her rental deleted from the system.
But this wasn’t one of those times.
“You told me last week that today was the day of your appointment with the foreman for the renovation,” I reminded her.
Her eyes ballooned, and then her expression collapsed again. “You remembered that?”
“You sound surprised.”
Her lips parted but then closed again. It was her turn to shrug. “I mean, it was days ago I mentioned it and you’ve been so busy with your job, I figured you would’ve forgotten.”
