“Once you start talking, we can finish the tasting.”
Ben took another drink of the maple cream cold brew, unsure of the best place to start. “Uhm, well…”
“Does this have to do with the guy from the gelato shop?”
“You don’t need to play coy. You know who he is.”
“Thomas,” she said.
He nodded.
“Did he do something wrong?”
“Not at all,” he muttered, drumming his fingers on the table. “He’s honestly done everything right.”
“Impressive, considering he’s so new to all of this.”
“It’s notsodifferent than being with a woman, you know.”
Lara eyed him while she sipped the first coffee. “That’s not what you told me last time we talked, and it’s not what you told him either.”
He hated when she was right.
“We’re dating now. It’s more serious,” he said.
The ice in his coffee melted a little, shifting and crashing against the glass. He took another swallow, hoping all of the sugar she was about to dump into him wasn’t going to ruin his stomach.
“That’s good?”
“Yeah? Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “We were on a date last weekend and I ran into Cody.”
“What now?”
“I went to the bathroom before dessert and Cody was there.”
“Was he with someone?” she asked.
“I honestly don’t know. I didn’t ask.” He pushed the now empty first coffee glass toward the center of the table. “He approached me.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No. Nothing like that. He just…you know. He was extremely apologetic. Told me how much he missed me. How he knew he’d messed up—”
“But you know he’s a liar, right?”
Ben sighed. “What’s the second coffee?”
Lara arched a brow. “Number two this afternoon is an iced lavender and honey latte.”
He scrunched his nose, but gave it a try. The lavender was soft and the honey was barely sweet. It was infinitely better than the maple cream.
“I know he’s a liar,” he answered her earlier question. “But the way he was talking to me, the things he said. It just…mixed up some feelings.”
“This one is good.” Lara smacked her lips.
“It is. And seeing Cody just spooked me a little and I made Thomas leave the restaurant.” He took another drink, wishing for more.
“Did he see Cody?”
