“God, I’m an emotional mess today. I’m sorry,” Nellie apologized, her voice a little wobbly.
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay,” I dropped her hand so I could pull her closer to my side, bending so I could plant a kiss on her cheek. “Real men don’t fear emotions. Real men take their women out for hot chocolate when they’re feeling emotional.”
“Do they now?”
The smile was back on Nellie’s face, and that was all I’d aimed for.
“Sure do, let’s stop in at Tout de Sweets before we head to the truck.” I gestured to the café beside the bookstore, and Nellie nodded.
“I could go for a hot chocolate, especially if it comes with a shot of caramel and whipping cream.”
“It will,” I promised her.
It was busy inside the café. Tout de Sweets was a popular spot in town any day or time of the week. We made our way to the front counter, waiting in line for our turn.
Nellie had stepped out of my embrace when we entered the café, but I didn’t take it personally. I knew she wasn’t comfortable with the attention we’d been garnering, and there were more people in the café than there had been on the street.
“Hey, Noah! Good to see you. How’s the fam?” Evelyn, another distant cousin and the manager of Tout de Sweets asked. Evelyn’s facial structure was similar to Delia’s, although where Delia had auburn hair with reddish undertones, Evelyn had dark hair and tawny eyes.
“Everyone’s good, Evelyn,” Noah answered. “How’s things around here?”
“Busy as always,” Evelyn answered with a laugh. “Ma and the aunties are holding court in their usual spot.”
“Ah,” I glanced over my shoulder, spotting the Hartley triplets in their favourite spot near the gas fireplace. It did appear as if they were holding court. The sight of it made me shake my head with amusement.
Nellie didn’t look so entertained, though. She sent me an anxious look and tried to position herself so that I was blocking her from view if the Hartley triplets should look this way.
Betty was Evelyn’s mom, and she—along with Dorothy and Alice—still owned Tout de Sweets, although only in name. They left the day-to-day management to Evelyn, and allowed her to make any decisions regarding the menu.
“What can I get you two?” Evelyn asked, pulling my attention back to her.
“Two hot chocolates, both with a shot of caramel, whip cream, and some chocolate shavings on top, please.” I noticed Nellie eyeing up the desserts in the display case. “Oh, and maybe an assortment of baked goods.”
“Coming right up,” Evelyn said with a smile, as Jayden, the other full-time employee, set to making our hot chocolates. “What kind of baked goods do you want?”
“Pick out whatever you want,” I told Nellie.
She worried her lip for a moment, considering all her options, finally deciding on a couple brownies, butter tarts, and cinnamon roll bites.
I paid for our drinks and goodies before we moved over to the side to wait for Jayden to make our drinks. “Do you want to sit inside for a bit, or head to the truck?” I asked, leaving it up to Nellie.
“If you don’t mind, maybe we could go back to the truck? I mean, we still have some stuff to discuss, and I’d rather not get pulled into the Hartley triplets’ orbit until we’ve clarified things a little more.”
“Sounds good.” I nodded in agreement. It wasn’t easy sneaking out without capturing their attention, but the Saturday afternoon rush made it possible, although we’d both probably get an earful next time we ran into the Hartley sisters. It was only a matter of time before whispers got back to them that we’d been in the café and hadn’t stopped to say hi.
We sipped at our hot chocolates as we walked back to my truck. The silence between us wasn’t strained or uncomfortable, but I could tell Nellie was in her head about things. I wanted to ask her what was on her mind, but I knew I needed to wait until we were alone for that.
I unlocked my truck and opened the passenger door, reaching inside to place the box of baked goods and my hot chocolate in and taking Nellie’s from her and holding it so she could climb inside.
We sat in the cab for a few minutes, continuing to sip our hot chocolates as we waited for it to warm up.
“Did you have fun with me today?”
“Of course I did.” Nellie seemed surprised by my question. “Did you have fun with me?”
“Obviously. I always have fun with you. It’s kind of why I asked you to be my girlfriend.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess. It’s good to have fun with the person you’re dating.” She said, her tone not giving away much.
