He raised an eyebrow. “Wyatt?”
I forced a smile and tried to find my voice, but failed, so I bobbed my head up and down.
“You don’t recognize me.”
“I do, sorry,” I squeaked, then cleared my throat. “Mr. Graves… I mean, Sundance. Hey.”
He grinned and I just about fell over… again.
“How’s your dad?” he asked.
I forced the wave of sadness that washed over me into the pit of my stomach. “He passed. About six months ago.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
I shook my head. “How are you? You look good.”
“Holdin’ strong,” he said. “Won’t know if the cancer’s in remission for a bit, but so far, so good.”
I smiled. “I’m really glad.”
“You doin’ okay?”
“As well as I can, I guess. Daddy went downhill pretty quickly, so I think I’m just starting to process.” I bit my lip. “Sorry, that was a little too much information.”
“You’re good,” he said.
“Well, I should grab my coffee and get to the office. I’m already running a little late.”
He nodded. “You have a good one.”
“You too.” I settled my hand on his arm. God it was thick. “I’m really glad you’re doing so well.”
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
Then he walked away, and I couldn’t stop myself from watching him go. I licked my lips as he threw a long, muscular leg over his bike and started it.
“I could stare at that man all day,” a voice said, and I jumped a little, unsure if my internal blue tooth had flipped to speaker mode.
I was safe, however, as I discovered the voice came from the very swishy barista in his early twenties, sporting full makeup and wearing heels with his skinny jeans. His name tag said, ‘Mercedes.’
“Does he come here a lot?” I asked.
He shook his head, still staring out the window. “Second time.”
This was also only my second time. I had a new client on this side of town and had found Flick’s by accident, when my GPS went a little wacky. I’d loved it, so I decided to come back today before my meeting.
I’m very glad I did.
“What can I get you?” Mercedes asked once Sundance had ridden off.
“Ice,” I breathed out as I fanned my face with my hand.
“Ice?”
“Sorry,” I said, facing him. “An iced coffee to go, please.”
* * *
