“Absolutely. I brought Hannah down to taste some of your pancakes. Do you have any made?” he asked as he directed Hannah to a booth.
“We have buttermilk pancakes coming off the griddle as we speak,” Bryanna informed them. “Hannah, how do you take your coffee?”
Hannah faltered, unable to say how she liked it.
“Can we have cream and sugar, please?” Cole asked.
“I’ll bring it out,” Bryanna said, turning toward the kitchen.
Cole took Hannah’s cold hands in his. “We’re only having breakfast. You talked about your mom’s pancakes. Don’t you want to try them?”
“I forgot how I like my coffee,” she said quietly. “The nurses brought my tray in and dropped it off. I drank it plain.”
“Today, you can experiment if you like it with anything added. Another checkmark on your score card,” he encouraged.
“Or another blunder on my end. How did I forget?”
“Your body’s processing everything right now. There’s no wrong or correct way. Let yourself decide and relax. We’re enjoying our morning,” he said.
“All right,” she murmured doubtfully as Bryanna set two cups of coffee, sugar, and creamer on the table.
“I’ll be right back with your pancakes,” she said before walking away.
Cole held out one of each. “Which shall we try first? Do you like cream or prefer it sweet?”
She took the packet of sugar and added it to her drink. Sipping it, she waited a moment and added another. Taking a second sip, she grinned and said, “I like it with two sugars.”
“There ya go, Stormy.” He grinned.
“Here you go. Two stacks of buttermilk pancakes, butter, and maple syrup,” Saint said as he placed them on the table. “It’s nice to see you, Hannah.”
“She has a nickname now, meet Stormy,” Cole said proudly. Hannah blushed and kept her gaze on her pancakes.
“Uh, oh,” Saint said. “We got Sparky and Stormy. Something tells me we’re in for it with those two.”
“But I didn’t take Leo’s job offer,” Hannah rushed. “He doesn’t know me.”
Saint folded his arms and stroked his chin. “You managed to fix his screw up and kept him from doling out thirty thousand pairs of socks. I’d say you know what you’re doing.”
“I can’t sit in a room all day,” she made an excuse.
“Then come in, do inventory, and return home,” Saint suggested. “Leo will work with you as long as you’re honest. He’s already run a background check and has references. Leo doesn’t take no for an answer when he knows someone belongs on the team.” Saint turned and left, leaving Hannah watching him with her mouth open.
“Do you not want to work with Leo? You only met him a couple of times, but I interviewed extensively with him for over a month and he offered you a job on the spot. He must want you badly for the position,” Cole said, spreading butter on his pancakes.
“What if I can’t hack it? I don’t know what I was thinking when I called the salesman. It annoyed me he took advantage of someone,” Hannah said as she mimicked Cole’s actions.
“You handled it like a pro from what I hear,” he said as he sliced a piece off and held it out to her. “Hannah Bailey, what will your win be today?”
She grinned as she leaned in and accepted the offering. The butter and syrup made the pancake rich and Hannah chewed slowly, enjoying the taste.
“It’s a win,” she said, cutting a piece of her own. “It’s as good as my mom’s.”
“Congratulations,” he said, biting his own. A minute later, Saint returned with a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs. “Ty sent this over. He said something about you two liking sides,” he said, confused.
Hannah giggled and covered her mouth with her napkin as Cole thanked Saint and handed her a piece of bacon.
“To my soulmate in sides,” he said, tapping her piece against his. “Shall we stuff ourselves silly?”
