Carson stepped forward slightly, and Abby’s eyes dragged up, up, up over him until she looked like she needed a fan.
“Hello,” he said politely. “I’m Carson Reed.”
His voice. Why did it have to sound like warm gravel in a good way?
Abby clasped her hands dramatically. “Of course you are.”
“I… yes?” Carson said, clearly uncertain of what to do with her enthusiasm.
I grabbed his sleeve before Abby could climb the counter and adopt him. “We’re ordering. That’s it. Abby, please behave.”
The joys of a small town before tourist season had hit.
Abby gave me a look that said, Sienna Harper, you must pounce.
“What can I get you two?” she asked sweetly.
“We’re not,” I started.
Abby held up a finger. “No need to explain. Yet.”
“Two coffees,” Carson said, stepping in before I combusted. “However, you usually prepare it.”
Definitely a guy who was used to coffee in a can over a fire in the middle of the woods.
Abby swooned. Actually swooned. She fanned herself with a pastry bag.
“Man knows how to trust a barista. Noted.”
I tried to hide behind Carson.
Failed.
Abby leaned toward me with a whisper I think the entire café heard. “Good catch.”
“He’s right here,” I muttered.
Carson pretended he didn’t hear that.
I turned him gently, maybe forcefully, toward the back of the shop where the tables were.
“Let’s sit. Before Abby starts knitting you into the town quilt.”
As I guided him toward a corner table, I heard Abby mutter triumphantly to the regulars: “He’s tall, polite,andhe orders the barista’s choice coffee! Somebody call Millie!”
“ABBY!” I gasped, spinning around so fast I almost wiped out on the rug. “Do not. I swear on all things caffeinated, do not call Millie.”
The mention of the Sunshine Breakfast Club’s leader was enough to silence half the café in fear. They pretended to be book lovers, but they were a secret matchmaking club with ruthless tactics.
Abby held both palms up. “Fine. Your secret Ken doll is safe.”
“He’s not my…just give us the coffee!”
She winked. “Coming right up.”
I slumped into the chair across from Carson and attempted to regain a shred of dignity.
It didn’t work.
