Shit! James slowly backed away from the counter. He was not going to get between Luca and Brad. He liked his throat intact.
“Okay,” Josh said loudly. “Why don’t we just order our coffees?”
Luca sniffed. “Fine. Your usual?”
“Yes, please.” Josh’s eyes were huge.
James was pretty sure he had the same expression on his own face.
Luca pressed his lips together and glanced at Brad. “Did you decide?” The coldness of his tone chilled James. How Brad was standing was beyond James. He would have turned tail and run as far and fast as he could.
“Medium bold coffee. Hot. Black. I don’t need room for cream or sugar,” Brad ordered.
“How utterly boring,” Luca responded and moved to the espresso machine to make Josh’s drink.
James caught Josh’s gaze and widened his eyes, asking what the hell was going on.
Josh gave him a small shrug in return.
“I’ll go find us a table,” Brad said and spun on his heel.
“Sure.” Josh watched him go before turning back to James.
Luca was ignoring them. Because of course he was. It wouldn’t be easy to get answers out of Luca. When he decided to keep something close to his chest, Luca could be a real pain.
James grabbed a medium cup before walking over to the brewed coffee dispenser that James had made a fresh batch in at the start of his shift. Luca continued to work on Josh’s lavish andsweet iced espresso drink, even adding extra caramel drizzle on top.
Luca had been the manager of the Coffee Cove for as long as James had worked there. Everyone in town from the residents to return tourists knew who he was. Luca was as part of beach as the sand and the waves.
Even though Luca had come to Surf City for college and to catch the best waves, he’d quickly claimed the city as home. He’d been on the surfing circuit for at least five years. There had been talk that he’d turned down a major sponsorship that would have him traveling the world surfing, but James hadn’t asked. Luca seemed content attending the university part-time, running the Coffee Cove, and surfing in his free time.
James was grateful that Luca had taken him under his wing. James had been lost when he’d first tried to get a job in town. Luca had hired him but the position was only for a few shifts a week. If James hadn’t worked at the Coffee Cove, he wouldn’t have met Cal or believed that he had something to offer the Surf City Fire Department. He would probably be spending most of his time flipping burgers or some other job that wouldn’t be taking him anywhere in life.
He glanced over at Luca as he placed the top on Brad’s coffee.
Truthfully, he was more than a little bothered that Brad had been mean to Luca. Yes, Luca had a sassy side, but the guy was just a good person. Not only had he claimed James as his friend but what he’d done for Dawson showed Luca’s true colors.
Dawson wasn’t just shy and quiet although that was how most of their patrons thought of him. Older by at least a decadethan James and Luca, age didn’t mean much when it was a struggle for Dawson to just get through a day.
Something bad happened in the years that Dawson had served in the US military. Dawson suffered from an intense case of PTSD. They always let Dawson make the drinks instead of interacting with customers. Luca had made sure that James knew how to make Dawson comfortable without drawing any more attention to Dawson’s needs.
Dawson had only been working with them since the fall semester had started. He was a full-time student while working and living with Luca.
Once again Luca had seen someone who needed help and jumped right in.
That was how Luca was.
So why or how did Brad get on the wrong foot with the nicest man in Surf City?
Returning to the counter, James slid Brad’s coffee over to Josh. He glanced over to see that Brad had settled on the back table where Scott usually hung out at. James pressed his lips together. If it came to choosing between the two men, James would always have Luca’s back.
“I’ll try to find out,” Josh whispered. “You work on Luca.”
“Yeah,” James agreed.
Luca strolled over with a smile and dramatically placed the iced coffee in front of Josh. “Here you go, man.”
James turned up his nose. “How can you drink that?” That drink contained way too much sugar for James.
