CHAPTER 1
JETT
“Giveus a glimpse into the mind of the infamous Jett Landry. How are you feeling about your win today?” The tall, blonde reporter asks me as I catch my breath from my run.
She holds her microphone out to me, but I still have to speak loudly to be heard over the roar of the crowd.
“Fucking incredible. I’d love to say that I’m lucky to be standing here, but it wasn’t luck,” I manage to get out in clipped sentences. “It was raw talent.”
“There’s that confidence your fans love so much. Tell me, what was going through your head on that final jump? The one that ruined your season the last time you did this run?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, after an injury like the one I sustained last season, you tend to get in your head a bit,” I answer with a shake of my head. It took everything in me today not to get distracted by the risk my knee still poses. “But ultimately, I’m not going to let that slow me down.”
“Sounds like you’re determined to finally makeit to the Big Air World Cup in Switzerland happening in just a few short months. Do you think the recent allegations against you might get in your way this time?”
CHAPTER 2
POPPY
“The Matcha Monster is back,”Ethan says as he pokes his freckled face around the corner of my office at the back of the storage room.
I swivel my chair toward Ethan and let out a sigh.
“We have to stop calling her that,” I answer with a lighthearted chuckle.
He’s been around the café long enough that he knows all the regulars as well as I do, though there are some that require the right kind of touch.
The Matcha Monster’s real name is Maryann, and even though she’s infuriating every time she comes into the café, she’s a regular, and therefore a valued, customer. “Same thing again, today?”
Ethan nods.
We have a routine, Maryann and I. She orders her usual: a matcha latte, no foam. Absolutelynofoam.
She holds the to-go cup when I pass it to her and then hands it back with a wordless scowl. She claims she canfeelthe foam. That the cup is lighter because I haven’t scraped enough of it off.
I remake it, repeating the same exact steps as the first time, and eventually Maryann leaves. She’s never completely satisfied, and that’s what grates on my nerves the most.
I’ve never figured out how to get Maryann to leave happy. And I can make everyone happy. Even the most irritable customers leave Thistle + Thorne satisfied.
Maryann is the greatest obstacle of my career. Aunt Dahlia even warned me about her when I took over operations of the café. She was my aunt’s Everest, her white whale. And now she’s mine.
In some ways, I’m honoured I get to carry on my aunt’s legacy, and it eases the weight of the grief that has sat heavy on my heart for the last few months since she passed.
But enough is enough. Today is the day. I’ve decided. This needs to come to an end. Maryann and I are going to have a little chat, and I’m going to make damn sure that she leaves with a big, dumb smile on her perfectly made-up face.
I round the corner out of the back and pop out behind the counter. I’m grateful for the chance to step out of my office, for a break to take in the warm earthy scent of brewed coffee, the subtle sweet notes of warmed pastries, and the crackling of the fireplace in the corner.
The café is relatively quiet, only a few of the regular customers sitting at tables and quietly working on their laptops, and Maryann.
Her platinum blonde blow-out is even crazier than usual today. The volume is unbelievable. I swear, each day her hair gets bigger, like every time she wins one of our petty skirmishes, she gets more powerful, she levels up.
“Maryann!” I exclaim, plastering on a friendly smile.Kill her with kindness. “Lovely to see you this morning. How can I help?”
She slides her matcha latte across the counter towards me, and nods at it. We stare at each other with a mutual understanding and barely concealed disdain.
“Too much foam?” I ask, grinding my molars together.
“See for yourself,” she snaps.
