“Wow,” I said. “Dragging me in front of the espresso machine. Bold move.”
She shrugged. “Your order is aggressively average. Black coffee, sprinkle of sugar. Boring.” She looked at me, eyes crinkling at the corners as she grinned. “You’re the opposite of your drink, you know.”
I laughed under my breath, and something in her relaxed. The tension in her shoulders eased. A little life sparked behind her eyes.
She was trying so hard to hold it all together. I wished I could take some of the weight off her and carry it myself. I also wished I could just knock him around a bit and get him to forget about her, but I knew better. She’d hate that. I was about to ask if she wanted company later when a familiar black Range Rover slid into the drive-thru.
Graham.
I could’ve gone the rest of my life without seeing that guy’s smug face again.
Eliza stiffened instantly. “What now?” she muttered.
He pulled up to the window like this was his show, and we were all just extras in it. His eyes flicked over me without even pausing, like I didn’t matter.
“Eliza,” he said, all smooth charm. “I don’t like how I left things earlier.”
She didn’t rise to it. Just asked, “What can I get you?”
“Nothing. I stopped by to apologize—again.” He said it like we were all supposed to be grateful. “I think things got a little intense—both last night and this morning.”
Eliza gave him a flat look. “That’s one way to describe it.”
He leaned out of his window, all casual familiarity. “You know how I can be. I don’t mean it. I just speak my mind. Sometimes I get carried away.”
Like that excused everything.
She gave a tight smile that didn’t touch her eyes. “You said some pretty condescending things. You used to do it a lot.”
He laughed—dismissive, low, a little too rehearsed. “You always were sensitive.”
I bristled.
But I didn’t move—yet. I promised myself I would only step in if his behavior went over the top. She was a grown woman. She could handle herself.
Then he looked at me. A glint of something sharp crossed his expression before he smiled at me. “Winters,” he said, like the name tasted bad.
“Graham,” I replied.
Silence stretched out between us.
He glanced between us again, taking in the space at the counter I hadn’t backed away from.
“I hope there’s no hard feelings,” he said, all false sincerity. “This town’s too small for drama, right?”
I stared him down. “Then maybe don’t start any.” I met his gaze steadily, refusing to let him see any hint of fear.
The air between us felt heavy, thick with things left unsaid. For a moment, it seemed like he might say more, but he just shrugged, as if nothing about this mattered. Then he smiled like I’d told a joke.
Eliza’s hand brushed mine, light as breath, grounding me, or maybe herself.
Graham finally drove his car through the drive-thru and rolled away.
Eliza’s hands shook slightly as she picked up a rag and wiped down the counter for no reason at all.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “You didn’t need to be here for that.”
“Yes, I did,” I said quietly. “I wanted to be.”
