“I’m more than grateful for all of your help today, Bran, but I think this sadist wants to take you home.”
“I’ll see if I can wear him out.” Brandon grinned. “Same time tomorrow?” he asked.
I glanced at James first to see if he was cool with that.
“I need to be at the hospital by six tomorrow morning. How about I drop Brandon off around five?” James asked me.
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“I’ll talk to Garrett this evening and see if he wants me to pick up Salem on the way. If so, then Garrett can pick them up from here.”
I nodded and told James that would work perfectly. As Brandon and James walked toward their car, Tabitha was walking toward the coffee shop. The three of them stopped and chatted with one another. Suddenly, I looked down to make sure I didn’t have pastry crumbs or coffee on my shirt.
“Hi, Andrew,” she said when I pushed the door open for her.
“Welcome, thank you for stopping by.”
“I wouldn’t miss the grand opening of a new coffee house close to work.”
I realized I had never asked her where the location was of the media company she worked at.
“Is your office nearby?”
“Yes, just three blocks south,” she said as we walked to the line.
“So, are you working today?”
“I was, but I cut out early. I wanted to stop by and see the place and say hello to you.”
While I stood beside her in line, she chatted about the route she took out of the downtown area and how long it would take her to get home. As she spoke, she reached out and picked up a stainless-steel tumbler and a ceramic mug. After she had her coffee, the two of us sat at a table for two next to the window facing the parking lot.
“Congratulations, Andrew,” Tabitha said as she looked around. “You should be very proud.”
“Thank you. My dad and I are really happy with this location.” I turned my head and glanced around the lobby until I spotted Dad. “See the guy over there in the black long-sleeved shirt?”
“Yes,” Tabitha replied.
“That’s my dad.”
“Ah.” Tabitha smiled and then looked at me. “You have his jawline.”
“James says that too.”
“James is a smart, observant man.” Tabitha took a sip of her coffee and looked into my eyes, causing me to feel the fluttering of nerves. “It’s nice to have a face to go with your father. He looks very kind and understanding.”
“He is.”
“Why can’t you talk to him about the situation with Elise?”
I smiled and glanced down at the table for a moment before looking around the lobby again. I looked into Tabitha’s eyes and couldn’t help but grin.
“You’re not afraid of being direct at all, are you?” I teased.
My comment was met with her soft laughter. She continued to smile as she sipped on her coffee.
“Remember, I’m an attorney.”
“True.”
