Chapter 10
There are far less people out and about today, and I have never been so grateful for Memorial weekend in my life. Sometimes it’s nice to get a break from all the bustling bodies strolling the sidewalks on the weekend. Especially when you’re uncharacteristically late and you need to hustle to the last-minute bridal party planning meeting your baby sister called for an hour ago.
I’m rounding the corner, breathing in the scent of roasted coffee beans and crying internally over the fact that I don’t have time to stop when the door flies open and Reid steps out, two coffee cups in hand. In the most shocking development, he smiles at me. And for the first time ever it meets his eyes. I give myself two seconds to appreciate the way his entire face brightens when his smile is sincere, the way it causes a dimple I’ve never noticed before to pop on his cheek. Then I give myself one second to acknowledge the way a warm feeling spreads through my chest before I decide to ignore all of it instead.
“Hey,” he says when he sees it’s me. “Great, you’re saving both of my hands from burning the rest of the walk to the restaurant.”
I pause, trying to make sense of his words. “What do you mean?”
“Here.” Reid hands one of the cups to me. I eye it warily and he gives it a small shake, the coffee sloshing loudly in the paper cup. “Caramel latte, right?”
I pause, letting the words settle in my brain. “Yes . . .” I say slowly. “Is this an extra from your not-so-secret barista admirer?”
“No. I got it specifically for you.”
I tilt my head to the side, looking from the extended cup back up to him. I’m not sure what to say back to that. He remembered my coffee order? And he purposefully ordered it for me?
“What do you want?” I cross my arms over my chest, preparing to get back into the old banter between us because this new politeness is an entirely new territory for us.
“To be nice,” he says.
I narrow my eyes at the cup, my mind swirling with every other angle he could be trying to take here. Did we really make that much progress last weekend at the registry fiasco that he’s trying to do nice gestures for me now? It seems so far-fetched.
“Is it poisoned?”
He extends it further toward me. “Try it and find out.”
I roll my eyes, taking the cup in one hand and pulling my phone out of my pocket with the other. I hold the coffee out and snap a picture with Reid in the background.
He watches me with a raised eyebrow, but the amusement is still bright in his eyes and present on the slight upturn of his full lips. “What are you doing?”
“I’m texting Lola in case I drink this and die,” I tell him without looking up from the message thread with my best friend.
He huffs a laugh. “You’re not going to die. From too much espresso, maybe, but not from poison.”
I send the text, pocket my phone, and wave him off. “Espresso runs in my veins. I’ll probably die from shocking my system with water before I die from too much caffeine.”
“I’m sure that’s not healthy.”
I shrug. “It’s a way of life.”
“It’s really not.”
I take a sip of the latte and sigh at the taste. The perfect drink. If it is poisoned, I can die a happy girl with caffeine in my body and caramel syrup on my tongue. Reid watches me, his smile hitching up a fraction higher.
“What?” I ask.
“I’ve just never seen someone so happy over a cup of coffee from someone they hate.”
“I don’t hate you, Reid. I’m often annoyed by you, but I don’t know you well enough to actually hate you. At least not yet. Give it some time.”
He smirks as he continues walking. I fall into step beside him, nursing my coffee as we make our way to yet another planning meeting for Kate and Jason’s wedding. This wedding is starting to take over my life and it’s not even my own.
“So, who do you think is going to actually show up today?” I ask.
“Probably us and your mom again.”
“Must be your dream come true.”
