"Ouch," came a deep voice turning three heads toward someone standing at the end of the bar waiting for his drink. He was far enough away to be considered respectful, but close enough to have heard Eloise.
The detective stood there with a dimpled smile and clear blue eyes and an expecting look on his face.
"You weren't meant to hear that," Eloise said.
Jen smiled and excused herself to use the restroom and Ursula leaned over the bar to kiss her cheek before she left to fill orders. "You leaving soon?"
Eloise nodded to Ursula and promised to help her with gardening.
"I'm waiting," the detective said with his arms crossed.
"They'll get you your drink but remember it will take more than the thirty seconds it takes to pour the burnt coffee-flavored water the diner serves."
"I meant, I'm waiting for an apology about cops being asshats who withhold important tidbits when it suits them."
"Tricky asshats," she corrected.
"Oh, much better."
She took his drink from Tess, who looked frazzled and like she hadn't run a brush through her hair in a couple of days. When she handed it to him she said, "I deeply apologize for my correct synopsis of a lot of cops."
He barked out a laugh as he took the drink, being careful to keep his fingers from brushing hers, or so she thought. "That was a terrible apology."
"And you won't get one unless I have a decidedly different experience with one."
"You're bruising my very fragile heart," he said, placing a hand over his chest.
She laughed. "I doubt that."
"What, that my heart is fragile or that you're bruising it?"
"Pick one. Or both. I stand by it." She hadn't seen the detective act in any particularly unkind way, in fact, he had been empathetic and kinder than most, but he still worked for the police who seemed to think they had something to do with those kids. And to her knowledge they hadn't done anything about the bullying of Bess who was becoming less and less herself each day.
"I like you," he said simply. It wasn't said in a flirtatious way. He said it like he had just made a decision. Like when someone decides that they like jelly-filled donuts after being unsure. "Willyou wait for me to get this magical coffee I have heard about no less than six times, and let me walk you home?"
She frowned pointing to the pink cup with the black cat logo in his hand. "Isn't that your coffee?"
"Nope," he said, the 'p' landing on a pop.
She sighed. "You really need to learn to not just go with the flow when something not meant for you comes your way, detective." She mimicked his deep voice saying, "No, this isn't my coffee. No, I'm not your date even though you're absolutely luminous."
He smiled handing the cup back to her, his eyes bright. "Let me walk you home," he repeated and held up a hand in placating peace. "No cop talk, I promise."
She let out a little puff of breath and pointed to the patio where every wrought-iron table had at least one person sitting. "I will be out there," she said as she rounded the bar and walked toward the front door. "You tell Bess I told her to get you a coffee lickety-split."
The dimple flashed. "Deal." Then his smile faltered after looking at the frowning teenager and said, "Actually, she kind of scares me. I will be patient." His voice was lowered conspiratorially and Eloise nodded with a serious face.
"Smart," she agreed. "But tell her not to skip any steps!" she called after him as she opened the door and walked into the sunshine. She shook her head and looked around. She wanted to sit. She'd been standing and running around the cafe since five this morning and it was after one now. No empty tables were found when she looked again and she gestured to an empty chair across from a woman with short, brown hair typing on her laptop. She waved a hand magnanimously before going back to her work.
She sat down and pulled out her phone to find messages from the coven, a name Ursula urged her not to call them but lost the battle.
"Are you Ursula Cambridge's sister?" the short-haired woman asked with a slight frown. She was a very serious-looking woman with very straight eyebrows and a pointed chin that probably made her look more serious and judgemental than she was.
"Oh, not sister, but best friend. Yes. I'm Eloise," she said with an inviting smile. "Though, we've been friends for so long and through so many life events that collectively when you put the pieces together I have probably seen her fully naked."
The woman looked at her like she was crazy.
"That was a weird thing to say to a stranger, I apologize. What was your name?"
