It changed when I smiled at her.
When I almost let her kiss me.
When I acknowledged the fact that I wanted her to kiss me.
I didn’t know how deep things would go while she was here, but a little over a month seemed like enough time for me to get my fill of her without feeling like I was giving a woman too much of my heart. Plus, I was curious about if there were parts of her that were like her sister. I missed my best friend. Zina and I had a true platonic relationship. A lot of my most memorable memories were made with her. She was one of the coolest chicks I’d ever known. We’d never found each other attractive, which was why it was so odd to me to be attracted to her sister. Either way, I’d been looking forward to seeing Zoe, and I couldn’t wait for her to arrive.
Apparently, there was a new drink being offered from our competitor that had their line wrapped around the building. The people who didn’t have the time or desire to wait came to us, so we were busier than we’d had been in a while this morning. I hated that our increase in sales was a result of their overflow, but I was no fool, so I wouldn’t complain.
By the time things had finally died down behind the counter, Zoe was sauntering her pretty ass into the shop. She was dressed in a two-piece shorts and blazer set that drew my attention to her thighs and hips. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as she took the blazer off and tossed it on the empty chair at her table. Once she had her tote opened, she pulled out a notepad and laptop, then headed toward the counter.
At the sight of me, she smiled.
Precious.
“Hi, handsome.” She greeted me once she made it to the counter.
“Hey, Precious.”
Her smile widened. “You’re the only person to ever call me that.”
“Not sure why. That’s what you are. Precious. Treasured. Not to be handled carelessly or with no value.”
“And you realized that, spending a grief filled week with me ten years ago?”
“I guess. Perceptively, I’d say I realized that, being in your presence and seeing into your heart for a week, ten years ago.”
Her eyes softened as she pulled her hair behind her left ear. “If you talk to me nice like that, it’s going to be hard to handle business.”
“Then let’s quickly handle business so I can talk to you how I want to. Grounds will be around. I only have you for what, . . . a few weeks?” Zoe’s smile widened, and when I realized she was too shy to speak, I asked, “Did you want to order anything before we got started, Zo?”
“Yes, actually. I don’t like super strong lattes or the taste of black coffee. What would you recommend?”
“You’ve been gone for a while, but I want you to try everything. At least all the special blends. Even if you aren’t a black coffee drinker, I think you’ll like ours. Hot or the cold brews. Your sister had a science when it came down to her coffee beans. That’s actually what set us apart. While a lot of people go to the competition for lattes, our best sellers are our coffees.”
“Yeah, I saw a review about that. Let me have a cup of whatever your bestselling coffee is, but make it sweet, please. Either with cream or sugar. Just no black coffee straight up.”
Chuckling, I nodded as I turned and looked over the options. “I got cha. You want a pastry?”
“Oh yes. We love a sweet treat. May I have the plum and cream cheese pastry?”
“Yeah. Go ahead and get comfortable. I’ll bring it to you.”
“How much is it?”
Her question made me cut my eyes at her. “Girl, go sit your ass down somewhere. I’m not making you pay for shit.”
“Okay, okay, sheesh,” she said through her giggle, taking a few steps backward.
I decided on a medium roast that wouldn’t be too strong for her and sweetened it with vanilla sweet cream and our homemade simple syrup. After making my own cup and warming her pastry, I joined her at the table.
“Mm, that looks good,” she said, swiping the plate and pulling the pastry closer.
“It is. It’s our summer bestseller.”
“Zina’s recipe?”
“Yep.”
