My handsome stranger was back. He wore sunglasses, a dress shirt rolled up to his elbows, and slacks that had no wrinkles. Next to him stood a blonde woman who also wore sunglasses.
She was gorgeous. Tall, almost my exact height. Her dark blonde hair was pulled back in a half braid, and she wore a cropped blush tank top with a flowy skirt that skimmed over her sandal-covered toes.
My smile wavered a little bit at the sight of her.Shit, this was probably his date. I gave her a warm smile as I ignored the funny look Shane gave me for popping up so suddenly.
“The one he ordered last time is our most popular, by far,” I assured her. A pinch formed in her brow as she gave me a noticeably uncomfortable smile in return. She took a small step away from my handsome stranger to glance at our menu.
“That sounds good.” She nodded, turning to look at Shane. He rang up their order on the register, but before he could ask them for payment, I waved him off, “I got this.”
Shane lifted an eyebrow at me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” It was the least I could do, after thirsting over a man who was taken and all. He probably realized how hard I was flirting with him last time and didn’t want to come back until he could bring his partner. Sending a clear message that he was off limits.
I was a girls-girl first, so comping their order made me feel like I was apologizing.
“What? No.” The man stepped forward, reaching into the pocket of his slacks to pull out some crisp bills. “I’m going to pay.”
I suppressed a shiver from the command in his voice. It soundedsosoothing.
I waved him off and said, “We’ve had a busy day, enjoy the treat.”
The man frowned before glancing at the tip jar and shoving the bills inside it. Shane was already making their drinks, watching this exchange out of the corner of his eye. The woman had stepped down to the counter, curiously studying the way that Shane mixed their coffee order.
The man stood at the counter, daring me to remove his money from the tip jar. I shrugged and turned, helping Shane. The man’s shoulders relaxed, and he followed his date down to the opposite side of the countertop, where their drinks would be picked up.
Shane and I worked in silence, as he preferred. Once the order was done, I took both cups and slipped the cardboard cozies onto them to help protect their hands.
“Here you go.” I gave him my best shit-eating smile.
The woman smirked as she sipped her drink and led them to one of the tables by a window. Before the man could sit down, he huffed and marched back to the countertop.
“Problem?” I asked with an innocent expression.
In response, he held up the bills I had snuck out of the tip jar and tucked into the cardboard cozy of his drink.
“Look, man.” I sighed and laid my palms flat on the counter. “I know it’s important for your big, masculine ego to show your date that you can afford to pay for things, but I promise you it’s not that deep. It’s getting weird now.” He quirked a dark eyebrow at me, the corner of his lips tipped up with it as heleaned on the counter, resting one large palm on the wood surface.
“She’s not my date,” he said. My heart started beating rapidly in my chest. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Shane turn his head to look at the woman sitting quietly at the table.
“Okay.” I lifted a shoulder.
I will not drool over a man.
I will not drool over a man.
“Okay,” he replied. After a moment of intense eye contact—if you could even call it that while he was wearing sunglasses—he reached across the counter. His hand was slow and confident as he slowly reached for my chest. I held perfectly still, too curious about where this was going. The man tucked one large finger into the breast pocket of my apron, pulling it open just enough for him to slide the bills into the fabric.
Heat scorched my cheeks. His smirk kicked up a notch, probably noticing the visceral reaction that move triggered in my body.
“You win,” I murmured. When he leaned back, I had to dig my fingertips into the countertop to keep myself from leaning after him.
He chuckled, drumming his fingertips on his side of the counter as he rested his other hand on his hip. “What do I win?”
I pressed my lips together as I snuck a glance over at the woman sitting at the table. She wasn’t watching us; her gaze was focused on Shane, who was wiping down tables.
If he said she isn’t a date…
“What do you want?” I asked.
