“Did you want a latte or espresso?” Trystan asks, smiling at me.
“Neither,” I say, coming back beside him. “What is wrong with you?” I whisper.
He takes my arm and forces me into the line behind Kristen.
“Hey, Kristen,” Trystan says. “What are you up to this weekend?”
She gives him a sarcastic smile. “I’m seeing a surgeon in LA to correct whatever damage was done by your cousin.”
“Rumor?” He yanks me into his side. “She couldn’t do any damage. Look at her. She’s barely over a hundred pounds.”
“Let me go,” I mutter, but he ignores me.
Kristen’s mom turns to face us, smiling at Trystan. “The Halliway boy?”
“Yeah,” he says. “I’m Trystan.”
She looks at her daughter. “Did you date them both or just the one?”
“One, Mother,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I dated Braden.”
Her mom shrugs. “It’s hard to keep track, given how many boys you’ve been with.”
Kristen takes a deep breath and stares up at the menu. I’m staring at her mom and all the diamonds she’s wearing — earrings, a necklace, two bracelets, multiple rings. Who wears that much jewelry to get coffee on a Saturday morning?
“I’m Daphne Reynolds.” She extends her hand to me. Her rings look huge on her bony fingers.
“She’s the one who hit me,” Kristen says, still staring at the menu.
“I didn’t mean to,” I say to her mom. “It’d just been a really long day, and a long week. And my mom just died so—”
“Your mother died?” Daphne frowns. “Was it an accident?”
That’s an odd question. Normally, people just say they’re sorry. I don’t even know why I mentioned my mom. I guess Iwas just desperate to find a reason to explain why I punched her daughter.
“Aneurysm,” I say. “She didn’t know anything was wrong. It just happened.”
“What a shame.” She looks at Trystan. “How is your father?”
“Good. He’s not working right now so he’s living at home.”
She smiles. “Maybe we could get together. Mention it to him, will you?”
“Sure.”
“Mother!” Kristen glares at her. “You’re married! You’re not going out with Trystan’s dad!Heruncle!” She points to me. “You should be yelling at her! She punched me!”
Daphne leans down to me, and for a moment, I think she’s actually going to hit me. But instead she says quietly in my ear, “I would’ve done the same thing.”
“What did you say to her?” Kristen demands.
Her mom leans over and talks in her ear.
Kristen slowly smiles.
“You’re up,” Trystan says, pointing to the barista waiting to take their order.
They get their coffee and leave. We remain there for the next ten minutes because Trystan’s order takes forever to make. He has to have it exactly how he wants it, and they screwed up the first two times and had to remake it.
