We shuffle forward when the line moves. The bell on the door jingles when it opens, letting in a gust of chilly air.
“Hey,” a deep voice says behind me.
I smile slowly, scraping my teeth across my lower lip. It’s pointless because there’s no stopping the warmth that spreads in my chest around him.
“Cole,” I answer without turning around.
“How’s the camper, sweetheart?”
That gets me to spin. He winks, only teasing. I wish he weren’t.
“Okay, enough of that. Big Al isn’t around,” I say. “The camper is fine. I’ve gotten as far as dusting it and scaring myself half to death when I thought I needed to fend off a huge spider. Turned out it was already dead.”
“Yikes,” Reagan says with a grimace.
“Tell me about it. I wanted to get one of Dad’s old hockey sticks from the garage, but I was terrified if I moved, I’d lose it. So it was just me and the carcass in a fifteen minute showdown before I worked up the courage to throw a shoe at it.”
“Solid move.” She shivers.
“You should’ve called me,” Cole says. “Dead or not, I would’ve rescued you.”
I roll my lips between my teeth and play with the beaded bracelet loop attached to my phone case. He needs to stop being so sweet and caring or I’ll never get past this inconvenient crush. It’s already worse from how kind he was the other day listening to me gush about my aspirations to start my business, genuinely interested in my goals.
“I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m engaged in battle,” I sass.
The corners of his mouth curl, bringing out the dimple in his cheek. He rests a hand over his heart with a slight bow.
“I await your call to arms, my liege.”
Reagan shifts her gaze between us, then raises a brow at me. I give her a subtle shake of my head. We’re up next to order.
“This is on me for both of you.” Cole interrupts when I turn to him to protest. “What do you want, a mocha latte?”
My jaw snaps shut. He still remembers my coffee order after all these years? We used to stop by here every morning before he drove me and Benson to school, then we’d play Rock Paper Scissors at the ice rink before their hockey practices to see who would go out for coffee.
I nod. “Thank you.”
“Same for me. Thanks, dude,” Reagan says.
“You’re welcome. Do either of you want anything to eat?”
“I’m okay. What?” I press at his doubtful expression.
“You’re not hungry?” He lifts a brow when I shake my head.
“There are two things I never say no to: free coffee and baked goods.” Reagan leans close to whisper to me. “Babe, he’s all green flags. Keep him.”
I hush her. His eyes glint with humor. I’m sure he heard her, but he’s pretending he didn’t.
He cocks his head in that confident, attractive way that leaves me breathless. “Are you sure you don’t want anything else, Evie?”
You.
Not on the menu, unfortunately.
I wasn’t that hungry. Not until he points at the fresh pastry twists as they’re put in the display case. My mouth waters. I tap the glass and he smirks knowingly.
“Thought so. You’ve got it.”
