“What?” His chair screeches as he stands. Leaning over the table, he whisper-yells. “You want me to fire my sister?”
“Not your sister,” I say through gritted teeth and glance over at Trudy with one hand on her tummy and the other on her phone.
Gray shakes his head. “You can’t get rid of Trudy; she’s pregnant. I won’t see her lose her maternity leave.”
“You mean we have to pay her maternity pay as well?” My voice is a little louder than I wanted. Trudy looks up from her phone, slips it into her apron and pretends to look busy.
“She’s worked here for years. I won’t see her out of pocket with another mouth to feed.”
I clench my jaw, knowing he’s right. I don’t want to be the one to make her life more difficult with a baby in tow. “Fine, but can you at least tell her to get off that bloody phone and do something?”
“She’s pregnant. Give her a break.”
“She’s had about ten breaks already, and she’s only been here four hours.” I stand. “If you’re too much of a coward to say anything, then I will.”
Grayson grabs my arm, pulling me back into his chest. The scent of cinnamon rolls and peppermint tea fills my nose. “Don’t you dare. I need her here. If she walks out of here, I’m going to be short staffed when you leave too.” He chokes out those last words as though he didn’t want to say them out loud.
His lips are so close to mine, causing my body to do strange things, sending my brain haywire. I don’t want to leave. I’d never leave if I thought Grayson could love me the way I want him to. As a lover and not a sister, like he said all those years ago, shattering my heart.
The electricity between us is palpable. I know he feels it too, how his eyes linger on my lips for a beat too long. His grip loosens, but he doesn’t let me go, holding me flush against his chest so I can feel his hard muscles dig into my soft curves.
Has the distance between us over the years made him realise I’m more than a little sister or a cousin? We’re not even blood related, but my blood’s running hot for him right now, making my cheeks heat.
“Cam.” The way he says my name, like a whisper on the breeze, has my heart in a flutter. “I’ll talk to Trudy, okay?”
I nod. “What about the chocolates?”
“I’ll see if we can cut back, but I’m not changing supplier.” The doorbell dings and he steps away.
The loss of his touch gives me a shiver. Sitting back down, I focus on a website for the tea shop. It shouldn’t take me long to build something. Hopefully, it will help to bring more people in and promote this little haven of Tranquili-tea.
I pop my ear pods in, drowning out Bing Crosby for the hundredth time and get to work. Each time I look up from my laptop, I catch Gray’s eyes on me, before he quickly looks away and pretends he wasn’t staring. The thought of him looking at me makes my tummy tingle. Either that or he put something else in my tea.
* * *
“Need a hand with anything?” I ask as he walks by.
“You can serve if you like. I’m just cleaning the kitchen.”
My body tenses, and I gingerly walk behind the counter. I had a bar job during college. Serving tea is no different from pulling a pint, right?
The door dings and I put on my biggest smile. “Hello, what can I get you?”
“What happened to the tree?” A silver-haired woman says, scanning the room.
“I took it down.”
“I’m sorry. Who are you? Where’s Grayson or Julian or the girls, Trudy and Glory?”
“I’m Cam, the new owner, Betty’s great-niece.” I hold my hand out over the counter to greet the old dear.
“Part owner,” Gray shouts and comes to my rescue. “Hey Wanelda. We’re replacing the tree for a bigger and better one.” He winks at me, and I pinch my eyebrows.
Wanelda un-creases the wrinkles in her forehead. “What a wonderful idea. The silver tree had seen better days, a bit like myself.” She smoothes a hand over her silver hair and tips her glasses to get a good look at me through her magnified lens. “Betty had that tree up ever since I was a girl. She lived for Christmas.”
“So everyone keeps reminding me.” I unclench my jaw and fake smile. Lying and biting my tongue isn’t my strong suit. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a peppermint tea, please, darlin’. I’ll be over here in my usual seat, next to where the tree should be.”
