“I’ll be right over.”
Gray pops out of the kitchen, “I told you, taking the tree down was a bad idea.”
I roll my eyes and busy myself. Moment to shine. Where the heck is the peppermint tea? I reach for the china cups stacked on a shelf and the entire stack topples, clattering to the floor.
Chewing on my bottom lip, I bend to collect the shattered cups, but Gray gets there before me with a dustpan and brush. “Don’t worry, half of these were chipped, anyway. Let me help you.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not good at this. Peppermint? Was that a joke about a bigger and better tree?”
“It’s no joke. The customer is always right. I’d have thought you’d already know that, Cam.” He points to the far end of the counter with the pressed speciality teas, and throws an apron my way.
“What’s this?”
“Found the perfect apron for you.” The smile on his face is adorable.
I open the scrunched up green apron to read the words in big red letters. ‘Team Scrooge.’ “Haha. You’re so funny.”
“It was that or ‘Fat birds need more stuffing’.” His smile turns into a chuckle, and I throw the apron back at him.
“I’ll manage. Thank you.” With a roll of my eyes, I stroll over to the speciality teas and make a batch of peppermint in a pot for one. Moving to the urn, I fiddle with the spout, but can’t figure out how it works. After a minute of worrying my lip between my teeth, I have to succumb to Gray.
“Having a little trouble there?” He leans against the kitchen doorjamb.
“Have you been watching me struggle all this time? We have customers waiting.”
“I couldn’t help myself. Here, found another apron for you.” He hands me a red apron with the words, ‘Santa licked my cookie.’ A silver cartoon Santa winks back at me.
“Is this appropriate?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Santa likes cookies. What else could it mean?” He chuckles again, then points to the lever on the spout. “You have to push it inwards and lift it at the same time. It’s a little stiff.”
I arch my brow, but do as he instructs, holding the teapot underneath. “Like this?”
Hot water pours from the spout into the pot. The peppermint infusion fills the space between us. “That’s it. Good girl”
My head whips up at ‘good girl’. With wide eyes, I gaze at Gray, my core pulsing just like the water pulsing out of the spout.
“Don’t forget to stop it.” He nods to the lever I forgot I was holding. “I see your mind is in the gutter, Cam.” He chuckles again. “And by the way, Santa's not the only one that licks.” His breath fans my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. “I mean, likes cookies.”
My core clenches, and I squeeze my thighs together. I hate he has this effect on me and could probably summon an orgasm without even touching me.
He’s done that before.
Let’s not go there. I shake the thought of snaking my hand into my pants, imagining Gray when I was younger.
Putting on a fake smile, I gather everything onto the tray as I’ve watched the staff do all day, begrudgingly adding a peppermint candy cane chocolate that costs an arm and leg.
GRAY
When I step into the shop, she’s already up and working on her laptop. That thing is constantly open, and if she’s not on her laptop, it’s her phone. “What time do you wake up?” I assume her body clock is still off.
“I woke up around 5am and came down so I wouldn’t disturb you. I had a Teams meeting at 5.30am.”
“Can’t they schedule things later for you? You’re never going to adjust to our time zone if you’re still working on UK hours.”
“It’s okay. I like to get an early start. Besides, I’ve almost finished the website for the tea shop.” Cam glances down at me, bending and straightening my knee. “Cramp?”
“Yeah, just stiff after sleeping on the couch.” I give her a dirty glare, but I don’t mean it. Even though she’s causing a stir in the shop, I’m getting used to having her around. I trust she has a better business head than me.
