“Hi.” I offer an apologetic smile, noticing the faint freckles peppered over the bridge of her nose before bouncing back to her eyes. “Sorry for interrupting.”
They both look to be in their twenties, although it’s hard to tell which end. They’re both facing me now. Blondie on the right has her eyebrows pinched together like she wants to cinch my throat closed. I look back at the softer blue eyes.
“Do you need something?” She smiles, but it’s tense.
I clear my throat, running my hand through my hair. Charming women is my strong suit, but she has me feeling offmy game. That makes two games now—fuck. “I was wondering if you guys were done with the tablet.” I glance behind them at the counter before meeting their eyes once more.
“Oh, yes,” the one with freckles says, grabbing her friend’s wrist as she tugs her away from the counter. Her friend is still looking at me like she doesn’t know what to do with me. “Sorry about that,” she says, as they step out of my way.
“No worries.” I nod, keeping my distance as I walk around them and step up to the counter. A hint of vanilla and raspberries dances in the air as I pass them. Soft and subtle, like she only pressed down for half a spray when she put the perfume on. It has to be hers.
Shaking my head to myself, I punch my order in, knowing the placement of every button by heart. I press the one to send it to the baristas before walking across the shop to the bathroom. Pausing just outside the door, I can’t help myself as I turn my head to the side, looking for her.
My heart thumps a little harder and my eyebrows tug downward when I don’t see where she was last.
“You goin’ in?”
A gruff voice behind me breaks through my thoughts. I look at him, giving him a curt nod as I pull open the door and slip inside. I know her blue eyes and those freckles scattered like constellations are going to haunt me. A smile tugs on my lips.
This is just the kind of distraction I’ve been trying to avoid.
And maybe it’s the exact thing I’ve been missing.
CHAPTER THREE
JADE
“I couldn’t look away as he manipulated the clay with his fingertips, sculpting perfection. Julian Hart has the hands of a God.” - Clara Foss, Painted Inferno
My face scrunches as I pull my drink away from my mouth. I don’t know what they put in it, but it tastes like shit. Maybe they changed their syrups because I order the same thing every time and it has never tasted this bad.
Setting it down on the table, I prop my elbow, dropping my chin down onto it as I flip open the notebook with my other hand. A blank page stares back at me. A shiver of intimidation rolls down my spine. This is the worst part of the process for me lately. Coming up with an idea that is going to stick. I click my pen.
A blank page is a new beginning.
I hate new beginnings.
My hand falls away from my chin and I sit there, one hand wrapped around my coffee and the other clutching my pen like it’s the only thing keeping me afloat. I have to come up with something. I need the story of a lifetime to save my career at this point.
If I can’t follow through, I’m screwed. Maybe it’s time to hang up my writer hat and find a different job. Thankfully, if there’s one good thing my parents taught me, it was to be smart with my money. I don’t live beyond my means and after receiving the seven-figure advances I have in the past, I made sure to invest a large portion of it.
My degree in English Lit might not get me far, but at this point, anything sounds better than writing. I’m not too young to go back to grad school. I could become a teacher or a professor.
I need to stop stalling. I need to get some ideas down on paper. If there’s one thing everyone should know about me, it’s that Jade Wilson is not a quitter. The publisher asked for my agent and me to come up with an idea. I’ve stretched my time as thin as I possibly could.
Get your head out of your ass, Jade. All you have to do is write.
The tip of my pen scratches across the paper. Short and sweet. I smile as I read the two little words:Fuck this.
“Jade.”
A deep voice calls out my name, immediately pulling my attention away from my notepad. Confusion floods me, my face scrunching as I glance in the direction it came from.
“Jade?”
This time it’s a bit louder, sounding more like a question. My stomach flips and my heart races. The coffee shop is still filled with customers and I have no idea who’s calling my name.
I slowly rise to my feet. “Yeah?” I look in the direction of the voice and that’s when I see him. His gray blue eyes meet mine from across the room and a slow grin lifts the corners of his lips. My heart skips a beat, but I ignore the fluttering sensation. It’s just a byproduct from the anxiety of hearing my name being called out.
