“Thanks for that advice,” he muttered sarcastically to the cover, which seemed to be mocking him with its bold, confident font. Reflect on what inspired him? He didn’tknow; that was the whole problem.
He took another sip of his drink, which did admittedly help his mood. This coffee inspired him, but he did not feel that he wanted to shift his career to being a barista. And goodness knew he would not make a good coffee shop owner, not now that he knew the perfect coffee shop already existed.
He slumped back in his chair. Gosh, it was a perfect chair too. Perfect chair, perfect coffee.
Maybe, if he was going to get his reading done, he was going to have to go force himself somewhere with no distraction and no comforts. Like one of those ancient monks who sat for days in the rain to meditate.
He gave up that thought almost as soon as he’d had it. He’d lived in California for too long. He was not equipped to handle any more rain than a sprinkle.
Though Shane was far from needing any more distractions in his day, he sat up cheerfully when the door to the café opened and Eleanor’s friend Diana came in, followed by a man and a child who looked to be about nine or so years old, not that he considered himself a terribly good judge.
She spotted him at once, then smiled and waved.
“Shane, hey,” she said, crossing to him. “How are you? Have you met my boyfriend, Anthony, and his daughter, Eloise?”
“Boyfriend and girlfriend,” Eloise teased in a sing-song voice, causing her father to tug at one of her pigtails playfully before extending a hand for Shane to shake.
“I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure,” he said. “I’m Anthony Whitaker.”
“Shane Ridley,” Shane replied. “You probably know my sister, Eleanor.”
Eloise’s eyes went wide. “Ms. Eleanor is your sister?” she said, sounding extremely impressed. “Did you know that she owns her own bookstore? And she lives there too! It’s the coolest.”
Shane grinned at her exuberance. “I did know that. And you want to know something even cooler?”
Eloise nodded emphatically, so Shane waved her forward like he was about to impart a secret.
“I’m staying there too, while I visit,” he said in a mock-whisper.
Eloise gave him a skeptical look. “That is pretty cool,” she admitted. “But it’s definitely not cooler than living there forever. Sorry.”
“Eloise!” her father said in a protesting chuckle.
Eloise held up her hands in defense. “Isaidsorry,” she pointed out. “And you said it’s always important to tell the truth!”
“She’s got you there,” Diana teased her boyfriend.
Shane laughed. “And you do have a point,” he said to the little girl. “Staying at a bookstore for a little while is way less cool than staying forever.”
“It’s still cool, though,” she reassured him. “You should tell all your friends when you go back home.”
“Speaking of,” Diana interjected. “How long are you staying? I don’t think Eleanor said.”
“Eleanor doesn’t know,” he admitted. “Idon’t really know yet. I’m taking a mini sabbatical from work, and I have enough time off built up that I’m confident that Eleanor will get sick of me long before my job forces me to come back.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Diana said. “She’s talked alotabout getting you to come visit. If I were you, I’d be worried that she’s never going to let you leave.”
“Now that I’ve had this coffee,” Shane replied, hefting his cup in illustration, “that’s less of a threat than you might think.”
“While you’re here,” Anthony chimed in, “we should all grab dinner sometime. Eloise and I haven’t been in Magnolia Shore that long either, so we can give you the ‘new to town’ nickel tour, even if you aren’t staying forever.”
“Yeah, that sounds really nice,” Shane said at once, marveling at how kind everyone in this town was. He really did love San Francisco, but there was no citywide welcomingcommittee like there seemed to be here. It had taken him at least a year of living there before he had started to feel like he really had his feet underneath him.
Before the conversation could continue naturally, the door to the café opened again, and Winnie came in, clutching a scarf around her neck against the windy weather that had been blowing through town all week. Shane felt a jolt of excitement at seeing her, as well as a flash of relief that he could see her car parked out front, plainly visible through the plate glass windows. He was glad she’d gotten her transportation issues sorted out. He’d been faintly worried on her behalf.
“Winnie, hi!” he said.
Winnie startled. She’d apparently been lost in her own thoughts. As soon as she saw them, she smiled… although Shane noticed that there was a slight shyness to that smile.
