“Excuse me?”
He runs the tip of his forefinger down the middle of his eyebrows. “You get a crinkle here when something is stressing you out.”
“No, I don’t.”
He nods. “You do. It’s an obvious tell. You’re usually pretty relaxed, but when something is bothering you, the crinkle appears.”
“I have an iced coffee here for Parker?” the barista yells out from behind the counter, reading the scribbled name on the side of the cup. “Is Parker here? Iced coffee for Parker!”
When no one else steps forward, I raise my hand. “I think I’m Parker.”
“Here you go,” she beams, handing it over. “Enjoy!”
“Thank you,” I reply, turning to see Ryan looking amused. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, Parker.” He grins. “Enjoy your iced coffee.”
“What are you waiting on?”
“A mocha.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Amocha?”
“What’s wrong with a mocha?” he asks defensively, folding his arms.
“I don’t know.” I look him up and down. “You write about land mines but you like chocolate in your coffee.”
He tilts his head. “I’m a man of many layers.”
“Clearly.”
“I have a mocha here for Brian!” the barista calls out, and it’s like music to my ears. “Mocha for Brian!”
He sighs, shuffling forward as he says, “I’m Brian,” while I wait with anextremelysmug smile plastered across my face.
“All right, Parker, no need to look so pleased with yourself,” he grumbles as we fall into step with each other after leaving Roasted, making our way back to the office.
“I hope that mocha is up to scratch, Brian.”
“The really sad thing is, I get my coffee here almost every morning before work around quarter to eight. Literally same time, every day. You’d think they would recognize me by now.” He shrugs. “So, you’re not going to tell me what was stressing you out and causing the crinkle before I disturbed your train of thought?”
“It’s all veryWhen Harry Met Sally,this crinkle nonsense.”
He looks confused. “What do you mean?”
“You know, at the end of the movie when he runs to find her at the party and he does that amazing speech, and he says that he loves the crinkle above her nose,” I explain.
He shrugs. “I’ve never seen it. But it sounds like you just spoiled the ending.”
I gasp, stopping suddenly and gripping his arm. “You’ve never seenWhen Harry Met Sally?”
He shakes his head. “Is that bad?”
“Yes!It’s the greatest rom-com of all time. No. Wait. Maybe tied withNotting Hill.”
“Notting Hillalways bothered me.”
“Ryan, please don’t tell me that you don’t likeNotting Hill,because we’re only just starting to see eye to eye again, and I don’t want to go back to hating on you all the time.”
