Chapter One
It could havebeen the perfect meet-cute.
If she were in a movie, Mia Russo was positive this afternoon would have been the romantic turning point in her life. All of the obvious clichéd beats were there inside the small-town coffee shop. She was a down-on-her-luck, twenty-five-year-old single gal. He was…well, all she knew about him was the fact he was handsome enough to inspire the chiseling of a marble statue or two. If Mia took a wild stab at a board of stereotypical occupations, she would guess…lumberjack? He wore a red-and-black plaid shirt on his healthy, broad physique, reminding her of the hunky mascot on Brawny paper towels.
At this moment, she could use a good, two-ply paper towel to soak up the lusty drool threatening to escape her mouth. Drooling over a customer would not make the best impression during her interview. It was too bad Brawny’s beautiful form had to be directly in her line of sight. Did she need one more challenge in her life? This was, no doubt, the gods testing her mental fortitude.
Always-at-the-top-of-her-class Mia never pictured herself walking into Pony Expresso and asking for a job. Then again, she never imagined she’d be back in her small Northern California hometown of Placerville. A city given the nickname “Old Hangtown” when it was part of gold rush history.
Life had a funny way of slapping one across the ass when it was least expected. This exact line of thought must have passed through the minds of several ghostly occupants. In particular, those who contributed to its morbid nickname. In her situation, the trajectory of Mia’s life had been wobbling on the edge for some time.
Her interviewer was a woman who looked as if she ran triathlons once a month and was around the same age as Mia—or possibly younger.God, she better not be younger. The thought of her future manager being younger was one more jab to Mia’s already wounded ego. Plus, Natalie Gonzalez-Torres, with her wavy chestnut-colored hair and soft brown skin, looked to be one hundred percent Latina and a goddess. Mia was half Latina, half white, and neither half was close to the level of goddess. All she could do was stand awkwardly between worlds, and she was pretty sure goddesses were never awkward. Everything about this interview was unfair.
With a flip of her shiny, dark locks, Natalie perused the application in her hands, even though there wasn’t much to study. Mia had spent the majority of her energy on her education. Her work resume was slim, almost to the point of nonexistent.
A month ago, when she first started looking for a job, Mia applied elsewhere, places with less of a part-time college student feel to them. But, as the rejections built, the lower and lower Mia’s bar dropped. As good as her imagination was, she never expected she’d end up at a tiny coffee shop. In these positions, her education was not a benefit, more of a hindrance, but she was running out of options.
“Do you know how to run an espresso machine?” Natalie asked, giving a good impression of a sincere interview despite Mia’s lack of qualifications.
“Truthfully, no,” Mia responded. “But I’m a quick learner.” She had always been a quick study. All she needed to do was convince Natalie of this. Her response was paired with a bright smile in the hopes it conveyed a higher level of confidence. She considered adding that if Brawny was a regular customer to Pony Expresso, she’d take all night to memorize the coffee menu.
Natalie suddenly brightened. “Oh, you went to El Dorado High? Me, too.”
Mia was prepared to learn they were in the same class or Natalie graduated after. She did her best to keep her expression neutral. “Oh, yeah? Did we graduate the same year? You don’t look familiar.”
“I was a few years ahead of you,” Natalie said as she turned the application over.
Thank god for that. The age difference shouldn’t matter but it did, and these days Mia would take what she could get.
“I’m afraid the pay would only be minimum wage, but we do share tips. And it’s a fun place to work. The owner of the shop is my Uncle Enrique, but he’s pretty laid-back.” Natalie shared this information cheerfully as though tone alone could improve the financial situation.
A sigh swept through Mia. The wage amount wasn’t unexpected, but she couldn’t deny the disappointment which came along with it. At least her father wasn’t charging her rent while she was living at home again. Nothing saidsadmore than being a grown woman sleeping on a twin-size bed with a stuffed bear, and across from a wall dotted with old framed awards for excellence. Mia would rather avoid her childhood bedroom as much as she could and make some extra money.
“Every little bit helps,” Mia replied with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
“And we’re looking for someone who can work the busy, early morning shift,” Natalie told her.
“I’ll work whenever you need me.” Mia hoped her smile didn’t appear to be a permanent fixture on her face, but she couldn’t stop. Natalie may soon be under the impression she was interviewing a clown in disguise. Maybe she should see if there was a traveling circus hiring nearby. If she couldn’t be a goddess, then clown would have to do.
“What’s your favorite coffee or tea? What do you like to drink?”
“Oh. Um.” Not having an answer ready put an instant ball of anxiety inside Mia’s gut. She kicked herself for not being prepared. Of course, they would expect her to have a favorite drink. She was about to flub the most important question of all, and she tried not to flail by grabbing the first item she could read on the chalkboard menu. If she did that, an answer likeAlmond Raspberry Muffinwould have burst from her mouth. It happened to be today’s chalkboard suggestion, but she was almost certain this was the wrong answer.
Mia went with honesty. “I’m trying to figure that out. I haven’t spent a lot of time just relaxing in a cute coffee shop like this one, and I look forward to trying new things. As well as giving your customers the same opportunity.”
“I love helping people figure out their favorite drink. My uncle says I have a freaky gift where I can sometimes tell just by looking at a person.” Natalie gave Mia a careful study as if she could determine her drink of choice by reading facial features like tea leaves. But after a few seconds, she cocked her head. “Hmm. Actually, nothing is really popping out at me. But I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually.”
Mia didn’t fault her for this failed attempt at beverage matching. It could have been her questionable goddess status causing a drink-prediction block. With Mia’s tanned skin and golden brown hair, Natalie wasn’t the first person to be stumped when looking at her.
“I think that’s it on my end. We’ll give you a call in a few days after we make a decision.” The (definitely older)manager shook Mia’s hand, and the interview came to its conclusion when Natalie answered her ringing cell, replying in Spanish to the person on the other end as she returned to the counter.
Was she really going to do this? Work in a coffee shop? It didn’t seem to fit anywhere in her plans when she considered her life goals. This morning, when Mia mentioned to her father where she was interviewing, he shook his head and laughed as if it was a ridiculous joke, which it was. One big, ridiculous, dark roasted joke.
How many times had she heard her father say,You better stick with the books, Mia, unless you want to be flipping burgers or making coffee.She did stick with books and yet, here she was. Apparently, it wasn’t a joke as much as it was a possible premonition.
Mia had a plan. Well, she had anewplan. Her education was extensive, first with a bachelor’s in political science and then a master’s in the same. After being encouraged by a favorite teacher, who praised her government studies and her involvement in Model UN, Mia’s original goal was getting into politics and becoming a big-shot political manager or advisor. Add to this the countless hours she’d spent proudly helping her dad put up re-election signs, even though he often ran unopposed for Judge, and it all felt like destiny.
Since the original plan had not worked out, it was back to the drawing board. Thenew and improvedplan was to get her PhD in political science. She’d become a brilliant, in high-demand doctor/professor, make tenure in less than ten years, and write a best-selling book or two. Mia would then end up as an expert contributor on CNN while touring the country to give TED talks. Okay, that last part might be nothing more than a wishful cherry on her career sundae, but the other things were sure to happen. For someone who was used to rising to the top, her plan didn’t appear to be an insurmountable sundae.
