“So, that’s it, then?” he asked.
“Uh-huh. Yup. I think it’s enough for now.” Mia tossed items into her box as if she couldn’t wait to escape. “I’ll let you know when I have some finished images for you. And I’ll just take the SD card so you can have your camera back.”
“You don’t need it for the coffee shop?”
“Nope. I’ve stockpiled lots of photos, so they should be good on social media posts for a while.” She slipped her hair behind her ear again. “Anyway, thanks for letting me borrow it.” Her eyes caught the ring glistening on her hand. “Oh, here’s your ring.” She jerked it off, placing it on the counter, but her fingers fumbled the landing, and the ring clattered against the glass. “Sorry.” Mia pocketed the camera’s SD card and claimed her box of supplies.
“Mia?”
“Yeah?”
He took the silver, rushing-river earrings and held them to her. She glanced at them before meeting his eyes, clearly unsure of what her response should be. He offered them again. “Go ahead. You won the bet.”
She released a soft breath. “Really?” Returning the box to the counter, she took the earrings with a timid hand as though expecting him to snatch the jewelry away without warning. With the earrings in her possession, she released a wide smile, one which lit her whole face. A deep dimple marked her right cheek as she threaded the hooks through pierced lobes. She spotted her reflection in a mirror, moving her hair away so she could examine the dangling, sparkling earrings. “I love them. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“I hope this makes me better than the junk man across the street.”
Mia reclaimed her cardboard box, resting it against a hip, as he walked her to the door. “Oh, yeah, you’re way better than Gary. Maybe if I do some more images for you, I can get a necklace to match.”
“Don’t push your luck, Russo.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Ihave totell you that I’m not getting an Americano vibe from you. But here you go.” Natalie set the cup of coffee beside Mia’s laptop.
She took a sip, making a face.Yuck. Definitely don’t like that. Maybe if she added more sugar, it would help.
Natalie took a seat across from her, with her own cup of hot tea. “I knew it. To tell the truth, you seem more like a person who likes something on the sweeter side. And why are you here on your day off, M? Are you working on your school submissions or something?”
No. No, Mia wasn’t. A stab of guilt sliced through her gut. This was the single reason why she was at the coffee shop. She was already getting enough of the same question at home from her father.
Are you sending out your applications?andHow’s the smarty-pants PhD thing coming along?became frequent questions from the judge.
It didn’t matter if she spent evenings working on a research proposal or examining the published papers of department faculty at different campuses. Any hint she was working on something else, such as the photos for Pony Expresso or El Dorado Jewelry, was met with a heavy sigh from her dad. This was usually followed by, “You’re getting distracted. You need to stay focused. Do you really need to be doing that when you have other important things to do?”
He was right. The judge was always right. But, at the same time, Mia wondered when she’d be allowed to get distracted. There was a part of her beginning to feel it wasn’t fair. She knew how to get things done. She’d been getting things done her whole life. But there was always this implication that if she ever let herself slip,get distracted, she would never climb out again. She’d be slinging coffee for the rest of her life.
If Mia was at Pony Expresso, she could work on anything she wanted without judgment. At least this was the theory until Natalie asked her the same question.
“I was, but I’m taking a break and working on some images for the jewelry store. Look at this. Doesn’t it take your breath away?” Mia rotated her laptop, giving Natalie access to the screen. It was one of Ross’s rings, the pearl one, her favorite, perched on a stack of gray river rocks. It was gorgeous. Someone scrolling through a page of images couldn’t help but stop at this one.
“Wow. I had no idea that was the kind of jewelry he had over there.”
Mia smiled, a soft flutter floated within her chest. “Oh yeah. It’s amazing. I love everything he does.”
Natalie studied Mia, her soft brown eyes catching the light with a mischievous twinkle. “Uh-huh. Is there something going on between you and the jewelry guy?”
Mia returned the laptop to its original position and swiped dust off the keyboard with her sleeve, attempting to appear casual. “What? No. We went to school together. We’re just old friends.”
Although, considering the number of times she replayed the jewelry store scene, the one where she pressed against his firm body, maybe being old friends didn’t feel satisfying enough. There was something there. A buzz. A spark. She wondered if Ross could sense it as well. He must have. That one single moment where everything stilled around them, her breath caught, and she could have leaned into—
Her father was correct. She was getting distracted.
Mia flicked a look at Natalie. “Why do you think something’s going on between us?”
“Come on. I’ve been doing this for a while. I know the regulars. They come in like clockwork. As long as we’ve been shop neighbors, that man has never been a regular. That’s definitely not the case anymore.”
Mia’s cheeks warmed. Was it true? Was he coming in almost every day because of her? Or was it a delayed caffeine addiction kicking in, and the timing was coincidental?
