Page 3 of The Emma Special

“Well, bye bye.” Without anything else to prolong the meeting, she opened the door and⁠—

“Wait!”

Turning quickly, she understood James’s warning too late. The small bag of confetti attached to her hip tumbled into the seat, bounced, then spun its way to the floorboard of his pristine car. The tiny pieces of colored paper cascaded in a shower and floated in the air as they scattered.

Emma’s heart dropped like a rock. “Oops.”

The tension in James’s shoulders eased with his sigh. “It’s fine. I’ll clean it up later.”

“I hate it when this happens.” Emma folded her hands together, pleading for his forgiveness. “I’m so, so sorry.” She tried to scoop some of it from the seat, but the tiny pieces sank deeper into the crevices.

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t want to be late for your meeting.” He grabbed the now-empty pouch and handed it to her.

Ugh. She’d really messed this one up. So much for getting Mr. Hottie’s phone number. “Thanks for the ride.”

She stepped away from the car and closed the door behind her. Either the ache in her knee had subsided, or she was too mortified to feel it. Stopping at the door of Brews and Books, she turned to give her hero a wave. With a curt nod, he drove off down the quaint street.

Sucking in a massive lungful of air, Emma pushed the door open. The bell chimed inside the coffee shop, alerting everyone to her arrival.

Brews and Books was the only place in town to get coffee as long as Sunny’s Diner didn’t count. You were out of luck if you wanted anything other than black sludge from Sunny. He swore the stuff would “put hair on your chest,” but Emma wasn’t looking for extra hair anywhere.

Emma gave the barista, Jenny, a wave that could have put a windmill to shame. “Hey, girl!”

Jenny pointed toward the back room with a friendly smile. “Allison has your drink, and it’s still hot.”

Thank the good Lord for Allison. Emma had a wad of cash from Mrs. Jones stuffed into her bra, but that had been spent before it hit her hand.

“You’re an angel!”

“And you’re a pixie,” Jenny said with a chuckle. “Enjoy!”

Brews and Books was a small place, but every inch was put to good use. The front housed the coffee shop and a few tables, but the back room had floor-to-ceiling shelves that stayed packed with used books of all genres. Their Kiss and Tell Book Club had donated most of their old reads over the years, making sure new books were added every month.

The twinge in Emma’s knee had joined the chat by the time she entered the back room. Katie and Summer sat in their usual spots on the worn brown couch, and Allison claimed the padded chair at the end of the coffee table. It was easy to think of her as their team leader when she took her place at the head of the table. The girl had a spreadsheet and a graph for everything, and Emma had learned long ago not to ask too many questions or she’d find herself a captive audience to Allison’s never-ending river of knowledge.

Katie smiled when Emma walked in. “You made it on time!”

Emma chuckled and flopped onto her usual seat on the couch. “Nope. Ten minutes late.”

Summer leaned forward, her vibrant auburn hair falling over her shoulder, and rested a hand on Emma’s leg. “We told you it started at four thirty, but we planned to meet at a quarter till.”

Emma melted into an unladylike position on the worn couch. “You mean I hitched a ride from a stranger for nothing?”

Allison sat up straight as if lightning had just struck her body. “You what?”

Emma waved her hand. “Don’t worry. I didn’t take the candy he offered me.”

“Seriously, Emma. You have to stop doing that. You know we can pick you up anytime.”

“I didn’t have my cell. Plus, he was a cutie. I didn’t know him, but he was super nice. A little uptight, but he didn’t lose his cool when I spilled confetti in his fancy car.”

Summer shook her head but didn’t seem surprised. “Who was it?”

“Please don’t get in a stranger’s car ever again.” Allison rested a hand against her chest as if she’d never seen the likes. “Did you at least get his name?”

“James Moore.” Emma shrugged. “He looked familiar, but I didn’t know him.”

Allison leaned forward until the hardback copy of Love Comes Softly slid out of her lap and landed with a thunk on the floor. “You dumped confetti in James Moore’s car?”