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“Speaking of which, can you put my cap in a to-go cup? I have a date with a book in Central Park,” I added with a grin.

“Bravo, bravo! It makes me happy to hear you are going out to enjoy this wonderful sunshine. You need to relax and enjoy life more often, bella. If I were a few years younger, I would show you how the Italians enjoy living,” he said with a devilish wink and handed me my drink.

As if on cue, Maria came out of the back room.

“Ah, stop it, you old fool! Leave the poor girl alone. She doesn’t want to be bothered by you!” Angelo’s wife quipped. Maria’s eyes crinkled in the corners as she smiled at me. I walked over to the register and waited as she cashed me out.

“How are you, honey? You seem thin. You are working all the time,” she scolded. “You need something to eat, yes?”

“I’m fine, Maria. No, thank you,” I graciously declined, then sighed as she packaged up pastries for me, anyway. I mentally calculated the calories going into the bag. My hips didn’t like the resulting sum. She left me with little choice but to pay for the cappuccino and the pastries I didn’t need. As sweet as Maria was, she never understood the word “no.”

I said my goodbyes to Maria and Angelo and left the café. My conversation with the shop owners reminded me I had to call Allyson, my roommate. I missed her. Our schedules had been so opposite lately, and I hadn’t talked to my friend in days. It was a short walk to Central Park, and I decided to give her a call along the way.

I reached into my purse for my cell phone but came up empty After fishing around for a few minutes, I knew it wasn’t there.

Damn!

In my mad dash to avoid Jim, I must have left it in my locker at Wally’s. Frustrated over the time wasted, I turned around and headed back.

When I finally reached the front doors of Wally’s, I hesitated before going in. I really didn’t want to risk another run-in with Jim. On impulse, I yanked the ponytail out of my hair and shook out my curly mop.

Head down and face hidden. Maybe he won’t see me.

I knew it was a long shot, so I superstitiously crossed my fingers before hurrying inside.

By some minor miracle, I managed to get to my locker, retrieve my phone, and leave the break room without being seen. As I was walking down aisle nine, I congratulated myself for a successful stealth mission, even though I was still mildly aggravated that it had delayed my plans. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late for the park.

I glanced down at my phone to check the time and saw I had a missed call from Allyson. Trying to remember what my friend had planned for that night, I began typing her a quick text to ask her⁠—

WHAM!

Pain pierced through my skull in a ferocious blast, and stars dotted my vision. I grabbed my head with two hands to stop the clanging sound of metal reverberating through my eardrums. After a moment or two, I regained some sense of focus and stared directly at the metal racking of an end cap—the same end cap I had so carefully built that morning.

“Damn planogram!” I cursed.

My right eye was killing me, and I could already sense it swelling. I looked down at my shirt. Not only had I smacked my head, but my cappuccino had dumped all over the front of me. As my gaze traveled down to the floor, I saw my cell phone lying face down in a puddle of milk and espresso. I groaned.

Please don’t let the screen be cracked!

I repeated the silent plea over and over again as I bent over to pick it up. Sure enough, the screen had shattered.

“Son of a bitch!” I swore, looking at the spiderweb cracks on the glass.

Feeling more than just a little foolish, I looked around to make sure no one had seen my klutzy mishap.

Heat spread up my neck to my face in embarrassment when I saw Mr. Roberts, Jim McNamara, and a man in a suit standing halfway down the aisle. They were all staring at me in shock over what had transpired .

Fantastic—I have an audience.

Then I did a double-take.

The third man was not just another ordinary guy in a suit. He was attractive—very attractive. Young, too. I guessed he wasn’t a day over thirty, with an arresting face and perfectly chiseled square jawline. He was taller than the other two men, standing over six feet. He looked absolutely magnificent in his dark gray sport coat, white shirt, and solid black tie. His hair was wavy and almost black. It was cut longer, but not too long, with the dark ends just touching his collar.

Holy hell! No man should be allowed to look that good in a suit!

The sleeping devil on my shoulder woke up to take a peek. I suddenly had a vision of running my hands through those silky dark waves, across the broad span of his shoulders…

“Oh, my! Are you okay?” Mr. Roberts’ voice broke me from my reverie. The three men started in my direction. Mr. Roberts, alarmed over what happened, was running his hands over his thinning gray hair.