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Rowan laughs. “Marthe’s stuffed hash browns are good, but not three hundred dollars good.”

“Let’s take a look.” He doesn’t touch the screen, stands at my shoulder, and asks what I pressed until we work out where I took a wrong turn.

I try again and get it right. Rowan pays and is on her way.

Luca and Nick have the same smile, except Luca’s is a ray of midday sunshine complete with a dimple, where Nick’s voltage is turned way down. Granted, I’ve only seen Nick’s customer service smile. Maybe the real one is worth waiting for. Too bad I’ll never see it.

Two brothers, same house, raised by the same mom. So what happened to Nick?

We fall into a rhythm for the next couple of hours, back and forth, ferrying orders and plates, topping up coffee. The grill runs hot enough that I regret the sweater. When the dinner rush tapers off and my feet are aching, he tells me to take a break, and I claim a table near the back. He fixes me his signature sandwich—reindeer sausage, sharp cheddar, dill pickle, and a layer of Marthe’s salmonberry jam—grilled in bacon fat. It should not work, yet it’s obnoxiously good. He tells me all about the best spots around Ravenslight Creek.

“There’s a hot spring in the woods up by the north trail. You should get Nick to take you up there.” Luca sips his soda.

“Yeah. Right.” I snort. “Your brother hates me.”

“Not true.”

“He’s told you that, has he?”

Luca leans back until the chair creaks and folds his hands behind his head. “I know my brother.”

“Well, when he fires me, I get to say I told you so.” I massage a crick in my neck.

“He won’t—” The bell over the door tinkles, and Luca waves. “Tess, this is Ellery.”

A woman not much older than me, with long blond hair flowing out from under a beanie and a toddler clutched to her hip who is actively trying to get down, comes up to our table.

“Hey.” She points to the baby boy. “This is Isaac.”

“Hey, Isaac.” I grab his chubby little fingers. “You’re a bundle of cute. Any time you need a babysitter, consider me available.”

“Don’t say things you’ll definitely regret.” She laughs as he starts to wriggle, and she catches his fist before he can pull on her earrings.

“Speaking of regrets, I’ve got to go. Don’t want to give Nick another reason to hate me by being late.” I take off my apron and hand it to Luca.

“He doesn’t hate you,” he calls after me as I slip through the back of the cafe. “He hates everything!”

Chapter 12

Nick

I lean against the van, parked outside the cafe. Ten minutes early. Pick her up, do the shift, take her home. Except it’s been close to a week, and she’s showing no signs of wanting to throw in the towel. Which is problematic.

Ellery bounds out, still laughing at something, waving goodbye to whoever’s inside, buttoning that green coat. The temperature is predicted to drop tonight and stay that way through the weekend. A few nights in those conditions will have her rethinking Alaska.

“Where are the refreshments?”

“Shoot. I’ll go get⁠—”

“You need to be more organized.”

“Why are we starting the evening with a performance review?” She pushes back her shoulders and examines me.

“Were the expectations of the role not clear?” I sound like my accountant. I keep going anyway. “Or should I go over your duties again?”

“Hey, Ellery, you forgot…” Tess emerges from the cafe with the basket and the flasks, sees our standoff, and stops short.

“I guess we can go now.” I leave them both on the sidewalk and get in the van.