He inwardly flinched. Even his conscience was giving him a dose of truth. He was a coward. He’d been a coward for months, although he’d avoided acknowledging that fact by burying himself in work. Now he didn’t have a choice. Well, he had one.Make things right.Or at least attempt to.
Clearing his throat, he walked over to her table, remembering the last time he’d had coffee with her. Or more accurately, what happenedaftercoffee. His pulse surged.
“Hi, Kingston.” Sunny appeared at the end of the hallway. A huge grin spread across her face as she stepped between him and Olivia. “Nice to see you. I just got off the phone with your mom.”
He plastered a tight grin on his face and braced himself. “What a coincidence.”
“I know, right? She said you wanted a private dance lesson?”
Obviously, she hadn’t gotten the voice mail he’d left. He peered around her slim shoulders. Olivia was typing now, either oblivious to him and Sunny or ignoring them. He looked at Sunny again. “About that—”
“I have some free time now. My next class doesn’t start for”—she glanced at the smart watch on her thinwrist—“another hour and a half. That’s plenty of time to teach you the tango.”
“I, uh...” He glanced at Olivia again. Still typing. Still ignoring. “Sure,” he said to Sunny. “I’ve got nothing going on this afternoon.”
“Great.” Her grin widened. “Did you get your coffee yet?”
“No.”
“Me either. We can grab them and then head to the studio. How does that sound?”
“Fine.” He gave Olivia one last look. There was no doubt she could hear their conversation. So that’s how it was going to be. He shifted his gaze to Sunny. “Just fine.”
He and Sunny went to the counter to put in their orders. “Karen gave me some great suggestions about future dance lessons,” she said.
“I’m sure she did,” he mumbled.
“Can I help you?” the barista asked.
“I’ll have a caramel coconut latte, please.” Sunny fished for her wallet inside the large purple bag slung over her shoulder,Ms.Abernathy’s School of Danceemblazoned on the side in black letters.
Kingston took out his wallet. “My treat.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“You’re right. But I’m happy to.”
She smiled. “Maybe I should have gotten a large, then.”
He grinned. “You still can. I haven’t paid yet.”
“I’m joking,” she said, chuckling. “A small is all I need.”
After he placed his order for a plain black decaf, Anita appeared behind the counter. “Hey, Kingston,” she said. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I just arrived a few minutes ago.”
Anita looked at him, then at Sunny. Was she wondering if they were together? She reached for an apron and put it over her head. “How are the dance lessons going, Sunny?”
“Our first one was a success.” Sunny adjusted the bag on her shoulder. “I’m hoping we’ll have more students as the course progresses. Why don’t you and Tanner join us next Monday?”
“I wish we could. But...”
Although she’d revealed her pregnancy to the family, obviously Anita wasn’t ready to spread the news to everyone else. And even though she was as hospitable as she always was with her customers, going back to the days when she was a waitress at the Sunshine Diner, he could see lines of fatigue around her eyes. The first trimester was exhausting for most women.
“Are those cookies new?” He pointed to a display of large oatmeal-type cookies in the glass case, attempting to change the subject.
“The Cowboy Cookies? We’ve had them for a while. Harper started making those six months ago. Or was it seven? They’re always a big hit.”
