Subject: Re: Tomorrow’s plan
So, now you’re thinking about me? At this hour? Interesting.
11
LILY
Monday
“You’re early.”I tried (and failed) to hide my surprise when I saw Gabriel leaning against the café’s brick exterior.
He looked up, pocketing his cell phone in his coat and standing straight. “So are you.”
“Well, yeah, but…” I trailed off. Of course, I was early. Ialwayswas.
“But you expected me to be late?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. There was a hint of something in his voice. Amusement? Frustration?
I rolled my lips, carefully thinking over my words, because I couldn’t tell him the truth. Thatyes, I had expected him to be late, because neither of us wanted to be here. I thought he would push his arrival to the very last minute—not show up early. And it wasearly. I’d asked him to be here at seven, and it was six thirty. We had an hour and a half until the café opened.
“I didn’t expect you to besoearly.” I settled, grabbing the keys out of my bag and unlocking the door. “How did you know I’d be early? If I wasn’t here, you’d be standing for another thirtyminutes, and it’s chilly.” I knew the winter temperatures were only going to drop, especially in January, which was typically the coldest and snowiest month in Golden Falls. By then, today’s temperature in the low thirties would seem warm.
“Careful or I’ll start to think you’re concerned about me being out in the cold.” This time I very clearly heard the amusement in his voice. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
I turned around to face him, nearly smacking him in the chest with the end of my French braid. When Gabriel realized how close we were, he took a few steps back, creating distance and tucking his hands into his pockets.
I didn’t know Gabriel, nor did I like him, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable being alone with him in my café. For one reason or another, Hal trusted him, and that meant something. Still, I appreciated Gabriel’s awareness, because he was nearly a foot taller than me. I’d normally find his height attractive, but in this case, I didn’t. For obvious reasons. At least his height was practical. He’d be able to help me get various ingredients and supplies that I typically needed a step stool or ladder for. That’s the only reason I noticed.
“I’m not concerned about you,” I emphasized. “I wouldn’t want you to turn into a block of ice outside my café. It’d be bad for business.”
“Right.” He huffed a laugh.
I flicked on the lights and tied back the deep-blue curtains. I led us over to the coat rack behind the front counter. I hung my bag, and once I slipped my coat off, I hung that, too. I brushed a few loose strands of hair away from my face and adjusted the red ribbon bow at the end of my braid so the loops were even.
When I looked back at Gabriel, he was hanging his coat up, too. I hated—absolutely hated—how his biceps and forearms flexed in his light-blue dress shirt from the simple motion. Hedropped his arms back to his sides, and I noticed his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His shirt was tucked into a pair of dark pants with a belt.
“So, where should we start?” he asked, snapping me out of my daze. “How’s this all going to work between working at the café and completing your list?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, and while it’s unfortunate we’re stuck in thisarrangement, I have some ideas that will hopefully make this as painless as possible.” I gestured for him to follow me to the cat room. “I start off the mornings by checking on the cats. Refilling water bowls, feeding them, scooping the litter boxes, swapping out their toys.” I flicked on the overhead lights, as well as the string lights along the side wall. “And petting them,obviously. Three of the current cats are pretty social, and then two are shy and usually find a sneaky hiding spot.”
I crouched as Sugar Plum, a one-year-old gray cat who still very much looked like a kitten, spotted us and blinked slowly while walking over. Gabriel kneeled next to me, and what looked like a genuine smile came over his face.
“I thought this could be something you could help me with since you’re familiar with cats,” I explained. “Everything you need is in that supply closet, but if you can’t find something, let me know.”
Sugar Plum (how cute was that name?) went to Gabriel first, sniffing his hand and ultimately deciding he was worthy enough to pet her. She leaned her head into his touch.
“How do you know I’m familiar with cats?” he asked, raising a brow.
Shit.I kept my gaze down, trying to hide the flush creeping up my cheeks. “Oh, uh, Hal mentioned that you have a cat.” He already knew I looked him up. I wasn’t about to admit that I had severely creeped on his social media.
“Right,” he said, drawing out the word. “Figured that was it.”
I felt Gabriel’s eyes on me, but I refused to look at him. We were too close in this position, anyway. If I turned my head to the side, we’d be face-to-face.Too close.
I stood, brushing my palms on my jeans. “As for the list, I think hiring help at the café and decorating the cat room will be the easiest to complete first. I finally looked through applications this past weekend and will try to get someone hired this week or early next. We can decorate the cat room this week, too. Then, once someone is hired, we can think through how to tackle the rest of the list. Does that work?” I asked.
“Works for me,” Gabriel said—agreeingwith me—and I heard the smile in his voice. I allowed myself to finally look at him. Instead of kneeling, he was sitting on the floor now. Sugar Plum had flopped and was rolling around on her back, showing off her fluffy belly.
“I take it she’s one of the social ones?” he asked.
