Lauren rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I guess you must not be that close of friends.”
Jameson’s eyebrows raised, and all humor wiped off his face. Eli was about to intervene when a kiss was pressed to his cheek. His heart immediately galloped.
“Hey, baby. Sorry I’m late.” Molly said, sitting in his lap. She stared into his eyes, and he nearly planted a kiss on her lips right then.
“You’re right on time, actually,” Eli said.
Lauren still had her hand on Eli’s shoulder. Molly’s eyes drifted to it, and then she picked Lauren’s hand up and dropped it. “Hey, Lauren.”
If fire could shoot out of her eyes, they’d all be incinerated. Lauren huffed and spun on her heel before walking away, sitting at a table across the bar and glaring in their direction.
Molly then looked at Jameson. “How are you?”
Jameson’s mouth fell open and then immediately closed. He looked at Eli before his eyes bounced right back to Molly’s. “That was the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
Molly giggled and moved to slide off Eli’s lap, but he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“She’s watching us,” Eli said.
“I think it’s okay if I sit in my own chair, at least,” Molly said.
The three of them looked on either side of their group, but all the barstools were taken. The tables were all occupied as well.
“Shit,” Molly muttered.
Eli tried to keep the pure elation off his face and tightened his hold on her. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“I’m sorry for interrupting your evening. I just thought you needed a little help,” Molly said.
Jameson laughed. “You do not know how much help we needed. I’m buying you a drink.”
He waved down the bartender, and Molly ordered a martini. Eli watched as she took a sip and relaxed into him. He glanced toward Lauren and saw her still sitting at a table, watching them. For once, he didn’t mind her stalking, not if it meant he could have Molly in his arms.
Perhaps he had been viewing the entire thing wrong since the beginning. Maybe Lauren coming around could be the highlight of his day instead of something he dreaded.
He watched Molly speaking animatedly with Jameson, and everything felt right. Having her in his arms felt so right. Now he just needed to figure out how to make it all work.
7
Molly woke up to her blaring alarm and turned it off before staring at the ceiling. Her eyes were heavy, but she needed to get up. She was opening the cafe this morning. She had only been in Storyville for a few weeks, but she had the routine down. Katie hadn’t gotten a morning off in a very long time, so Molly offered to open.
She half expected Katie to show up anyway, but hoped she would get some much-needed rest. She deserved it.
Molly pulled herself out of bed and took a quick shower before French-braiding her hair. After putting on her makeup, she left her apartment and drove the short distance to the cafe. The bookstore didn’t get many customers first thing in the morning. It was primarily only people getting coffee and pastries, but the bookstore portion was open in case someone wanted to browse.
Molly hadn’t expected Eli to be there, but he was already inside when she arrived. She walked through the door and smiled shyly at him. She had gone into the bar last night to grab dinner. As soon as she saw Lauren with her hand on Eli’s shoulder, a wave of jealousy washed over her. She had no right tobe jealous, but something about Lauren’s hand on him didn’t sit right with her.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she marched over there and slid right into his lap. His arms around her felt great, and she loved knocking Lauren down a peg. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision that she hadn’t realized would last for an hour while Lauren watched.
But Molly didn’t mind. Jameson and Eli had been fun to chat with. It was the first time she felt like she had a group of friends outside of Katie at work. She hadn’t gotten to know many people in town yet, but that felt like a great way to start.
“Hi,” she said. “I thought I was opening this morning.”
Eli smiled warmly at her and shrugged. “I thought I might help on your first morning, in case anyone wants to buy books.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.”
