“Hey, could you grab a panini for this gentleman?” Katie asked, nodding her head toward a man sitting at the counter on the far side. Molly had seen him in the cafe several times that week.
“Of course.” Molly pulled out a sandwich and plated it before delivering it to him.
He looked up and smiled. “Thanks. You’re Molly, right?”
She nodded.
“I’m Jameson.” He held out a hand for her to shake. “I’m a friend of Eli’s. We grew up together.”
She shook his hand and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Katie came over at that moment with a cappuccino and set it in front of him. “Just the way you like it.”
“Thanks, Katie. I appreciate it.” Jameson and Katie made eye contact for longer than normal. Molly’s eyes darted between them, and she pressed her lips together to suppress a smile.
“You’re welcome,” Katie said softly.
Molly took a step back, feeling like she was intruding on a moment, and turned around to walk back to the front end of the counter. A new customer had walked in, so she took their order and got to work making their drink.
Katie joined her only a moment later and began helping the next person. After Jameson left, Molly bumped Katie’s shoulder with her own. “So… Jameson, huh?”
Katie’s face flamed. “Jameson? He’s just my brother’s friend. We grew up together.”
Molly smiled. “Uh huh.”
“There’s nothing going on between us.”
“Okay,” she said in the most nonchalant way she could muster. Either Katie was in denial, or she was harboring a crush she really didn’t want anyone to know about. If she needed time to realize it, Molly wouldn’t push.
Katie handed a drink to a customer and turned to face Molly before putting her hands on her hips. “There isn’t.”
Molly giggled as she frothed the milk. “I never argued with you. You’re the one arguing.”
Katie’s face flamed again. “Sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s all good.”
“The last thing I need is anything to get back to my brother,” Katie said softly before looking around. “Talking about it when there are customers here is just begging for a rumor to start.”
Molly frowned. “Do you think he would be upset?”
Katie shrugged as she started making another drink. “I don’t know.”
“Hey, do you gals need help with anything?”
They jumped and turned to find Eli standing at the counter, looking at the line of customers waiting for their drinks.
“You startled me,” Katie said.
Molly looked over the bookstore, which seemed to be busy as well, but no one was at the register.
“No, I think we have it handled. But thanks,” Katie said.
His eyes flicked over to Molly, and she blushed. There was something about him that made her incredibly shy, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. She wasn’t typically a shy person. Or at least not to the extent that he affected her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, though. Perhaps it was because she had a natural attraction to him she hadn’t felt before.
Eli walked back toward the bookstore to see if anyone needed help, and Molly couldn’t keep her eyes from following him.
Katie leaned in close. “So… Eli, huh?”
