“Good morning, Ross,” I greeted him as he approached the counter.
“Mornin’.” His deep, rumbling voice sent a little shiver down my spine. “I have yer coffee in the car. Can I bring it in?”
He always asked me the same thing.
“Sure thing, you know where to put it?”
Wink wink.
“Yup.”
Oh, you handsome thing, your sweet words are music to my ears.
He always came into the cafe first to announce himself, then went to his van to grab the bags of coffee.
I liked watching him. With his shaggy red fur and the wide, curving horns he looked like a creature straight from my wildest,wettestdreams.
That man is glorious.
Ross turned on the spot and trudged back to the door. He moved with deliberate ease, each heavy step making his butt jiggle.
That ass in those jeans should be illegal. Glad it’s not.
I set my elbow on the counter, propped my chin up on my hand, and stared after him for a moment. I bet he was a great cuddler. Well, if you ignored his grumpy attitude.
He can just keep quiet while I rub my face on his soft belly.
I watched him carry the heavy bags inside, mentally drooling a little at the way his biceps bunched under his blue-and-green plaid shirt.
His enormous, easy presence let me take the first full breath of the morning.
“Ye alright, lass?” he asked, pulling me out of my daydreams. I straightened up and smoothed out my apron.
“What? Oh, yeah. I just had a bit of a weird morning.”
Ross turned and approached the counter.
“Did something happen?” His large brown eyes focused worriedly on my face, as if he could find material evidence of what bothered me. “Are ye hurt?”
“Oh.” My cheeks heated. “No, it’s okay. I’m a bit embarrassed about it, actually.”
A corner of Ross’s muzzle lifted in an assuring half smile.
“I’m shite at feelings, but I’m here to listen if you…” He shrugged one broad shoulder.
“Why don’t you take these into the storage room first, and I’ll make you a cuppa to start the day?” That gave me a few minutes to decide how much I was prepared to tell him.
Ross hesitated and scrutinised me, as if he could tell I was putting me off, for a moment.
“Alright, lass.” He huffed. “Yeah, I could do with one.”
When he joined me by the counter a couple of minutes later, I’d already prepared his favourite drink.
“How did you know what I wanted?” Ross asked me with a huff.
“I remember all my best customers’ orders, Mr Graham,” I told him with a wink.
“So, what happened?” he asked, clearly trying to steer the conversation away from flirty banter.
