It’ll be a long fucking night,he thought wearily.
A Day Late
Jared arrivedat The Sweet Spot just after the lunchtime crunch.He’d spent a sleepless night, looking at the clock every hour, tossing and turning.He finally got up and made a bigger dent in unpacking his boxes and getting his condo halfway arranged.He thought about what he’d say to her, revising and rehearsing his speech over and over, until he finally felt somewhat confident he’d nailed it.He’d walk in, tell her how he felt, and see where it went from there.
“Christa, I’ve waited a long time to say this to you,” he began.No, that’s not right.
“There’s something I need to say.I moved back here to be with you.”No, that’s not it, dammit!
“In all the years I’ve been gone, you are the one person I’ve missed the most.I’m here now, and I want to give us a chance to be more than friends.I hope you want that, too.”
Yes, that’s it.
Reciting those words in his mind over and over, he walked down the street toward The Sweet Spot just after the lunch crowd had dispersed.He’d planned it that way, hoping to find Christa available to talk to him.He didn’t want to wait another day to tell her how he felt.He’d waited long enough, stayed away from her for too long as it was, and he felt like shit for hurting her over and over.
He walked into the café and looked around, not seeing Christa anywhere.The girl behind the counter was a little taller than Christa and had long brown hair with curled ringlets throughout.She offered him a full-on flirty smile as soon as she saw him.
Her name tag read “Allie,” and he remembered Christa had called that name out when she was wrestling with the life-size bag of flour.He approached the counter with a smile.
“Hi, Allie,” he said, making a point to look at her name tag.“How are you today?”
“I’m great.How are you?”she asked, meeting his gaze directly then raking her eyes over him without hiding her salacious intent.
“I’m good, thanks.I’m actually looking for Christa.Is she around?”he asked, leaning his hip onto the counter, crossing one foot over the other and his arms across his chest.He gave her his best smile, still openly flirting with her in hopes of getting some information out of her.
“No, she’s not.She won’t be in at all today.She took the day off.You want some coffee or anything else?”She tilted her upper body toward him, leaned on the counter, and lifted her eyebrows.
Quite the flirt, he thought.But she’s also sizing me up.She’s obviously protective of Christa.
“Sure, a cup of coffee would be great.Black.”He tried to hide his disappointment.He’d built the scene up in his mind all damn night and morning, only to find she wasn’t even there.
Allie handed him a steaming mug of coffee.“You sure I can’t get you anything else?”
“Very tempting, but I’ll have to take a rain check.My name is Jared, by the way.I’m an old friend of Christa’s.Do you know how I can get in touch with her?I really need to speak to her.”
Allie tapped her finger against her lips and narrowed her eyes at the stranger inquiring about her best friend.She didn’t know him, and she had no way of knowing if he was a friend, as he’d claimed.His name wasn’t familiar, and she’d never seen him around.He wasn’t someone a woman with a pulse would’ve forgotten.He was a gorgeous man—tall, muscular build, blondish-brown hair, and soulful brown eyes.But since Christa’s safety was at stake, Allie decided to play it safe.
“Sorry, I can’t give her number out.But if you want to leave yours, I’ll make sure she gets it.”
“Fair enough,” he responded, his best smile still intact.He accepted the paper and pen Allie offered and wrote his name and number down.He handed it back to Allie and intentionally grazed his fingers across hers.“Don’t go selling it on eBay,” he joked.
“Wouldn’tdreamof it,” Allie retorted in a playful, sarcastic tone.
He took his coffee and sat a table close to the door.He couldn’t help but hope Christa would decide to come by and check on her business, even though it was her day off.He picked up a newspaper left on a nearby table and tried to catch up on the news.Every time the door opened, his eyes lifted to see if it was her.After more than half an hour, his coffee had long gone cold, and he had no excuse for waiting around any longer.
His phone rang just as he reached his car.Mom.She seemed to have a sixth sense about whatever he was doing, and it became stronger the closer he was to home.The option to ignore the call crossed his mind, but he realized she was the one person who had Christa’s number and would give it to him.He took the call reluctantly, knowing what was coming.
“Hey, Mom,” he answered casually.
“Don’t ‘hey, Mom’me, young man.You know why I’m calling,” she chided.
“I’m leaving her shop as we speak, but she’s off today.I was hoping you’d send me her number so I can call her.”He used his bestI’m-your-favorite-sonvoice to get his way.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing when you talk to me like that.The only person you’re fooling is yourself, young man,” she laughingly replied.“But I will let you get away with it this one last time.I’ll text it to you right now.”
“Thanks, Mom.You’re the best.Love you.”
“Love you, too, son.”
