“I guess he doesn’t like my cooking,” Jenn said as she picked up the bowl of food.
“I’d better head over to let Tamara know that her best customer has arrived.” Nate grinned. “Her two best customers, actually, given that I haven’t yet had my first double espresso of the day.”
Furface’s appearance gave Nate the perfect excuse to ease into a casual chat with Tamara. Hopefully, he’d find out what was going on inside her head. And while they were at it, he hoped he’d be able to untangle his own thoughts and feelings about their kiss too.
Because while he definitely wanted to reassure Tamara that everything was okay on his end and that nothing needed to change between them just because they’d shared one epic kiss, there was another part of him that couldn’t stop dreaming about what might have happened if she hadn’t left the club in such a hurry on Friday night…
Chapter Two
Monday mornings were always hopping at Tamara’s coffee shop. Regulars came in from nearby offices, moms arrived with their small children in strollers, and tourists who’d noticed the line out the door obviously figured it must be a good bet if so many locals liked it.
Tamara had hired a couple of high school kids for the summer. While they were still learning the ropes, she had them bussing the tables, washing dishes, and taking out the trash. Meanwhile, Tamara sped around the shop trying to do everything at once: making coffees, answering questions, and filling orders, all while trying to look relaxed and greet people she knew. A couple of the newcomers were looking at her as though they couldn’t work out whether she actually worked there or not. Maybe it was the fact that she was wearing a light cotton dress more suited to a day on the beach than making coffee. Or maybe it was the collection of beads and scarves, bracelets and rings that she always wore. Well, that was who she was and she made excellent coffee without having to resort to wearing a boring uniform.
Tamara was thankful to be so busy this morning, because she was hoping it would stop her from thinking about anything else. Like kissing Nate.
A kiss that had been nothing short of incredible.
That is, until she’d pulled out of his arms and took off like a scared rabbit. The memory made her wince. Honestly, she was about as mature as her two teenage employees behind the counter. She’d been ignoring his messages ever since, unsure of what to say.
In the end, however, it turned out that work wasn’t enough to keep her from thinking about Nate. He was too good to be true in a lot of ways. He called himself a geek, but he looked more like a Hollywood leading man, and he was smart and funny. Any woman in her right mind would want to kiss Nate Waterson.
She wasn’t sure who had kissed whom first. She’d been too lost in the heat of the moment, enjoying the closeness of their bodies on the dance floor. All she knew was that it had felt amazing. Until she’d blown it by running off.
Ugh. Instead of replaying Friday night over and over inside her head, she should be focusing on recommending the perfect coffee blend to that couple from New York at the counter, or creating an Excel spreadsheet to work out her cheesecake requirements for the next few months.
She tried both activities, but neither could even begin to distract her from what had happened between Nate and her on the dance floor. Nope, she had to face facts—nothing short of a direct meteor strike was likely to do that.
For about the ninetieth time that morning, Tamara recalled the way she’d pulled him out onto the dance floor by the hand, not taking no for an answer, because she didn’t like seeing him standing on the sidelines while everyone else had fun. Maybe she should blame Lucas Crosby for writing and singing all those romantic songs. They certainly seemed to have worked on the lovely Meg.
But she knew it wasn’t fair to blame someone else for the kiss when the truth was that she’d been completely swept away by Nate. He’d looked fantastic in his black T-shirt that outlined every muscle in his arms and back, and his black horn-rimmed glasses. It had been pure instinct to hold him tight as they danced a slow dance. He was so great to be with, and she’d always loved his company. But she’d never imagined they’d share a kiss so passionate it would take her breath away.
“Excuse me, can I place my order?”
Tamara looked up from her reverie to see a small crowd of people gathered around the counter, waiting for service. Snapping back to the present, she served them as quickly as she could, thankful no one had run out on her.
On any other day, working at her coffee shop was as good as meditation, the perfect activity to sink into when she didn’t want to think about the past. But today, she was a mess, just as she’d been all weekend.
Looking at the clock, Tamara realized that Nate had yet to make an appearance for his usual morning double espresso. Instead, Liz had arrived and was talking excitedly about a new wedding. Tamara barely heard a word. Normally, she would have demanded more details on pain of withholding coffee service. Instead, her attention was on the door, waiting for the chiseled lines of Nate’s features to appear. Each time the door swung open, a wave of disappointment coursed through her as she wished every one of her loyal customers were someone else.
Around ten, the rush started to thin out a little, and Tamara gave her new teen workers a fifteen-minute break. They were looking a little worse for wear, and she didn’t want them quitting on the first day.
Finally alone, she started to put the place back in order, tidying away some of the chaos that arose when so many customers came in at the same time. There were cups and plates everywhere, and she needed to get them loaded into the dishwasher and ready for the next busy period.
The wind chimes sounded as the door opened and someone came inside. “I’ll be right there,” Tamara called out from the back.
“Hi, Tamara.”
The mug she was holding slipped from her hands then hit the floor, breaking into dozens of pieces. Tamara knew that if she turned around, Nate and his handsome face would be looking back at her, but she didn’t know what to say, so she dropped to her knees to try to clear up the mess.
Of course, Nate was there in a flash to help, kneeling beside her while he hunted for fragments of broken porcelain. He was just inches away, and he looked so gorgeous Tamara couldn’t concentrate on the job at hand. She was too busy thinking about how much she wanted to kiss him again. Right this second.
It would be so easy. He was so close, and she didn’t think he would say no, and it would definitely save her from having to come up with something to say.
But she couldn’t. This path wasn’t meant for her to take. She’d had her one true love already, and in her family, everyone had just one chance at finding true love. Her parents, her siblings, her cousins… Wherever you looked in the Truscott family, they each found the person they wanted to spend their lives with, and then that was it. When her second cousin’s husband passed away, there had been no suggestion of finding someone else.
Tamara had already found and lost her one true love. It was sad, but it was true. So although she had casual dates from time to time, they were never destined to go very far. The fun disappeared the moment things started to get serious, and she didn’t want that to happen with Nate. People talked about staying friends with ex-lovers, but it never really worked. She didn’t want to lose the amazing friendship she already had with him. She didn’t want things falling apart, especially when they would still have to see each other every day.
They both stood, and finally she had to look at Nate. She had a feeling he could read every emotion track across her face, and she felt like a deer caught in headlights as they stared into each other’s eyes.
