They do not stop and I am powerless against these three girls.
Ryan’s gaze finds me eventually, his mouth lifting into that easy, familiar smile as he heads over. By the time he reaches the bar, the giggling across from me has reached dangerous levels.
“Hey,” he says and before I can even brace for it, he leans down and presses a quick kiss on my cheek and I freeze. Three very audible gasps sound from across the counter.
“You don’t have to do that,” I whisper. “They know.”
He shrugs, completely unapologetic. “Okay, well, the rest of the café doesn’t.” Then his attention shifts past me, recognition flickering. “Hey. Long time.”
“Hey.” Tess perks up immediately. “We were actually just talking about—”
I kick her shin under the bar. She yelps, cutting herself off, while Daphne and Dawn are nudging each other, eyes full amusement.
I look back at Ryan quickly. “What are you even doing here?”
“Training,” he says easily. “Needed some caffeine for motivation.”
“Right.” I turn toward the machine before the girls can do anything stupid. “Yeah. I’ll make it.”
I focus very hard on the espresso machine, even though I can feel the giggling building behind me like pressure in a soda can.
A minute later, I slide the cup across the counter. “Black. No sugar.”
“Perfect,” Ryan says, taking it. He grabs his wallet and hands me a five dollar bill. “Here.”
I wave him off. “It’s on the house.”
He passes me a smile, tugging the dollar bill back into his pocket. “Thank you.”
I give a small smile back and he glances at the girls again. “Good seeing you.”
“Yeah, you too,” Daphne says, a hint of a smile tugging at her mouth. Tess lifts her fingers in a small wave. “Bye.”
Dawn nods. “See you around, Ryan.”
Ryan’s eyes flick back to me, amusement still sitting there. “See you tomorrow, babe.”
He says it just loud enough that a couple near the entrance turns to look. I narrow my eyes at him, but he only winks, then turns and heads for the door. The bell jingles behind him. Slowly—very slowly—I turn back around. All three of them are already staring at me.
“Oh my God,” Dawn says, pointing toward the door. “This is better than reality TV.”
Daphne fans herself dramatically. “Is it hot in here?”
I drop my face into my hands. “Oh my God, girls, stop.”
Tess just smirks, arms crossing. “You’re seriously going to sit there and tell us you don’t see it?”
Heat crawls up my neck as I throw my hands in the air. “Okay, fine. He looks good. I’m not blind. But that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Uh-huh,” Tess drawls, not buying a single word.
Daphne nudges Dawn. “She’s totally blushing.”
“I am not,” I protest which, obviously, makes them laugh harder.
We end up staying another couple hours, losing track of time the way we always do together. Eventually, though, we have to close the cafe so they have to start heading back again. We linger by the door for one last round of hugs.
“You better keep us updated,” Tess says, one eyebrow raised.
