“Well, options are limited. Indian, Greek, Italian, sushi, pizza.”
“Oh, Greek sounds good. Get some souvlaki and maybe some Stifado. I love a Greek stew. Wait, I didn’t know we had a Greek restaurant.”
“Opened last weekend. It’s over by the hardware store on Third Avenue. Go, get changed, and I’ll order. Did you want wine?”
She hesitated. She didn’t drink very often. “One glass, if it’s open. If not, I’m more than happy with tea, or decaf.”
“You and your coffee,” he chuckled.
“Ha. Ha.” She wrinkled her nose and jogged inside. He did make her laugh. Probably more often than he wanted to. For a moment, he even tookaway her worry about Oscar. She hadn’t seen him today. She prayed he was okay. Maybe he went home. With that comforting thought wrapped in her heart, she changed and went next door.
She rapped on the door and let herself into welcoming warmth. She kept her thermostat quite low when she wasn’t home and the heat blazing inside Ford’s place was wonderful after her chilly walk home.
“I’m here,” she called and hung up her jacket.
“In the kitchen. Coffee is almost done. Turns out I didn’t have any wine. I’ll correct that on my days off.”
“Not on my account. I rarely drink.”
“Me either, but it is good to have a bottle or two on hand. Food’s on the way.” He slid a tray with nuts and cheeses on the table. “Persephone’s is busy. It’s going to be an hour and I’m starving. Dig in.” He grabbed a few nuts and devoured them one after another. Typical man.
“How was your shift?” She nibbled a cube of gouda.
“Good. We did a fire safety talk at the elementary school. Kids sure do love fire trucks.” He chuckled.
They talked and talked and before she realized it, the doorbell chimed. Dinner had arrived. Ford was incredibly easy to talk to. As a bonus, he didn’t bring up her inspection, the dessert, or Oscar.
Dinner was delicious.
“I hate to eat and run, but tomorrow is a workday. I’m training a new girl.” She stood and cleared her plate.
“How does that feel? Are you nervous?”
She tilted her head and looked at him. “Not really. I’m excited to be busy enough toneedhelp. But I’m concerned that things might slow down. It’s hard to know where the balance is. Either I’m run off my feet, or I’m paying someone I don’t need. Luckily, this is a mother of teens who is returning to work. She’s very flexible and shelovescoffee.”
“Sounds like the perfect employee. And trust yourself. You know what you’re doing. Your ads are spot on. You do enough promotion, you have sales, and you’ve captured the teen crowd.”
She chuckled. “That I have, even if their drinks are much less complex than theyused to be. They’re realizing that all those add-ons cost money. I’ve hired a programmer to add a reward program to my app.”
“If I start using the app to order station coffees, will I get those bonus points?” he teased.
“Oh, I never thought of that.” Her mind floundered trying to figure out how many people could potentially take advantage of that. Only firemen and police. Neither group was likely to abuse the system and if they did, she’d figure out a plan. “I’ll face that when I come to it.” She paused. “If it happens. Anyway, I should go.” They walked to the front door, and he helped her into her jacket.
“Can I see you tomorrow night?” Warmth rushed down her spine at his warm, welcoming smile. It had just a hint of uncertainty.
“Oh. I can’t. I’m spending the night trying out new flavor combinations. I’m wondering about an orange-almond cappuccino. And maybe cinnamon vanilla.”
“And chocolate cherry?” His eyes lit with interest.
“Tell you what. If you want to be my official coffee beverage cupper, swing by the store when I close at eight.”
“I’ll be the perfect victim for your evil potions.” He grinned. “I’m immune to caffeine.”
“You’re right. This is awesome.” She flung her arms around him. “Thank you.” She dropped her arms. Heat rose in her face. “Um. Sorry about that. I got a little enthusiastic there.” She held back a groan.
“No problem here. You can hug this,” he gestured to his body with an up and down motion, “anytime you like. I’m open for hugs.”
“Um. Good. I’m glad you aren’t upset.” She looked around the entry, and then past him. Anywhere but directly at him.
