Page 1 of Eddie

Chapter One

THE LINE AT GROUNDED was always ridiculous on Monday mornings, even though Green Hill was far from a big town, but Eddie had lost the coin toss, so here he was with Valentine and the new guy, waiting to order what felt like a hundred coffees for the crew.

“I’m telling you, it’s rigged,” Valentine said, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. “That’s the third time this month you’ve lost.”

“It’s called probability,” Eddie said, pulling out his phone to check the list again. God only knew what would happen if he got something wrong. He’d have to listen to hours of whining. “And bad luck.”

“It’s called Les has a weighted coin,” Marcus chimed in. He’d only been working with them for two weeks, but he’d already figured out their boss’s tricks. “I saw him practicing flips in his truck last Friday.”

Eddie snorted. “Of course he does.” It would be just like Les, honestly.

He scrolled through the group text, counting orders. “Okay, so that’s four large black coffees, three with cream and sugar, two cappuccinos, one of those weird oat milk things Derek likes—”

“It’s not weird,” Valentine interrupted. “It’s lactose intolerance.”

“As I said, one oat milk latte,” Eddie continued, “two espressos, Niall’s ridiculous coconut milk salted caramel concoction, and whatever you two want.”

Valentine whistled. “No wonder Jenna looks like she wants to murder someone.” He nodded toward the barista behind the counter, who looked like she wished the earth would swallow her up as she tried to manage the morning rush. “We should’ve called this in.”

“We did call it in,” Marcus said. “That’s why we’re standing here waiting instead of ordering.”

The three of them shuffled forward as the line moved. Eddie glanced at his watch. They had maybe fifteen minutes before Les started calling to ask where the hell they were. Their current job site was a twenty-minute drive outside Green Hill, and they hadn’t even gotten the coffee yet. Thankfully, Les was a good boss, so he wouldn’t hold it against them, especially once he had his coffee.

“So, Marcus,” Valentine said. “You settling in okay? Green Hill treating you right?”

Marcus shrugged. “Yeah, it’s good. Quieter than I’m used to, but that’s kind of why I moved here.”

If he wanted quiet, he was going to have plenty of it in Green Hill. “Where are you from?” Eddie asked, inching forward in the queue.

“Chicago. Got tired of the noise and everything.” Marcus ran a hand through his dark hair. “My sister lives about an hour from here. She kept telling me I should get out of the city, so here I am. It’s kind of weird, but I don’t hate it.”

“Well, you picked a good place to move,” Valentine said. “And a good company to work for. Les is fair, and the crew’s solid.”

“Everyone’s been pretty cool,” Marcus agreed. “Except maybe Derek. That guy never stops talking about his truck.”

Eddie laughed. “Yeah, just nod and smile. He’ll run out of steam eventually.”

“Does he ever actually drive the thing? It’s too clean to be a work truck.”

“That’s because it’s not a work truck,” Valentine said. “It’s his baby. He drives that beat-up Ford for actual work.”

They were almost to the front of the line now. Eddie could see Jenna moving between the espresso machine and the register as she rushed to keep up with orders. Poor girl.

The bell above the door chimed, and Eddie glanced over out of habit.

That was when he saw him.

The guy who walked in wasn’t local. Eddie had lived in Green Hill his entire life, and he knew pretty much everyone, at least by sight, even the new people. This man was a stranger. Tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and biceps that Eddie kind of wanted to take a bite of. He was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, nothing fancy, but something about him made Eddie’s brain stop working.

Maybe it was the way he moved, or the slight furrow in his brow, or maybe it was just that Eddie hadn’t seen anyone that attractive walk into Grounded in, well, ever.

The man’s gaze moved around the coffee shop, taking in the crowd, and their eyes met.

Eddie froze.

It wasn’t just eye contact. It was eye contact. The stranger’s gaze locked on Eddie’s, and for a second, neither of them looked away. Eddie couldn’t have even if he’d tried. There was something intense in the man’s expression that Eddie almost recognized, but he’d never seen this man before. He’d remember.

The moment stretched. Eddie’s heart did something weird in his chest. The man’s lips parted slightly, like he was about to say something, and Eddie felt an inexplicable urge to walk over there and—