Page 20 of Library or Lattes?

“Are you coming back sometime today or were you just here for the morning shift?” a voice snapped.

James was halfway out the door, glaring at me. He glanced at Carter, then looked for my reply.

“Sorry, Carter, I’ve got to go, my break’s just about finished …”

“I guess I better get going too, my nan’s in the nursing home and I want to get there before lunchtime, or they’ll try to make me join the entertainment. Catch you later?” Carter waved, smiled, and left me standing there staring after him, trying not to drool.

Back inside, the coffee shop was getting busy. And as much as James tried to pretend that he had everything under control, I could tell by the tight set of his jaw, and his brown eyes that wouldn’t settle, that the Little Acorn was stressing him out.

And I don’t think it helped that Lennie, Krista, and Avery walked through the door and took over the place.

Lennie was dressed like some psychedelic rainbow. Pink hat, purple jacket, green cargo pants, and eyes that darted around the coffee shop, no doubt looking for James. Krista wasn’t much more subtle. She was tall, with bright blond hair that her sister dyed for her every six weeks, and was always wearing something that glittered or sparkled. Today it was her gold rhinestone sneakers. What Avery lacked in outrageous fashion sense, she made up for by being the loudest of all of us. By a mile.

“We’ve come to save you!” Avery boomed as she walked in the door.

“Hey, Will, I’d like a large latte?” Lennie leaned on the counter and fluttered her black lashes.

“Oh, and can I have one of those?” Avery pointed to the leaf-shaped cookies in the case.

“Iced tea for me please, Will,” said Krista.

Lennie leaned farther over the counter as I made espresso. “Is that him?” she whispered.

I nodded but didn’t say anything, because James had just arrived back at the counter, after standing over a table of twelve-year-olds for at least fifteen minutes before scolding them to hurry up.

“Willa, I need like six more lattes,” he said quickly. “The pumpkin ones. I think. No, wait …” He turned back to the table and ran a hand through his black hair. He closed his eyes.

“Four pumpkin spice lattes, one soy milk caramel latte, and one almond milk cappuccino?” James scrunched up his face and was about to go back to the table for a third time, but I reached over and touched his arm to stop him. The warmth of his skin sent nerve endings dancing all over mine.

“That’s Wyatt Hume’s sister Ivy. She comes in every weekend with her seventh-grade friends. Don’t worry, I’ve got this. They spend ages deciding and then have the same order every week.” I quickly took my hand away. He hadn’t moved when I touched him and now my hand had been there too long. I got through James’s order, then brought my friends theirs at the table by the window.

“Oh my God, Willa, he’s totally gorgeous,” Avery squealed toward James. Way too loudly.

I tried to look surprised. “I guess he is kind of cute. But so hard to talk to. You know who isn’t hard to talk to, though …?”

They all looked at me. I could feel James scowling in my direction.

“Carter. He was here again, just before you all came.”

Avery hit Krista on the arm. “This is your fault. You and those stupid heatless curls.”

Krista twirled a finger in her honey hair. “The price of beauty.”

“What did he say? What did you talk about?” Lennie asked.

I knew the way to get their interest. “That he and Piper broke up …”

“What?” Avery looked like she’d just seen Taylor Swift walking down the street. “Okay, let me get this straight. Carter Blake told you your hair was cute, asked if you still ran track, and told you he broke up with Piper?”

“I guess?”

“Willa?” James called, and I spun around. Something in his voice sounded different.

He had his head in his hands as I went over.

“They keep asking for more stuff, and the orders keep getting mixed up, and I can’t. I just can’t …”

“You need a notebook,” I said gently. Seeing James panic like that softened something in me. It was the first time I’d seen a piece of him.