Page 22 of A Love Like Candle Light

"I'm not harsh, I'm honest." She shrugs and takes a sip of her coffee. The two break into friendly banter about Dick’s behavior, which Nic and I follow with amusement, when suddenly, a guy appears next to our table, notepad and pen in hand.

"Hi, welcome. What can I get you?" I jump and clutch my sweatshirt, right over my heart. How spooky.

"A coffee, please," I stammer.

The guy nods and gives me an emotionless stare. Joke’s on him, because I stare right back. Are you kidding me? Seriously, is this the small town of hot guys? There was no note about it in my travel guide for this area about it. I’m not mad about it but a warning would have been nice. With some emotional preparation time I might have been able to get a coherent sentence out.

He’s tall, his dark hair hidden under a backwards cap. Light scruff hides a razor-sharp jawline and a blue plaid shirt spanning over his broad shoulders.

"You the new one?" he asks gruffly. I nod. So does he. "Got it. I'm Caleb, owner of this café."

Right. Caleb's. I could've gathered that.

"So be aware, the coffee order you're giving me now is the one I'm going to associate with you for however long you come here."

I'm not sure whether he looks bored, annoyed, or wholeheartedly done with the world. He's got a resting bitch face if I've ever seen one. I bet he kills it at poker.

"Come on, babe." Lauren pulls on the hem of his shirt until he turns to her. "Be nice. Don't scare our new neighbor off."

"I'm not scaring her off."

Within the blink of an eye, his whole demeanor shifts. The resting bitch face melts into an expression of adoration. A hint of a smile tugs at his lips and the corner of his eyes as he focuses on Lauren.

"Stop flirting." Nic lightly punches Lauren's upper arm. "Look at the poor girl, she hasn't had a coffee yet. Right?"

Caleb's expression turns a little firmer again. "What can I get you?"

"Really, I'm easy. Coffee with a splash of milk, please."

He gives me an approving nod as though I passed a test I didn’t know I was taking. "Good choice. I'll be right back."

"You're so mature," Lauren says almost in awe. I blush. If only she knew how wrong she is, but there’s no way I’m telling her about the coloring books on my shelves. Or how splashing through puddles with Abby is one of my favorite pastimes.

“I’m not a fan of foamed-up milk," I admit with a giggle. "I'm too impatient and have burnt my tongue on it often enough. Also, it's so annoying to mix with the coffee or wait until the foam dies. I'd rather stick to simple coffee with cold milk in it."

"Don't take it so personally, Lauren," Kieran chuckles. Abby is satisfied with the amount of attention she got and nudges her way between my legs to lie down. "The first time Lauren and Nic ordered a pumpkin spice latte in here, Caleb looked like he was about to have a heart attack," Kieran mumbles as though he’s telling me a secret.

"Can you even believe he didn't have pumpkin spice lattes on the menu before we moved here?" Lauren rolls her eyes and taps her fingertips on the wooden table. “Seriously. This town should thank me.”

"Does he now?" I stretch my neck and try to read the menu on the black chalkboard on the exposed brick wall behind the old wooden counter. However, the angle I’m sitting at is too steep to read any of the words on the chalkboard. When I first came in, I was too occupied with my desire to make a good first impression to pay it any mind.

"Don't bother, it's not on the menu." From seemingly out of nowhere, she puts a giant glass bottle on the table with a heavy ‘thunk.’ "I have girlfriend privileges." She wiggles her eyebrows.

“Sounds more like a dealer position,” I point out and giggle. Kieran and Nic burst into laughter.

“Now that you’re saying it,” Lauren stares at the bottle, then makes it disappear under one side of the beige cardigan she’s wearing. “Hey. Kiddo. Want some pumpkin spice?”

“Stop it.” Kieran bends over laughing and flicks a piece of paper her way. “Oh my God I’m dying.”

“You better not. We don’t need another ghost,” Nic presses out through laughter.

“Another ghost?” Nic and Kieran only slowly get a grip on their laughter, so instead Lauren leans in to explain.

“Remember the cat Nic told you about? The one she found on her first drive to Wayward Hollow?” I nod. “Nic’s convinced said cat is haunting her house.”

“Seriously?” My eyes widen. How does she tell me about this so with the same enthusiasm as the weather forecast?

Nic finally caught her breath. “Yes. My two other cats act as if there’s a third one around. I can feel her brush my legs. And I’m convinced she’s the one who brought Pumpkin and Cinnamon to my doorstep. And the reason Dick, and Lauren’s cats Taytay and Jenna appeared at my backdoor.”