Page 56 of Amber: Deja Brew

Chapter 22

Amber

“Three Angel Coffees. One regular, one heavy on the cloud, one extra cloud on the side!” Chase calls out the order.

“I got the coffee. Juli, can you do the clouds?”

“On it.” Julian puts a hand on my lower back and makes sure to run his body against mine as he squeezes past.

Tingles shoot down my spine and my breath catches in my throat. I turn to watch him go and smile as he gives Chase a friendly slap on the shoulder. The guy exchange a happy grin, and I decide that my life is just about perfect.

I love watching them like this. Love the way they work side by side. The way they’ve become fast friends. And, when it comes down to it... I love them. All three of them.

“Hey, have you seen Wes?” I ask Chase when he’s done taking the next order.

“He’ll be here, sweetheart.” Chase grabs one of the clear cups we use for Mood Tea and gets to work. “He’d never miss date night.”

“You’re not worried, are you, Bean?” Julian pops his head out of the back room and winks at me. “I bet he just got caught up at work.”

Wes did say he had to do a run for the Cleanly Den this afternoon, but something in Julian’s tone doesn’t ring true.

“Juli!” I narrow my eyes and follow him into the back room so our customers don’t overhear. “We promised no more secrets!”

“I know.” Julian grins. “But this is the good kind of secret, Bean. Trust me!”

“Okay.” I nod, because I do trust him. I trust all three of my guys. And they swore they wouldn’t do any more of that whole ‘leave Amber out to protect her’ bullshit. “I better get back out there.”

“Just one more thing.” Julian cups my cheek and leans in to kiss me.

Our lips touch in a soft, slow kiss—one that says I love you, not let’s get naked. I’m sure if we weren’t in the back room, and Chase didn’t need our help, it would quickly turn into so much more.

“Go...” Julian whispers against my lips. Reluctantly, I pull away from him and slip back into the cafe.

The line of customers already stretches all the way to the front door. There’s even a group of shifters outside, gathering under the streetlight with to-go cups, chatting away happily.

In this moment, Jewels Cafe is perfect. It’s exactly how I always pictured it, a dream come true, made even better because I met my three mates, and they’re all mine. There’s only one thing missing, and it’s Wes.

But if my guys aren’t worried, then neither am I. I can handle a secret, especially if it’s the good kind.

“Do you think we should hire some more help?” Julian asks once he’s back. He’s got three cotton candy clouds, each hanging from its own hook, and he hands one to me.

“We might have to.” I hang the first cloud while Julian works on the second and third. “I think this is too much, even with Onyx coming in part-time after school.”

Julian nods. “I think you’re right.”

“We should probably get someone who can work evenings,” Chase suggests as he slides a mood tea across the counter to the waiting customer. “There you are, Fran. Be sure to bring some cat pictures next time!”

“Oh, I will,” Fran, the squirrel shifter, fluffs her gray hair and giggles like a schoolgirl. Not that I blame her. Chase just has that effect on people.

Julian and I send our three drinks across the counter, but we barely have time to breathe, there are still so many customers to serve.

“I still can’t believe how packed it is,” I comment as I start working on the next order.

Minerva Montgomery—despite all her flaws—has kept her promise. She’s been handing out 10% off Jewels Cafe coupons to all her customers and raving about our drinks. She even brought over trays of baked goods—on the house, of course—so we could sell them and make back some of the money we lost because of her.

I know she’s only doing it because she’s terrified Julian will have her arrested, but as long as it gets results, it’s enough. Plus, all the marketing ideas Chase has been coming up with have made a huge difference. The two of us spent all morning pouring over them, and everything he’s helped me implement so far has brought in tons of customers.

“Think you could use some help?” Wes asks, sliding up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.