Page 13 of Then Came You

Her head was bent into the trunk, where she’d stowed her purse, when Sam pulled up alongside her.

“See you tomorrow,” he called out the window.

“Tomorrow?”

“To look at books.”

“Oh, right. See you then.”

She gave him a brief wave, and then he drove off, leaving her and Cocoa alone once again.

Chapter 6

Sam was anxious to see Gillian again even though all they’d be doing was looking at children’s books together. Still, he liked the idea of spending time with her and getting to know her better. He’d barely scratched the surface when he’d run into her at the dog park, and he wanted to learn more. He’d have to proceed with caution, though; that much was clear. She’d been hesitant to say too much about herself, and he understood why. A smart woman vetted a guy before she divulged too much information, even if he was a cop.

He arrived at the coffee shop at ten o’clock, his usual morning break time, and expected to see Gillian behind the counter. Instead, Lauren was there, and he tried to hide his disappointment.

He waited in line behind an elderly couple, who seemed confounded by all the coffee choices. That was why Sam stuck to the tried and true—plain black coffee was good enough for him.

“Morning, Sam,” Lauren said when it was his turn to order. “Gillian’s next door with a customer, but she should be done any minute.”

“No problem,” he said, waving his hand like he was in no hurry to see her, which he was.

“Anything else besides a large black coffee? We have brownies today.”

Sam patted his abdomen. “Nah. I’ll stick to coffee.”

Lauren smiled and turned away to pour it. When she was done, she handed him the cup.

“This is new.” He pointed to a mason jar on the counter that was labeled “Tip Jar.”

Lauren leaned over the counter, signaled for him to come closer, and lowered her voice. “It was Gillian’s idea. She said if any police officer tried to pay for his coffee, he should put a tip in the jar instead. At the end of the year, we’re going to use the money to buy books for kids and donate them to the local library.”

Sam tipped his head back and laughed. “I bet I know which police officer she had in mind. Well, since it’s for a good cause…” He’d just pulled out his wallet when Gillian came into the coffee shop, holding a stack of books.

He smiled at her as he stuffed two one-dollar bills into the jar. “Very tricky,” he said.

She shrugged. “I had to come up with something.”

He glanced at the stack of books. “Where do you want to meet?”

“Let’s go to my office.” Then she turned to Lauren. “Will you be okay by yourself?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

He followed Gillian through the opening into the bookstore and was greeted by Savannah, who was shelving some books.

“Good morning, Sam. We’re so excited that you’re going to be reading on Saturday.”

He smiled and nodded before Gillian opened a door and led him down a short hallway to her office.

The office was small yet neat, and Sam glanced around as she sat behind the desk and he took the chair across from her.

“Sorry about the tight quarters.”

“No problem.” He tried to prop his ankle over the opposite knee, but there wasn’t enough room, so he sat up straight and placed his hands on his thighs. He felt like a schoolboy who’d been called down to the principal’s office.

Gillian looked across the desk and laughed.