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Ugh. I had to get one particular problematic male out of my head. Especially if Lucky’s over-the-top charm somehow reminded me of Gideon. You know, the guy who rarely flirted. Not to mention that Gideon was on my shit list. I didn’t have time to think about him or the eye-crossing kiss he’d planted on me.
Okay, I’d started it, but I’d been caught up in the moment. Oh, and I’d still been a clueless idiot.
I didn’t like that feeling. There was no reason he should have kept that very important detail to himself. A freaking kid.
It wasn’t even so much the kid. It was that he’d slap me in the freaking face with a huge lie. Him of all people.
“Dammit,” I muttered as a blast of steam got me on the side of my hand. Now I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing—again.
I looked up and groaned. Jodi’s heart eyes for that big idiot Lucky were going to cause another pileup in the café. Jesus.
“Gonna need another holiday blend, Jodi.”
“Huh?” She blinked her huge blue eyes at me. “Right. Right.” She twirled and hustled to the grinder.
In no time, we’d taken care of another ten people between us, but the line never seemed to budge. In fact, it seemed as if it was getting bigger. Was I actually going to max out capacity?
Good God, please don’t have a spot check from the damn fire marshal.
Fuck.
“What the hell is going on?”
Clara poured another two mugs. “Didn’t you see the community page?”
The last time the community Facebook page had been mentioned in the café, I’d had to live through Veronica’s blundering want ad for a baby daddy. Sweet Jesus. “Do I ever?”
Clara rolled her eyes. “That’s true. Girl, you didn’t look?”
I sighed. It was hard to imagine, but I didn’t live for the gossip mill in Crescent Cove. “Obviously not. Is that rockstar dude in town or something?”
“No, better.”
“Better?”
“Well, at least I thought it was better. And who freaking knew Gideon was hiding those washboard abs under his T-shirts?”
The incomprehension made me literally deaf for a moment. The whole café seemed like it was sucked into a vacuum. Why would Clara know what he looked like without a shirt? Hell, I didn’t even know, and he’d had his damn tongue in my mouth. But beyond that, why the hell was it on Facebook?
“I’m sorry?”
Clara shook her head. “Well, beyond the whole not dad bod he’s rocking, did you even know he was a dad? I mean, wow.”
I snapped the espresso handle a little harder than was completely necessary. Enough that the grinds flew all over.
Clara’s eyes went wide, and she reached for the bucket we kept under the espresso maker. “Sorry, Macy. Forgot you guys have—”
“We don’t have anything. Look all you want. I don’t freaking care. What I care about is why the line is never getting any shorter.” I knew my voice held far too much venom for the situation, but I didn’t care.
Clara didn’t even miss a beat. Everyone was used to my snarling, and I wouldn’t be changing anytime soon. “Right, well, his daughter posted a picture and tagged Gideon’s Instagram business page. Kinda went insane from there. Firstly, hi, we didn’t even know he was a dad, and secondly, damn, son.”
“You’re hanging out with Rylee too much.”
Clara grinned. “More like gotta keep up with you.” She finished a latte with a leaf flourish and brought the drink to the counter.
“I don’t talk like Rylee,” I muttered.
“Who doesn’t talk like me?” Rylee came up behind me, tying on an apron.
