AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did the machine do something?”
She shook her head and leaned back. “Nope, he was just in one of his moods. Make sure you pick up three more cups, black with sugar and creamer on the side for the clients.” She turned her head to the side. “And you better hurry. It gets busy around this time, and the clients will be here soon.”
“I don’t see your name on here. Did you want something?”
“No, but thanks. I already have mine.” She lifted her brown paper cup.
I stared at the cup. “Isn’t that from where I’m going?”
“Yes,” she said sweetly.
“Why didn’t you pick this up when you were there?”
She lifted her eyes to mine, and even though I knew she wanted to take my head off for that comment, that did not stop me from noticing again how beautiful she was. Her dark hair pulled back from her oval face, warm brown eyes almost the color of whiskey, and a breathtaking smile. Well, breathtaking when she was smiling. She wasn’t doing that now, though. “Because I’m not the coffee girl.”
“Alright, sorry for asking.” I was about to step away when I saw the newspaper sitting beside Alice, and a small picture captured my attention.
I collected the paper and turned it around to read the heading.Is he the man for you? Ten ways to know if he is. The name under the article was Maggie Valor, and I stared at her photo. Damn, she looked amazing.
What was Maggie doing back in town? The last I knew she had moved to Atlanta. “Hey, Alice.” I held the paper up as she gave me her attention. “How long has this woman had a column in the paper?”
She grinned. “Why? Do you need some advice on romance?”
“Hardly, Alice, of course, you’d know that if you’d let me take you out.”
“And I might have let you take me out if you knew anything about romance,” she quipped back, and I laughed.
“Touché, but seriously, do you know how long she’s been writing this column?”
“Um, I think it’s been a couple of months. The last romance guru kicked the bucket.”
“Nice way to say she died.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “No, she literally kicked the bucket and said she was giving up on romance. Said that all the advice she had ever given was bullshit and laughed at all the people who asked for her advice.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope, she slipped the article into the paper one night when the editor was busy, and when they saw it the next day, they tried to get her to print an apology, but that’s when she kicked the bucket and said love was dead. Of course, she was fired, and when Maggie Valor started, she had a lot to deal with after the fallout.”
“Is she any good?”
Alice barked out a laugh. “She writes a romance column, of course it’s good. She’s full of wit and sarcasm, and just enough advice to seem like she’s trying to help you. I love her. Why the interest?”
“I knew her way back when,” I stated as I set the paper down. “Been a long time, but I knew her in high school.”
“What are you still doing here?” Jake barked as he came around the corner.
“Oh, he’s getting romance advice,” Alice said quickly and held up the paper, pointing at the column.
“Get the fuck out of here, Blaire! The clients are going to be here in fifteen minutes.”
“I’m going,” I told him and walked toward the door as Alice rolled her eyes. I would have joined her, but Jake might have seen my reflection in the glass.
The sidewalks were busy with people hustling to wherever they were going. Alice was right; it was going to be hectic at the coffee shop if the number of cups passing by me was any indication. As I went on my way, I stayed closer to the buildings, rather than the curb, and watched every single car I walked past.
I’d seen too many car bombs in my tours overseas, and having vehicles parked along the sidewalks still made me nervous—one of the gifts from my enlistment in the Marines. It’s a shame I didn’t have a return address, or I’d send it the fuck back.
I stepped into the coffee shop and sighed. It was packed, and there were about ten people in line in front of me, with another six or seven waiting on the other side for their orders. Around the small interior, there were nine tables, all in use, and four chairs off to the side at a bar table area, all occupied too. A few people had computers open and appeared to be working; others messed with their phones, and a couple of people were actually talking to one another.
