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“A Keurig?! I mean, Mom and Dad’s old machine has been doing the job, but I’ve wanted one of these since forever.”
“We know!”
“Aww, thanks you guys.” I hugged them all. “Let’s set it up.”
“Yes!”
Ally reached into a canvas bag that was on the floor next to her chair and pulled out a container. “Definitely. I’ve got chocolate brownies that are dying to be served with a good coffee.”
Ten minutes later, we were sipping coffee from my new mugs, the brownies in the middle of the table, when I heard the front door bang open.
“Luce?”
“In here,” I called back, recognizing my brother’s voice.
“We’ve got your office equipment. Which room?”
“The one nearest the door, thanks. I’ll make you guys coffee in mybrand-new Keurig machine.”
I jumped up to switch the coffee machine back on. With my back to the kitchen door, I didn’t need to look to see it was Matt who walked through it thirty seconds later. Zara’s happy face said it all. Judging by Ally’s scowl, Gabe came in next. I smiled to myself when he greeted her, using her full name like he always did, and her scowl deepened. She swore she didn’t like him, but—what’s that old saying? Oh yeah.Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
My heart sank when Jake came in behind the other two and I caught Emma’s reaction: a subtle shift in her chair, a slight hunching of her shoulders as she drew in on herself. It made me feel so bad for her. And Jake did what he always did, too: looked for her the moment he stepped in the room, tried to disguise the flare of feeling that hit him when he caught sight of her. I sighed as I watched him shove his hands in his pockets and lean against the wall, keeping as far away from Emma as possible in my tiny kitchen.
While I made the coffee, Gabe leaned back against the bench with a white booklet in his hands. “What have you got there?”
“The instructions for your furniture. It can be arranged in a few different configurations, so you have to choose.”
“Oh, cool.”
Gabe was a mellow kind of guy, with dark hair and blue, soulful eyes. “Zen” was always the word my mom used to describe him. He took a pair of glasses from his back pocket and put them on, starting to show me the different ways the office furniture could be laid out. Ally made a weird noise in the back of her throat, and I glanced at her. She was staring at Gabe, almost horrorstruck. What the fuck?
“You okay, Ally?”
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.” The note of accusation in her voice was clear.
“I didn’t, until last week.” Gabe watched her for a moment, amusement dancing in his eyes. “What, you got a problem with that?”
“No, why would I?” Exactly. Why would she? But it sure seemed to piss her off.
I had to bite back a chuckle as I handed Gabe his coffee. “Anyway, tell me which configuration you guys think will work best for the space.”
After I’d approved their choice and made the coffees, the men grabbed a brownie each from the middle of the table and went off to sort out my office.
“All right, spill. What’s the problem with Gabe wearing glasses? They suit him.”
Zara, laughter glimmering in her eyes, filled me in. “Ally thinks guys that wear glasses are really hot.”
“I do not. Well, only some guys, anyway.”
I burst out laughing. PoorAllegra.
“Sure, sure.” I sipped my coffee, trying to smother my smile. Ally’s reactions to Gabe were a source of endless entertainment to me.
Since the guys took quite a while installing my office furniture and the girls didn’t want to go anywhere, we decided to order pizza for dinner. Things got a little awkward when Matt offered to get some beers and Jake said none for him.
“Since when do you say no to a beer?” I sputtered.
He shrugged, flicking a glance at Emma, who didn’t notice. “Since now, I guess.”
