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I turn to Lacey. “How about you give us an assortment. You pick,” I say hoping to hurry this along. I can feel my palms growing sweaty as I stand watching her box up our items. My mouth feels a bit dry. I should have had some water with dinner instead of that beer.
“How about some iced coffee to go with this?” Lacey asks looking my way.
I swallow, feeling my throat scratch. “Oh, that’d be great. Just black for me.”
“Same for me,” Shane says.
I pull out my wallet and I can see Shane doing the same as Lacey heads to the register. She hands me the box over the counter and then our coffees. I shuffle through my cash pulling out twenties. I can feel her eyes on me which is making heat crawl up my legs into my gut.
“Oh, no Mr. Whitmore. Really. This is on the house.”
I stand unsure what to do. I’m no stranger to people sending me free things or giving me discounts, but for some reason this strikes me differently.
I look over to see Shane furrowing his brow. “Oh, no, it’s okay. We wouldn’t want to get you in trouble,” Shane says.
She gives us a half-hearted smile. “Well seeing as I’m the boss of this place I’m pretty sure it’s okay.”
I pause as I pass Shane his coffee. I’m not sure if she’s just kidding around or serious but either way it’s not my place to pry. Shane motions for us to go to the small table sitting empty in the corner. We sit and Shane immediately opens the box putting his nose close.
“Mmmmm. I’m totally going for one of these brownies.”
I sit appalled as Shane scoops up the brownie and takes a huge bite. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Rachel’s kids have better manners than this. Shane eyes my disapproval and smiles at me. “What? I’m still hungry. Jared, you have to try something. This brownie is amazing.”
I stare at him for a moment shaking my head. I take the plastic knife Lacey left us in the box and cut a piece of a cookie. I’m not even sure this should be called a cookie because it’s larger than the palm of my hand and thicker than a piece of bread. It smells like it has peanut butter oozing out of it. I casually place it in my mouth, and it immediately begins to melt on my tongue. I can taste the peanut butter, brown sugar and I’m pretty sure a hint of vanilla. It is the best cookie I’ve ever had.
I glance over at Lacey behind the counter where she’s busily wiping down the cases. She stops abruptly as another woman comes out from the back giving her a quick hug then the woman makes her way to the door and exits. I look at Shane who has stopped eating his brownie; his eyes following the woman’s moves.
“Seriously?” I say.
“What? I’m just looking.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Look at your brownie instead.”
Shane chuckles and dives back into the box of pastries. I decide to walk over to Lacey because I’m certain I didn’t thank her for her generosity. I’m also feeling a bit guilty I didn’t interact with her earlier in the day when I was talking to David. The least I can do is thank her.
“Lacey, thank you for the coffee and box of pastries,” I say as she raises her gaze to meet mine.
“Oh, no problem Mr. Whitmore. I’m glad you are enjoying them.”
I clear my throat and look down at the ground. I should walk away now but something about her presence behind that counter is making me stand still. I glance around realizing that Shane and I are the only two customers that entered the shop in the last twenty minutes, which piques my curiosity.
“Is it usually this slow?” I ask.
Lacey pulls a smile and cocks her head. She pauses before answering which makes me even more curious. I would think this should be an easy question to answer.
“Well, every day is a bit different. The mornings are generally busier but we, we meaning me and my co-owner Beth who just left, can’t seem to find a consistent stream of traffic. We are still trying to figure it all out. That’s why I’m working at Whitmore Tech, so we can get some extra money to make sure we can keep this place open.”
I nod surprised at how much information she tells me including the fact that she is an owner of this place. I feel an immediate sense of a connection to her statement. When Shane and I started Whitmore Tech we both took on a bunch of consulting jobs on the side so we could make enough money to get the company started. There were months of sixty-hour work weeks just trying to make it all happen. It was exhausting but in the end it all paid off. I can’t help wanting the same for Lacey.
I give her a small smile. “I see. Well, like I said. Thank you. Enjoy your night.”
Lacey gives me a smile as Shane walks up to join me, he tells her “thank you” and we exit the shop. I drop off Shane and drive home deciding to take the longer less traveled route. The sun has fully set now, and the trees are casting shadows along the road in the moonlight. I stop at an intersection and look to my left then my right. There are no cars in sight giving me the feeling like I’m driving through some abandoned town. A few more minutes driving down the side road I spot my mailbox and the entrance to my driveway. I turn down the driveway when a sense of not wanting to be home fills me. I park in the garage and sit for a moment listening to the silence. I clear my throat as I head into the kitchen and plug my phone into my speakers. Looks like Vivaldi is keeping me company tonight.
Chapter seven
Lacey
The weekend was over in a flash. Most of which I spent at the bakery wondering if Mr. Whitmore would come back in again. I almost fell to my knees when he came in the other night. His presence standing there looking at the pastries made my skin itch. I don’t know what I was expecting, but in my fantasy that I replayed over and over in my head, he takes a bite of a double chocolate brownie and tells me it’s the best thing he’s ever had. With a grin. Not like a little smile, but a genuine ear-to-ear grin. Granted, he did smile a little that night which was just enough for me to notice something else about the man. He has dimples. I mean could he possibly have any more endearing physical characteristics? It should be a crime. I just hope he didn’t catch me staring because I practically had drool coming out of my mouth.
