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“All cleaned up. I’m going to head out,” Peyton said as she stepped in from the kitchen and then halted when she saw Romeo standing there.
“Thanks for cleaning up. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I glanced over at her, making it clear that I was in the midst of an awkward situation.
She would then try to make it even more awkward. It was kind of her shtick.
Of course, she sauntered over to the register.
“You’re Romeo Knight, aren’t you?”
His gaze moved to her. “Yes.”
“Ah, a man of few words.” She chuckled. “Your gym is right next door to us. You two should run some sort of special. You know, all those hot boxers can get abuy one, get one free dealover here?” She looked from him to me, and I groaned because Peyton had never been good at reading the room.
“I doubt that’s necessary. I think everyone knows you’re here. You’re a Crawford, after all, right?” He moved closer as I set the two drinks in front of him and glared at him.
“So, you do know who I am.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“I never said I didn’t.”
He picked up the cups off the counter and turned for the door.
“Well, don’t worry about it. I didn’t want to do that deal with your gym anyway,” I said, internally shaming myself for the weak comeback.
He pushed the door open and glanced at me. “Trust me. No one is going to lose sleep over it.”
And he walked right out the door.
My mouth gaped open, and I turned to Peyton and shook my head. “What an asshole.”
“Oh my God. He’s so freaking hot, though. The face. The hair. The body. It should be illegal to look that good.”
“I didn’t notice. I was too busy being insulted by him. What in the world did I ever do to that guy? He wouldn’t even take the good neighbor discount I’d offered for one free drink. He acted like I’d murdered a family member.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen him around, and he’s never been super friendly, but that was next level. I wonder why he hates you.”
Oh, wow. I guess I wasn’t being paranoid, and even she’d noticed that he despised me.
“I have no idea. I don’t even know him.”
“Well, your family is like Magnolia Falls royalty, so I think sometimes people get jealous of those who are filthy rich. Lucky for you, you’re my bestie and you spoil me, so I don’t care.” Her head fell back in laughter.
“I’ve been away at school for four years. I came home and opened a business, one that I’m working at every day. I’m living in a small apartment above the coffeehouse and trying to do things on my own. But I’m hated anyway because my family has money? Romeo Knight can fuck off. I’ve never judged him. He doesn’t have a clue about my life. We’ve never even spoken before today. He’d made his mind up about me before he walked through the door.”
“You are so right. He’s an asshole. But damn, he is a good-looking asshole, am I right?”
“I don’t care what he looks like. He’s a dick. That trumps good looks. Plus, I barely noticed.”
I hoped he’d stay away moving forward. I didn’t need his negative energy in my coffee shop. I shook it off and turned to face Peyton as she bellowed out in laughter at my comment.
“If I had a blindfold over my eyes and a bag over my head and the world lost all-natural sunlight along with working electricity, I would still know that he was hot.”
“Whatever. Let’s move on. It was another good day for business. We’ve been so busy, and I need to place a bunch of orders tonight because we’re going through supplies faster than I anticipated.”
“Look at you, smarty pants. Your fancy degree is showing.” She gave me a quick hug and snatched a cookie before waving goodbye.
I finished cleaning up and made my way upstairs. My apartment was a small one-bedroom, but I’d chosen every single finish in both my home and my business, and I loved everything about them both.
My grandfather and my father had always talked about real estate. About working hard and building something from the ground up. My grandfather was in politics, and my father owned an investment company, so a strong work ethic had been ingrained in my head since I was a kid. Yes, I’d been given a break that not everyone had. My trust fund was hefty, and I’d taken a good portion and invested it into buying this building, which would serve as both my work and my home. It was a smart, safe investment. Included in the building was another shop next door, but I hadn’t decided what I’d do with that space just yet. Real estate was hot in Magnolia Falls, especially the downtown area. I’d wait to see how things went here and either expand or lease out the space to another business.
