AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It already felt ruined, and that was depressing enough.
She tugged at the strings of her apron, turning her back to him so he wouldn’t see her wince. “Can it wait, Coop? I really do need to get going. The cookies will be ready in a few minutes, if you can pull them out.”
“Oh, sure. I was just going to let you know that I think you’ll like your next check.”
She turned to face him. “Why?”
He beamed at her. “I gave you a raise.”
“A raise? Why? I’m your worst employee.”
“Don’t say that. You’re my favorite employee.” The smile on his face grew a little softer.
The discomfort Gretchen was feeling grew. When had Cooper turned the corner from being a friend? Why hadn’t she paid attention before now? This made things so incredibly uncomfortable. “You shouldn’t give me a raise, Coop. Anyone else would have fired me at this point. I’m late, I’m lazy, and I work on other stuff when I’m tending the counter.”
“Yes, but you make an incredible cookie. All the customers love your recipes.”
She snorted. “Did you not hear me say the part about being late and lazy?”
“Yes, but you work hard.”
“On my books, yes. Not on slinging coffee.”
He chuckled. “You shouldn’t tell me that. I’m your boss.”
“You’re my friend,” she emphasized, feeling like an ass when his smile faded a little. Floor, swallow me up right now. “Actually, I wanted to tell you that I might be scarce for a few weeks,” she found herself telling him. That crazy assignment Kat had mentioned was looking better and better. A month away from Cooper might be just the thing to cool his jets and refuel her pocketbook. “I just got handed another contract and it’s an on-location one.”
“Oh?” He looked crestfallen. “I’ll miss seeing you around.”
“Yeah, well.” She shrugged a little, feeling like she wanted to flee. “I’m sorry. Debbie always wants more shifts. Can you give her mine?”
“Hey,” he said, reaching out and squeezing her upper arm as if to comfort her. “Don’t stress. You do what needs to be done. You know I’ll always be here for you.”
Gretchen nodded. “Thanks, Cooper. You’re a good friend. I really do mean that.”
“I know you do.” Was that a hint of sadness in his voice?
Now she felt even worse. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Cooper. Okay, actually, that wasn’t true. The last thing she wanted to do was date Cooper. The second to last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings. “I appreciate it, Cooper. Sorry to run out on you.”
“Not a problem,” he said cheerfully.
They stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment, and then the bell on the counter dinged, saving them from further awkwardness.
“I’m going to head out,” Gretchen said, pulling off her apron. “See you around, Coop.”
He nodded, taking a client’s order, as if nothing was wrong and they hadn’t just gotten all weird with each other.
But she felt his eyes on her back as she left the coffee shop.
As soon as she was out the door, Gretchen pulled out her phone and dialed her agent.
“Kat Geary.”
“It’s me. Is that weird-ass job at the Buchanan place still available?”
“You’re not seriously thinking about taking it, are you?”
“I sure am.” The more she thought about it, the more this seemed like a good idea. It was a little unorthodox, sure. But the thought of spending time away from Astronaut Bill and his ladylove was more appealing by the moment. And speaking of uncomfortable love interests . . . getting away from Cooper for a few weeks would do a lot to ease the discomfort she was currently feeling. The money was just a very nice, very pleasant bonus on top of things. “I could use a distraction and this project sounds like the perfect one. When do I get to start?”
