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A slow smile stretched across her face. Her eyes seemed to glint with something he would have given anything to have translated for him. That one look alone was enough to make it clear where her loyalties lie.
Megan withdrew, rapping her fingers along the edge of the counter. “Of course. That makes sense.” She took a few steps toward the door then spun around to face them. “You do realize that I’m opening a bookstore, right? That kind of place is built for loitering.” With a sweep of her hand, she gestured to the coffee shop. “Sometimes folks need a quiet place where they’re not expected to spend any money.”
If he didn’t know any better, those could be considered fighting words. She might have just threatened him—hinting that she would be stealing his customers by allowing them to simply spend time at her place of business.
Daniel watched her go. Every step she took, her heels clicked against the tiled floor. What a ridiculous pair of shoes to wear in a place like this. If she planned on hanging out at the ranch for the better part of the month, she’d learn right quick that her heels would more than likely sink into the mud before she took two steps toward her car.
The door opened and shut. The quiet hum of his customers picked up again—everything returned to normal—except one thing. Corbin wasn’t speaking. His usual chatter had died completely. Not only that, he was staring at Daniel like he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure how it would be taken.
“Just spit it out, Corbin,” Daniel ground out.
“Nah. I don’t think I will.”
“Fine, but when you finally want to talk about it, don’t be surprised if I’ve already lost interest.”
Corbin whistled, long and low. “Geez, Daniel. What did she do to you?”
He glowered at his friend as he snatched a rag from the counter and wiped at a mess that wasn’t even there. “She’s opening up that store across the street. I told you that.”
“Nope. It sure seems like a little more than that.”
“Yeah? Do tell, what does it seem like to you?” Daniel huffed, turning his back on his employee and friend. “I bet in a thousand years you’d never guess what’s really going on.”
“So, you admit that something is going on.” Corbin laughed and some of the tension in the room alleviated. “Now you have to tell me what’s going on. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have to say that you two have a connection that’s more than a rivalry.”
Daniel shot Corbin a look that only confirmed what he’d hypothesized.
Corbin laughed again. “Thought so. And since I keep getting warmer, I think it’s only fair that you tell me what’s going on. I should know—especially if it means my job is in jeopardy.”
“Your job isn’t in jeopardy. Don’t even suggest such a thing. We’re going to be fine. I just have to figure out a plan that will keep people coming back here for the coffee they love. She can sell her books, but the coffee? It’s our thing.”
Corbin scratched the back of his neck then let his hand dangle at his side. “Don’t be mad, but you’re not really instilling much confidence in this place.”
He sucked in a deep breath if only to keep himself from saying something he’d regret. Corbin didn’t need to know that Daniel wasn’t sure what the plan was. He didn’t have a single clue what he could do to keep his customers when they were already operating on razor thin margins.
While he loved Mountaintop Java, he hated certain aspects of it and this was one of them. His eyes flitted up to meet Corbin’s then he shook his head. “I’m not mad. And you’re welcome to your opinions. The shop isn’t going to open up for a few more days so we have time. Maybe we need to run a promotion of some kind. I’ll have to do some research first… and check the budget, of course. But we’ll figure it out. I promise.”
Corbin nodded, though the amusement from before had completely fled from his expression. He shifted his focus to the window and Daniel could all but read his thoughts. He didn’t know how they were going to fix this problem either. They’d both been sandbagged over the whole situation.
And it had been all his brother’s fault.
If Bo had thought to give Daniel a little bit of information on what the bookstore would entail, maybe he could have been better prepared. Okay, he would have definitely been better prepared, and he’d have made sure the folks in town knew to distrust the new girl. It had been done before. When the Holt sisters had shown up with their fancy ideas and their insistence on changing the way things worked around here, no one had liked them much.
In fact, there had been several sordid events surrounding their arrival.
But Bo had ultimately chosen his side. He’d picked his wife.
“She’s kinda amazing, don’t you think?”
Daniel froze and glanced toward Corbin, finding him watching the window again. When he swung his attention in that direction, he saw Megan standing outside in those ridiculous heels directing people who were delivering boxes.
He glowered, his gaze taking in the words written on the side. Coffee and tea from whoever her supplier was. Daniel gritted his teeth. “She’s nothing special.”
“I don’t think you would be saying that if you would have met her before you found out she was our competition.”
“Except I did.”
“Hmm?”
