3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Cole

“ Y ou were told to take it easy!” I’d managed to avoid my mom most of the morning and into the afternoon, but the minute I’d picked up my laptop bag and tried to sneak out, she’d caught me, fixed me with one of her patented Mom looks, and pounced.

I sighed and tried to force myself not to roll my eyes. “Mom, I told you—”

“I don’t care what you told me. You need to take it easy or you’re going to work yourself into an early grave.”

She was right. I knew she was right. But I was taking it easy. Well… easi er , anyway. “I know,” I conceded. “But I just need to make sure these last few accounts get wrapped up. If I don’t and things fall through the cracks, the company stands to lose clients. And if the company loses clients, my job is at risk.”

“Do you honestly think your boss is going to fire you for doing what he told you to do? Taking a rest?”

“It’s not only up to him. If his boss says to cut their losses and let me go, what choice does he have?”

She sniffed indignantly. “Well, I say that if your company is that unreasonable, you don’t need them anyway. You’ll find another job.”

I closed my eyes and touched my fingertips to my temples. A headache was threatening to form and I was trying to fight it off. I took a few slow breaths before speaking again. “Okay, Mom. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I’m just going to Brewed Awakening for a few hours this afternoon.”

She hesitated for just a second. “Brewed Awakening? So you met West, then?”

I chuckled. “Yes, Mom, I met West Davies.”

“And?”

“And nothing. He’s nice. He told me to try the cookies. I did. Then I got a ton of work done. That’s all.”

“Well,” she said, disappointment coloring her tone. “If you’re headed back to Brewed Awakening, I guess I don’t see the problem. If you promise to take it easy. No stressful meetings or anything.”

“Whatever you say, Mom.” I kissed her cheek fondly and ducked into the cold winter afternoon. There was snow falling as I walked the few blocks to the coffee shop, little, soft, fluffy flakes that drifted on the breeze and gave the town the feeling of being in a snow globe. The sidewalk was covered in a dusty layer of snow that swirled when the wind blew. When I made it to the shop, the seating area was empty and West was nowhere to be seen. The bell above the door jangled to announce my arrival and I put my things down at the same table I’d taken the day before.

“Coming,” West’s voice called from the back room, growing nearer. “Just a se—oh. It’s you.” His tone was bright, a shy smile on his face.

I looked up and grinned at him. “It’s me.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually come back.”

Furrowing my brow and frowning, I tilted my head to the side slightly. “No? Why not?”

“I guess I thought you were just being polite.”

“Nope. I meant every word of it.” His cheeks turned pink in a blush that I found endearing. Part of me wanted to see more of it, wanted to see where the blush spread to as it traveled down his neck and into the collar of his T-shirt. Well, most of me, if I was being honest. I cleared my throat. “What’s good today?”

He blinked and looked around for a second before seeming to realize what I was talking about. “Oatmeal cookies. No scones, but we’ve got zucchini muffins.”

I wrinkled my nose at the zucchini. “Pass. I will take a couple of cookies, though.”

“Raisins or no?”

A grin spread over my face. “That’s a very important question, isn’t it? I think yes to raisins.”

“Correct answer,” he said, reaching into the bakery case. The smile he gave me made my heart flutter, leaving me wanting more.

I took my cookies back to my table and watched as West went about his business. His strawberry blond hair became progressively more tousled as the afternoon went on, but his greenish eyes never lost their sparkle and his smile never wavered. When the rush died down, close to the end of the day, he stopped by my table.

“Hey,” he said with an easy smile. “How are those cookies treating you?”

“They were great. Did you make them too?”

“I did. The cookies are always made by me, right here in house.”

“Where did you learn to bake?”

He shrugged and looked at the floor shyly. “Cookies are easy. My grandma taught me when I was a kid. I went to pastry school after I finished high school, but grandma taught me the basics when I was seven or eight.”

I nodded appreciatively. “That’s awesome. My college experience was significantly less delicious, I can assure you.”

“Oh? They don’t let you bake in—wait, what is it that you do?”

I grimaced and rubbed the back of my neck. “Nothing as interesting as pastry, I can assure you. I’m a marketing guy.”

“That’s cool, though. You get to decide how to present products to the market, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I do. It’s stressful though. I work too damn much. That’s why I’m in town, actually. I’m supposed to be relaxing. Recovering from a health scare.”

His eyes widened. “Jesus, are you okay?”

I waved away his concern and gave him a wry smile. “I’m great now.” The flush on his cheeks was adorable.

“Well, aren’t you charming?” He raised his eyebrows briefly.

I shrugged. “Whatever it takes to get a date with the hot barista.”

“Technically, I’m just a shopkeeper. Maybe a baker if you’re getting fancy.”

“I notice you’re not debating the hot part.”

His blush deepened. “You asking me out?”

“Only if you’re saying yes. If not, you can forget I said anything.”

“It sounds like fun. I’d love to.” A moment passed. “When were you thinking?”

“Can you manage to get away tonight? I go back to the city a few days after Christmas.”

His smile faltered. “Shit. Tonight? I almost forgot.” I raised my eyebrows and he grimaced. “Family obligations. I have to go to my family’s annual trip to sing carols at the Silver Creek nursing home tonight. We go every year.”

I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. “Really?” It was so selfless that it was endearing. “That’s adorable.”

He nodded. “My grandma lived there for years. This is our way of honoring her.” He glanced at the clock above the register, a big, analog one that reminded me of an elementary school cafeteria. “Oh crap. Speaking of which, I’d better get moving. I was supposed to close early so I’m not late for the singing.” He tugged his apron off and hurried to the door to flip the sign. “I’ll have to take a rain check.” He hesitated. “Unless…”

My eyebrows shot up. “Unless?”

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in joining us, would you?”