Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 38053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
My eyes glaze over and I barely register her walking toward the door of her shop. She steps outside. “Are you just going to keep gawking in the window, or do you want to come inside?”
I smile. “I was just passing by.”
Great reply. I seem much less like a stalker getting my jollies by staring at her through the window. She giggles and I swear my heart beats faster at the sound.
She leans against the open door and my eyes drop to her lips. I need to remind myself she’s not the prize I’m trying to win here.
“Not that I’m speaking from experience, but it kinda looks like you might be spying on me.”
I chuckle, finally able to remove my hands from the front of my jeans and cross my arms. “No spying. I was just walking around reminiscing about the good ol’ days.”
She nods, lifting an eyebrow. “The good ol’ days? How old are you?”
We both laugh and I can officially check off looking like an asshole three times in front of her now. This must be some kind of record.
I need to get away from here and get my head on straight. The longer I stand here, the more her strawberry scent surrounds me and it’s not helping my situation.
I grin and shove my hands into my pockets. “I’ll let you get back to your customers.” I walk away, but turn my head, noticing she’s staring at me. “Your shop resembles being stuck inside a gumball machine filled with pink gumballs.”
Her loud laugh echoes around me as I continue down the street as I smirk.
“Well, fuck,” I whisper, shaking my head.
It’s now clear to me that there are two things I’m trying to win here.
Best latte and February Frost.
Chapter 7
February
Inarrow my eyes as I watch Harrison Riggs walk away from my shop. He was spying, and I caught him red-handed.
How dare he say he wasn’t spying on me.
My mind wanders as I think about the other night in my shop. Him and me. Alone. He leaned in to kiss me, and I froze.
I couldn't kiss the enemy. Even if every bone in my body wanted to explore a kiss with him. I’m not going to sit here and say that Harrison isn’t gorgeous. I mean, he’s otherworldly with how good he looks.
But that’s beside the point.
I can’t confuse things.
Besides, I don’t ever want to get hurt again. Drake did a number on me, and I don’t want to open my heart to somebody new just to have him drag it through the mud like Drake did.
I push away the thoughts of Harrison and head back into my shop.
“Was that who I think it was?” Deanna says, raising a brow.
I nod. “Yeah, I think he was spying on me.”
Deanna’s lived here her whole life and is around our age. So, I’m sure she knows him better than I do. Not that I know him at all.
“Real shame about his father,” Deanna says, glancing down for a moment. “That man used to be the life of this town. It was sweet of Harrison to come back and fulfill his father’s dream.”
Okay, she definitely knows him better than me.
Deanna’s worked for me since I opened my shop. She’s like my right hand.
“His father’s dream was to open a loud coffee shop?”
Deanna laughs, her red hair spilling over her shoulders. “Yes. He was probably one of the coolest men I’d ever met. He used to tell stories. He was really cool.”
I think about this man I’ve never met. “When did he die?”
Deanna looks sad again. “About eight or nine months ago.”
I don’t know what’s happening to me, but it feels like my heart is opening to Harrison. Like a sense of empathy, or I feel sorry for him.
Coming from a large family, I couldn't imagine losing any of them. “That must have been hard on Harrison.”
She nods. “Yeah, I’m sure it was.”
For a fleeting moment, I want to ask Deanna everything about Harrison. I want all the info, but I push through the door leading to the back area and head to my office. My eyes linger on the spot where Harrison almost kissed me the other night.
Why didn’t I let him kiss me?
No, I know why. I can’t go around kissing random men. Especially ones I don’t know at all. I know nothing about Harrison.
Before I can really think too long or hard on the subject, I feel a water droplet hit my nose. I glance up.
“What the…” My words fall away as more water rains down on me.
“It must be a broken pipe,” Deanna calls from the front of the shop.
And then, it just gets worse.
I rush out to the front of the coffee shop and see water dripping from the ceiling. “Everyone, please remain calm,” I tell the guests of my shop who are obviously freaking out.