Page 82 of Friends That Heal Us
The bell above the door jingles, and Liv’s face immediately falls, her cheeks flushing a bright pink. I spin around and spot a guy who can’t be much older than her. His hair is messy in a ‘careless, but I did it on purpose’ way. His eyes dart around nervously before landing on her.
“Hi, Liv.” His lashes lower, the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth.
“Hi, Jacob.” She stumbles over the two words as she gets up from her seat. The sound of the chair scraping across the floor makes a screech.
“Is this where you work?”
“Yeah. Did you want to get something?”
He pivots to face the display cases. “Sure. What’s good?”
She rushes behind the counter, and I can’t help but smile at how cute their shy interaction is. It reminds me of Ezra and I when I first started getting feelings for him.
“Everything,” she says with a wide smile, showcasing her pink cheeks even more. “What’s your favorite dessert?”
“Umm. I don’t really eat sweets.”
“What! You’re missing out. Especially these.”
Dang, she’s really hyping me up.
“Pick one for me.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Is that your sister?” he whispers, leaning towards her.
“No, that’s my boss,” she whispers back, catching my gaze for a moment.
“Oh.”
She grabs him a pumpkin cinnamon roll, wraps it up and places it in a bag. “Did you want to eat it here?”
“Nah. I gotta go.”
“Oh.” Her voice is low in disappointment.
“Are you going to Caleb’s party this weekend?”
“Yeah. Are you?”
“Yeah.” He pays and grabs the bag from her. “Thanks. It was nice seeing you. I’ll see you at Caleb’s,” he says, heading out the door.
“Okay, see you.” She watches him walk out the door and gives him a small wave.
She walks back over and sits back down. Her cheeks are still pink as ever. “Who was that?” I ask, eyeing her.
“Some guy,” she says with a shy smile, avoiding my gaze.
“Do you like this guy?”
“Yeah.”
“You should’ve asked him to stay.”
Her eyes widen. “I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
