Page 4 of All Stars Fall
Or stare at them slack-jawed like I’d just done.
I was off to a solid start, wasn’t I?
The bell rang, alerting me to another customer.
The lady’s hair was pulled back into a sleek black ponytail. She had four cases of muffins in her hands and narrowed her eyes at me. “Penelope?”
“Oh, thank God, you must be Jennifer?”
“Yes!” she squealed, moving her feet and almost dropping the muffins. The woman looked like she’d stepped out of a yoga studio. You know the type, where their bodies just refuse to age past thirty-five. She looked like a total adult, the kind that even had the matching bra and panties just because she could.
I suddenly felt very insecure about my teal panties and black sports bra under my jersey tank.
I mean, you don’t drive in expensive lingerie.
Not that I would know.
Since I didn’t own any.
I chewed my lower lip.
“Did you just get in?” Jennifer asked, breaking my concentration.
“Yup.” I rocked my weight back on the heels of my Nikes and shoved my hands in my pockets. “I must have gotten confused because I thought I was supposed to meet you today and—”
“Yes, totally my fault. I was stuck in traffic.”
Here? I wanted to ask but kept my mouth shut.
“You’d think that we were the new ‘it’ spot with all the Hollywood sightings, but it’s normal to us now, you know? Rock stars, actors, whatever, as long as they’re a paying customer, I don’t care.” She scrunched up her nose.
Wait, what were we talking about?
I was clearly exhausted. “Hey, as long as they love coffee.” That sounded normal, right? Not desperate?
She beamed at me, all white teeth and red lipstick. “I knew you would be a great fit.” She peered around my body. “Stella, you can go now. Thanks for watching the shop.”
Stella hopped off her stool, gave us a finger wave, and walked right out the front door.
“Is she—”
“Oh no, no, God, no.” Jennifer laughed. “I have two boys. She’s friends with Mark, the younger one, though she’s even younger than him. I pay her exactly ten dollars to watch the store when I have to run errands and promise her peeks of his six pack.”
I burst out laughing. “I’m sure it works every time.”
“She asked to pay me once.” Jennifer giggled. “Anyways, thanks again for all of this. I actually leave tomorrow, so let’s go over everything and then I’ll leave you alone to unpack.”
“Great!” Was it though? Why did it feel like I was trading my old life for a new one that I couldn’t even define? I’d had friends, a steady teaching job that was comfortable but other than that, I couldn’t see anything happening anymore. It was like each day kept repeating itself. I’d loved Cunningham Falls and now I was wondering what the heck I’d been thinking when I left it forSeaside. I frowned and then tried my best to conjure up a bright smile. “Let’s get started!”
I was in it now.
Whether I liked it or not.
And part of me, when that sick part thought of the hot guy who’d just stopped by needing help with gum in what I was assuming was his child’s hair, was excited.
If they had men like that here.
What could possibly go wrong?
