Page 54 of A Taste of Vanilla

Oliver chokes, and I grin.

Mrs. Alvarez sets her cup on the counter and tips her chin. “Large.”

And just like that, the day begins.

People stream in. Not too many, but enough to drown out the noise.

Regulars and neighbors. Two Vipers fans getting ready for a day game and wanting cookies. A woman with a stroller who orders three different muffins and tells me my bow is cute, and a college student who asks if the Men Are Decorative at Best Latte can be made hot.

“It can,” I tell her. “But spiritually it prefers iced.”

She nods as if that made any sense at all.

Marley works the register with terrifying competence for someone who probably hasn’t touched one in a decade, since her job at a local clothing store.

Oliver restocks napkins, glares at the espresso machine, andtells a customer, “No, I don’t work here,” while actively handing them a bag of cookies.

Lisa arrives at eleven thirty despite being told not to. She takes a look at me and hugs me so hard I squeak.

“I’m fine,” I say into her shoulder.

She pulls back. “No, you’re not.”

“Everyone keeps saying that,” I say.

“Because we have eyes.”

She puts on an apron and takes over scone duty without asking, which should irritate me but it mostly makes me want to lie down on the floor and thank organized women everywhere.

At one, my phone buzzes in my apron pocket. I check it before I can stop myself.

Boat Shoe Judas.

My whole body goes cold.

BOAT SHOE JUDAS

I just stopped in at home again. You haven’t been back. We need to talk before this becomes bigger than it has to be.

My fingers tighten around the phone.

This.

Apparently, this is not big enough yet. His cheating is a situation. My leaving is an escalation. My absence from our own home is an inconvenience.

Before this becomes bigger than it has to be.

I hear Oliver’s voice in my head.Don’t answer him.

So I don’t.

I screenshot the message and send it to Marley.

Her head snaps up from the register, and her eyes narrow.

I look back.

Oliver notices. “What?” he asks.