Page 22 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
“Sure.” He walks toward the counter, and I head behind it, where Katie and Tony are both watching me with curious looks.
“Give me your most complicated drink,” I tell him, peeking my head around the espresso machine, which is taller than I am.
“I normally just drink plain coffee with cream, so you make me something you think I might like.”
“Make him a flat white with cream and vanilla syrup,” Katie suggests.
“Do you like vanilla?” I ask him.
“Caramel is more my thing,” he says, and I swear his eyes flash to my hair, but I’m probably just imagining it.
“A flat white with caramel coming right up.” I peek around to him again as I pour the milk into the steam cup. “So why are you in town?”
“Running some errands.” He leans his hip against the counter and doesn’t say more, so I don’t either. As the espresso machine whirls and hisses, I can feel him watching me but refuse to give into checking him out. Whatever his reason for checking in on me is, it’s not because he likes me as anything more than a friend. Maybe he feels sorry for me, or maybe, like he said, he knows what it’s like to be somewhere new and not really have anyone.
When his drink is done, I put a lid on it and hand it over to him; then I hold my breath as he takes a sip. “So?”
“It’s good.” He gives me a small smile. “How much do I owe you for this?”
“It’s on me.” I wave him off when he starts to pull out his wallet.
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” I tell him, then look to the door when it opens and watch a group of people walk in.
“I’ll let you get back to work.” He dips his chin ever so slightly. “See you around.”
“See you around.” I move out of the way so that Katie can get back in front of the register but catch him reaching into his pocket, pulling out some cash, and shoving it into the tip jar before he leaves, taking his coffee with him. When he’s gone, I let out a long breath.
“So is he not your boyfriend because you don’t want him to be? Or is he not your boyfriend because he’s a guy and they tend to be stupid?” Katie asks after we get the new group of people their drinks, and I shrug.
“Neither. He’s just a friend.”
“I saw the way he was watching you before you knew that he was in the store, and I can tell you that it was not the way a friend looks at another friend.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask how he was looking at me, but I refuse to do that to myself: get my hopes up and make things between us out to be more than they actually are.
“You didn’t respond to his text, so he came to check on you. As a dude, I’m telling you that means he likes you,” Tony says, leaning against the counter.
“Well, as much as I appreciate both of your concern about the status of Maverick’s feelings for me, I’m telling you that he’s just a friend. His best friend is my best friend’s husband, and since I just moved to town, he’s looking out for me.”
“Right, keep telling yourself that,” Katie says, going back to the counter when another group of customers comes in.
Thankfully the conversation about Maverick ends there, and neither she nor Tony brings him up again for the rest of the evening. That doesn’t mean I don’t replay in my mind each time I’ve been in his presence over and over again, trying to gain some kind of insight into his brain and what he’s thinking.
Chapter 8
JADE
Hearing sirens behind me, I glance into my rearview mirror, then look down at my speedometer. The last speed sign I saw said that the speed limit was forty-five, so if I didn’t miss one, the cop currently flagging me down to pull over isn’t doing it because of that.
I slow down my car and pull onto the side of the road, putting the engine in park before I reach over into the glove box to get my registration and insurance card. As I straighten in my seat, I watch a tall, fit man in a formfitting uniform get out of his car and put a large, cream-colored cowboy hat on to cover his blond hair. I watch him get closer, then wait until he’s at my window to roll it down a couple of inches.
“I wasn’t speeding, was I? The last sign I saw said the limit was forty-five,” I say, looking up at him, and I know that he’s good looking even if I can’t see his eyes, which are covered by a pair of silver aviators.
