I laughed. “Right.” I led the way out of the kitchen, back to the front counter, and took a sweeping glance around the entire dining space. Alesha was buzzing through the crowd, filling glasses, retrieving napkins, and stopping at each table to ensure they had everything they needed. I smiled, slightly in awe, as she glided through the room.
When I’d seen her flirting with Nick at the counter, I’d been tempted to ring her neck and ask if the whole “boyfriend dumped me” thing was just another one of her tricks to get her way. But as I watched her work and interact with the guests, that frustration melted away and I decided not to bug her about it.
“Well, I guess I better get back to the grind. Thanks for this,” Nick said, tearing my attention back to him. He rounded the corner and held up the box in his large hands when my eyes found his. “You have a nice afternoon, Carly.”
“Thanks. You too.” I offered him a smile before he turned and went through the front doors.
I watched him pass by, mesmerized by the half-smile he wore, as he walked past the floor-to-ceiling windows along the side of the shop that opened to the patio. Then, at the last second, right before he passed out of sight, he turned and flashed me another heart stopping smile before he disappeared from view.
“He’s so hot…”
I jolted at Alesha’s purring voice and jerked to face her, my cheeks turning a bright shade of pink at her having caught me staring after Nick. My tongue might as well have been hanging out of the side of my mouth.
Alesha laughed at me. “Come on. Admit it.”
“He’s not really my type,” I lied.
“Right,” Alesha laughed and set down the pitcher of iced tea on the counter. “What’s your type then? Short, fat, and bald?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. Totally hot.”
Alesha smirked at me.
She wasn’t buying it. Not for a second.
The problem was, neither was I.
“Hey there, gorgeous!”
I smiled as Aaron sauntered through the front doors at half past three. “Hey, trouble.”
“Trouble?” He grinned. “What’d I do?”
I arched a brow at him. “Aren’t you always trouble?”
“Good point.” He laughed and came over to lean against the counter. “How’re things around here?”
He was fishing. I could sense it. But I wasn’t about to bite at the bait he was setting out.
“Things are good. A little crazy, but that’s par for the course, it seems. Alesha’s behaving herself…mostly.”
Aaron shook his head. “I didn’t even recognize her yesterday. What’s with the haircut and the fancy-ass clothes?”
“Who knows. Seventeen going on thirty-seven is apparently all the rage these days. I got curious and went over to her Facebook page and all of her friends look like that. Made up like they’re going to some high society charity ball. I don’t get it. What’s wrong with a t-shirt and a good fitting pair of jeans?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Aaron replied, a twinkle in his eye.
“You’re engaged,” I reminded him with a smirk. Aaron was always like that and Gemma knew it. We’d met several times since their engagement and I knew she wasn’t threatened in the least.
“Just messing with ya. But, you know who sure appreciates the way you look in jeans?”
My eyes went wide at his suggestion. I didn’t need him to fill in the blanks to know who he was talking about.
“What do ya think, Carly? You interested?”
I shook my head. “You’re worse than the old biddies over at Jenny’s,” I replied, referring to the only salon in town. It was a watering hole for town gossip, crockpot recipes, and the occasional diet tip.
“Well, like you said, I’m taken, so I gotta get my entertainment matching others now.”
I rolled my eyes. “Almond spice latte?”
He just grinned.
I went to the espresso machine and started pulling a shot, tapping out the count with my toes. Twenty-two seconds. Perfection. I could feel Aaron’s smile on me as I went through making the rest of his drink. When I turned to present him with the finished product, he laughed. “Just say yes or no.”
“To what?”
“To Nick.”
“Are you asking me out for him? God, last time I checked I was twenty-eight, not sixteen. This isn’t the Homecoming Dance, for fuck’s sake.”
Aaron laughed harder but held up a hand. “All right. I’ll let him do the asking.”
“I’m calling Gemma. She needs to know that you’ve gone full-blown cupid. Maybe she can get you in for an emergency CAT scan.”
“Oh she threatens that at least once a week,” Aaron retorted, still grinning at me as he tossed a twenty-dollar bill onto the counter and backed away toward the door. “Thanks for the lunches, and this,” he said, holding up his drink.”
I put the twenty into the till and shook my head at him. “Goodbye, Aaron.”
He left and I watched him go, still chuckling to himself as he went out to his Jeep. “Good Lord,” I mumbled to myself.