CHAPTER TWO
Louana
I missed Navesink Bank for a multitude of reasons when I went away on my almost never-ending trip across Europe, searching for something—or some part of myself—though ultimately not quite finding what I was looking for.
But I really, really missed She’s Bean Around.
Part of it was the coffee. Which was some of the best I’d ever had. Which was saying something because I had the best espresso that Italy had to offer, and strong cups from Turkey, France, and Norway.
But there was just something special about She’s Bean Around’s blend. Or maybe it was simply the nostalgia of it. Each cup felt like a warm hug because that was what it had always been for me.
Got a bad grade at school?
Go for a cup of coffee at She’s Bean Around.
Had a fight with a good friend?
She’s Bean Around.
Horrific break-up that you never saw coming?
Yep, you guessed it, She’s Bean Around.
It was more than simply the coffee, though. It was the atmosphere. And the people.
Even if, over the years, the interior of the shop went through many design changes, each more distinctive than the last, there was just something so warm and welcoming and familiar about the place.
After I stopped to see my parents when I got stateside again, She’s Bean Around had been my first stop.
And these women, these crazy, loud, larger-than-life women who owned the place, had my usual order waiting for me by the time I made it to the counter.
I was on my third cup of the day when the door opened and a familiar face walked in.
He was older, of course. As was I. And time had etched his features into a much more manly version of the boy I’d known. He looked a lot more like his father now. Which was saying something because I’d always thought his dad was kind of hot. That arms-dealing biker with the equally hot purple-haired wife.
Seth.
I can’t explain the look on his face when his gaze landed on me, but I could have sworn it was something like, I don’t know, glee.
Which made no sense.
I mean, I’d known the guy, but we hadn’t exactly been buds. He kind of hung out with the next-gen biker kids. And I sort of kicked around with different groups. Our paths hadn’t crossed much.
But, sure enough, that smile just stretched wider as he made his way in my direction, gate long-legged and confident. Gone was any of that adolescent gangly-ness and uncertainty that had plagued most of us back in the day.
Judging by the cut he was wearing, he’d gone ahead and followed in his father’s footsteps, prospecting, then getting patched in at Navesink Bank’s favorite outlaw biker club. Which made sense. I think all of us figured all the offspring would do the same eventually. After some went away to college to placate their parents.
“Louana!” Seth said, and up close, I was almost certain there was something mischievous behind that warm smile on his face.
Seth had always been a bit of a shit-starter in school and life outside of school.
But what shit was he starting with me, someone he hadn’t seen in years?
“Seth,” I said, getting up from my seat to accept the hearty handshake he offered me. “How have you been?”
“Good. Good.Wherehave you been?” he asked, shaking his head.
“Oh, you know, here and there. I did a lot of traveling.”