“Darlin’, your coffee’s up,” Justice said, sliding a very large to-go cup onto the wooden counter.
My eyes darted toward the steamy, caffeinated goodness.
“You even think about picking up that cup, and we’re gonna have a problem,” the Viking said, his voice low and dangerous.
But Leif Erikson didn’t know who he was messing with today.
Every woman had her line. Mine, which was admittedly drawn too far back, had just been crossed.
“You take one step toward that beautiful latte that my friend Justice made especially for me, and I will make you regret the moment you met me.”
I was a nice person. According to my parents, I was a good girl. And according to that online quiz I took two weeks ago, I was a people pleaser. I wasn’t great at doling out threats.
The man’s eyes narrowed, and I refused to notice the sexy crinkles at the corner.
“I already regret it, and so does this whole damn town. Just because you change your hair doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget about the trouble you’ve caused here. Now get your ass out the door and don’t come back.”
“He thinks you’re Tina,” Justice cut in.
I didn’t care if this ass thought I was a serial killing cannibal. He was standing between me and my caffeine.
The blond beast turned his head toward Justice. “What the hell are you saying?”
Before my nice friend with the coffee could explain, I drilled my finger into the Viking’s chest. It didn’t go very far, thanks to the obscene layer of muscle under the skin. But I made sure to lead with the nail.
“Now you listen to me,” I began. “I don’t care if you think I’m my sister or that weasel who jacked up the price of anti-malarial drugs. I am a human being having a really bad day after the worst one of her life. I do not have it in me to stuff down these emotions today. So you’d better get out of my way and leave me alone, Viking.”
He looked downright bemused for a hot second.
I took that to mean it was coffee time. Side-stepping him, I picked up the cup, took a delicate sniff, and then shoved my face into the steaming hot life force.
I drank deeply, willing the caffeine to perform its miracles as flavors exploded on my tongue. I was pretty sure the inappropriate moan I heard came from my own mouth but I was too tired to care. When I finally lowered the cup and swiped the back of my hand over my mouth, the Viking was still standing there, staring at me.
Turning my back on him, I flashed my hero Justice a smile and slid my emergency coffee twenty dollar bill across the counter. “You, sir, are an artist. What do I owe you for the best latte I’ve ever had in my life?”
“Considering the morning you’re having, darlin’, it’s on the house,” he said, handing my license and cash back to me.
“You, my friend, are a true gentleman. Unlike some others.” I cast a glare over my shoulder to where the Viking was standing, legs braced, arms crossed. Taking another dive into my drink, I tucked the twenty into the tip jar. “Thank you for being nice to me on the worst day of my life.”
“Thought that day was yesterday,” the scowling behemoth butted in.
My sigh was weary as I slowly turned to face him. “That was before I met you. So I can officially say that as bad as yesterday was, today beat it out by a slim margin.” Once again, I turned back to Justice. “I’m sorry this jerk scared away all your customers. But I’ll be back for another one of these real soon.”
“Looking forward to it, Naomi,” he said with a wink.
I turned to leave and smacked right into a mile of grumpy man chest.
“Naomi?” he said.
“Go away.” It felt almost good to be rude for once in my life. To take a stand.
“Your name’s Naomi,” the Viking stated.
I was too busy trying to incinerate him with a glare of righteous anger to respond.
“Not Tina?” he pressed.
“They’re twins, man,” Justice said, the smile evident in his voice.