Not that she actually knew what that felt like. As she’d disclosed the night before, she’d never been on a date. But that’s what she’d imagined it would feel like. She’d had butterflies, although in fairness, the winged creatures always seemed to show up when Josh was around.
A long sigh fell from her lips as she dropped her head back. When they’d finished dinner, Josh had walked her to her car, and he’d hugged her and kissed her on her forehead. It was where he always kissed her. But just like the dinner last night it felt different.
Maybe it was her imagination, but she would swear his lips lingered longer than they usually did. Just like she was certain the hug had lasted longer than normal. She’d almost asked if he was okay because he’d been holding her so tight, when he dropped his arms and took a step back from her. Then, he put his hands in his pockets, which always made her insides swoon. The position showcased his biceps and forearms like he was posing for a men’s health magazine. It highlighted every chiseled-to-perfection curve, dip, and bulge. She noticed he did it a lot around her and she wasn’t sure why.
Since she could see his garage out the side window of the coffee shop, she’d seen him interact with a lot of other people and she’d never seen him put his hands in his pockets when he was talking to anyone else. He crossed his arms sometimes, but he never put them in his front pockets.
Not that she was complaining. She was a huge fan and always enjoyed the gun show. She just wondered why he only did that around her.
She’d also never seen him kiss anyone’s forehead like he did hers. The first time he’d done it, she’d been so excited. She’d thought for sure that was the first of many more kisses to come in other, more intimate, areas. She figured it was just his warmup. She’d figured wrong.
He’d been doing the forehead kissing for about, oh let’s see, six years now and it had never progressed past that innocent area. Now she feared it was more familial than anything else. She’d noticed that he always kissed his grandmother on the cheek. Maybe he kissed her on the forehead because he thought of her as his sister.
That was a very real possibility. It would explain why he’d been so protective of her when Viv had set her up on dating sites. And why he’d even offered to go with her to the dates and be there just in case anything went wrong.
Her mind was going a million miles a minute racing around the what-if track when the bell dinged above the door and Audrey’s heart skipped a beat thinking for a split second that it might be Josh.
Her heart sank just a little when she saw Sue Ann Perkins and Renata Blackstone enter the coffee shop. Today Sue Ann’s long floral skirt had a baby blue base and was covered in iris flowers that perfectly matched the cardigan sweater combo she wore. Her cheeks were especially rosy and round and when she saw Audrey a wide smile spread on her face. Beside her, Renata’s waist length, salt and pepper hair was pulled tight in a braid that started at the base of her neck. Her olive complexion was complimented by her forest green turtleneck. Her expression remained stoic as she entered the coffee shop.
“Hello there, Miss Audrey,” Sue Ann beamed as the duo approached the counter.
“Hi, ladies. How are you doing today?”
“We stopped by to speak to Vivien about the singles week events. She has some out-of-the-box ideas that we need clarification on.”
Renata Blackstone did not suffer fools or engage in small talk. She got right to the point.
When Audrey and Viv first moved to Hope Falls, Audrey was certain the woman just didn’t like her at all. Over the years, however, she’d come to realize that Renata just wasn’t a warm and fuzzy person. But she cared about Hope Falls and all the residents in it. She was kind, generous, and Audrey suspected had a soft side that she just didn’t reveal to too many people.
“Oh, she’s not in yet. But she should be here any minute. If you take a seat, I can get you ladies a tea and coffee while you wait.”
“That will be fine.” Renata’s chin dipped in a nod.
“The regular?” Audrey’s eyes bounced between both women.
They both nodded in agreement and then moved to a bistro-style table that sat in front of the floor to ceiling glass front of the shop.
Audrey prepared Sue Ann a peppermint tea and Renata a coffee with two sugars and a pinch of cinnamon. Part of what she loved about living in such a tight-knit community was having regulars and knowing those regulars’ orders. Just like Luke from Gilmore Girls knew his regulars’ orders. She really was living out her childhood dream.
She dropped off the drinks and went back behind the counter and texted her sister. Viv took advantage of the fact that she owned the shop and viewed her start times as flexible. Very flexible. Normally, on Wednesday’s she was on time, though because she knew that Audrey volunteered at the animal shelter in the afternoon, but not always.
After shooting off a quick text to her sister to let her know that Sue Ann and Renata were waiting to speak to her, Audrey continued to help the few customers that trickled in. Each time the door opened she looked up hoping that it was Josh. Each time, she was disappointed.
She wouldn’t classify herself as a paranoid person, but in the back of her head she kept thinking that Josh’s no show today must be because she’d revealed her virginity to him. It must have made him uncomfortable. Especially if he did, in fact, think of her as a sister.
But the forehead kiss. It was definitely longer than they usually were. And there’d been a different look in his eyes when he’d said goodbye.
“Hey chickadee!” Viv smiled as she walked in from the back of the shop wearing a Brewed Awakenings sweatshirt and holding a notebook in her hands. “Sorry, I’m late. I hurt my back this morning.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.” Viv shrugged. “I was just getting up out of a chair and I felt it tighten up. I tried to foam roll it out, I iced it and put heat on it but nothing’s helping.”
“Do you want me to stay?”
“Nah, I’m good. Wednesday afternoons are pretty slow. You can save the world, I’ll be fine.”
Viv always referred to Audrey’s volunteer work as ‘saving the world.’