Chapter One
It all started with boobs in the coffee line.
Lauren Taylor stared at the image populating the screen on her phone, and her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. With the image came a question.
Emma:Is this OK to wear to work?
Lauren typed her response. No.
A second image appeared almost immediately. A close-up of her friend’s chest, barely contained within the black fabric of whatever shirt she’d changed into.
Emma:What about this one?
Lauren glanced up to make sure no one had come to stand behind her. The photo looked like something from the cover of Maxim and wasn’t something she wanted another customer to see her looking at. She held her phone close to her own chest as she replied, Definitely no.
A minute passed with no response, and Lauren dropped her hand to her side. She leaned to the left and counted…three people ahead of her. Glancing at her watch, she tapped her foot, a rapid staccato on the tile floor. The door to her right opened with a gust of crisp autumn wind and several people filed in.
She considered leaving, but she really wanted coffee. She closed her eyes and rehearsed the introduction in her head.
Good morning. Today I’ll be discussing the management of toxicities associated with immunotherapy…
Her phone dinged.
She slid her thumb across the screen, and a new image materialized.
So.
Much.
Cleavage.
OMG Emma. No. Just…no.
A deep chuckle sounded behind her. Lauren pressed her phone to her stomach, jerked her head around, and forgot all about Emma’s boobs.
Standing behind her was quite possibly the most attractive man in Kansas City. No, the most attractive man in the United States. Maybe even the entire universe.
He was tall, with thick brown hair tousled in that perfectly mussed way. High, defined cheekbones, full lips pressed together like he was trying not to smile, and the cutest little dimple right in the middle of his chin. Warm brown eyes darted from the phone in Lauren’s hand to her face for the briefest second, and then to the menu on the wall. He tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and cleared his throat, his eyes now fixed above her head.
Lauren turned to face forward again, her cheeks warming. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a bird taking flight, and the nape of her neck tingled. Taking care to shield the screen with her upper body, she furiously tapped out another text.
Lauren: I’m going to kill you. There’s a hot guy behind me at The Grind House and he saw me looking at your boobs on my phone. He probably thinks I’m some sex fanatic or exhibitionist.
Emma:Hot guy, you say? Did he like what he saw? Tell him I’ll show him the real thing if he follows you to work.
Lauren: Stop. You stop now.
Finally, it was her turn, and she stepped up to find Tyler’s cheerful face behind the counter. His familiar presence soothed her frayed nerves.
“Hey, Lauren! Quad Americano?”
“Actually, just a regular coffee. Please.”
Tyler frowned. “You’re not going soft on me, are you?”
“It’s just for today, I promise. I’ve got a big presentation this morning and I’m plenty wired as it is.”
“Okay, I’ll let it slide this once.”