Gwen raised a single arched brow. It was a move Maggie had been trying to perfect for the three years she had been frequenting the coffee shop.
“Okay, it’s a big deal.” Maggie buried her burning face behind her hands when Gwen whooped.
“About time.” Gwen pulled Maggie’s hands down, enfolding them in her own. “Now tell me everything. Who is he?”
“Dean.” Maggie hid her face again. “I’m dating Dean.”
“Dean?”
“What does that mean? That question? With the tone?” Maggie’s mouth was dry, and the breathless feeling from before had tightened her chest.
“Nothing.” Gwen patted Maggie’s hand on the table. “I’m just a little surprised. I always thought… Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought.”
“I’ve loved him my whole life.” Maggie cast a furtive glance around the café to be sure Dean wasn’t anywhere within earshot. “I fell in love with him in second grade when we took that school field trip to the zoo, and I ended up nauseated and hyperventilating in the bathroom. Audrey wasn’t there. She was having a spa day with her mother, and when my teacher did headcount—”
“I know honey,” Gwen took Maggie’s hand between her own and rubbed her slender fingers over Maggie's palm.
Remembering the panic in that bathroom, Maggie started gasping in air.
“Dean was the only one who noticed you didn’t get back on the bus. He made sure the teachers didn’t leave you there. And then he sat with you the whole way back to school.”
Dean had also insisted on walking her from the bus back to class, and stayed with her until her mom came and picked her up. Even after his fifth-grade teacher had told him they’d call his parents if he didn’t return to his classroom.
“I know you love him. Will always love him.” It sounded like she was gearing up for a ‘but,’ but it never came. “If he makes you happy, then that’s all I could ask for. You deserve to be happy, Maggie.”
“I am happy.”
A line was forming at the counter, and Gwen looked from it back at Maggie. “I have to head back over there, but chocolate croissants are on the house. I’d say everything is on the house, but it’s character building to let him pay for your drink.” She winked before heading back to the monster espresso machine and the hoard of thirsty customers.
The door to the shop opened to let out a little girl and her mama, and there was Dean, holding the heavy glass until they were standing on the sidewalk in the sunshine. Maggie jumped to her feet, the tension behind her breastbone easing just the slightest bit. His sandy hair was perfectly in place, wide mouth open in an amiable smile. He found her immediately, eyes skipping the crowd to lock on to hers as though drawn there by a magnet.
“Hey,” Dean said, when Maggie had reached him by the door, “Did you order yet? Or do I get to buy you a coffee?”
“It’s your lucky day.” Maggie’s whole body sagged when he threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his side for a hug. This was what she’d wanted to feel, the sweet warmth of sliding into a bubble bath, when he was nearby.
Dean put his hand on her lower back and ushered her towards a smiling Gwen and her espresso machine. There was only one other couple in front of them, and Maggie looked up into his golden face. Even with his expertly cut hair and the designer cologne, he was still that young boy who’d cared for her, protected her, and Maggie’s heart lurched up to lodge into her throat. What if her stupid plan ruined them? What would she do without him?
Then Dean grinned down at her, and his lips started moving, and she remembered their lives were so intertwined that she couldn’t lose him. It was impossible to cleave him entirely away from her. That sounded a lot creepier than she’d meant it to.
“Hey babies.” Gwen smiled a toothy grin at them as they stepped up to the counter. “I’ll get Maggie’s regular started, and what do you want, Dean darling?”
Dean ducked his head at the nickname and ordered a medium coffee, black. Gwen pursed her lips and raised that eyebrow again, but her eyes still sparkled at them. Dean handed over his credit card and signed the slip when Gwen handed it to him. He also graciously slid a five-dollar bill into the tip jar.
“I knew I liked you,” Gwen winked and handed over Dean’s coffee and Maggie’s half hot chocolate, half coffee, with three pumps of caramel sauce. “I’ll bring over some nibbles once they’re warmed up.”
Maggie took her cup and wrapped her hands around the warm weight of it. She was grateful Gwen hadn’t given her one of the heavy ceramic mugs. It would make her next move a lot easier. There wouldn’t be any sharp shards to worry about littering the floor or a heavy projectile crushing either of their feet. She smiled at Gwen and took a deep breath, muscling down the nerves that tightened her chest. This was it. She just had to turn and plow directly into the front of her date’s muscled chest. This worked all the time in books. Maggie closed her eyes and spun around, slamming into the solid wall of her date’s body.
Dean hissed and jumped back, but the damage was done. Maggie’s cup had crumpled on impact and dark brown liquid was seeping down Dean’s white collared shirt. A small amount soaked down into his pants as well. Dean tugged the stained cotton away from his skin, and Maggie watched as it suctioned back against his ridged abdomen with a wetthwap.
Her tongue took up too much space in her mouth as she stared him down, tracing each divot his soaked shirt showcased. Gwen shoved a handful of napkins at her over the top of the counter and Maggie shook herself back together as she grabbed them. Her knees hit the concrete floor and using both hands, she pressed the napkins against Dean’s belly and the waistband of his pants.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, but she wasn’t that sorry. Her eyes kept straying down his body. She pressed against him a little harder, and Dean shifted under her ministrations.
“Watch the hands, Babs.” He reached down to help her. “We’re in public.”
Maggie glanced at her hands pressed just below the buckle of his belt. She flushed and dropped the napkins as if they’d caught fire, but when she finally dragged her eyes up to meet Dean’s, his eyes sparkled, and his lips twitched with a barely suppressed smile.
“I’m the world’s biggest klutz.” She was still kneeling in front of her fake boyfriend’s waist. Maggie grabbed handfuls of the scattered, coffee-stained napkins and crumpled them into her fists.