8 Brand-New Romance Authors. Avril Tremayne
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All of them appeared more interesting than his distraction. Not much of a distraction at all. So much for that idea.
If he wasn’t careful, he would end up just like the man sitting alone in a busy restaurant.
* * *
Josh needed a cup of coffee. His date with Taylor had been last night, and although the night had ended early for them, he had found himself walking around for hours afterward. There was a lot on his mind and it was all cluttering up his head.
He was on his way to work, a big shift ahead of him, so that cup of coffee was vital right now. He swung open the door to the coffeehouse he frequented near the fire station and stepped up to the counter. The girl behind the counter flushed bright pink as she took his order. The uniform had a tendency to do that, even when it was just the navy T-shirt with the fireman logo.
“It’s on the house.” He didn’t think her face could get pinker, but it did.
Man, did he love the perks of his job. “Thanks.”
Just as he turned to leave, a familiar flash of red caught his eye. Micah. She sat in the corner, near the window, completely immersed in a book. She did that when she read. She would get lost in the pages and be completely unaware of the world around her.
This was the Micah he was used to.
Her thick black frames sat perched on her nose as if they were sliding down and she had not realized it yet. Her hair was piled high in a messy knot on top of her head, a common look for her. She had let the girls talk her into bangs that cut straight above her eyes. He could tell they were bothering her and interfering with her concentration by the way she would blow them out of her eyes. The rebellious red fringe would float up for a moment, then settle back down onto her forehead.
He approached her slowly, not wanting to disturb her yet. He enjoyed watching this side of her. As he got closer, he could see she was biting her lip. Her soft, full bottom lip enticingly trapped between her teeth. Torture. Pure torture.
As she turned the page, she switched to biting her thumbnail. The book must be a real nail-biter. He smirked at his own pun.
“So, is this another one of those books about the color gray?”
Her head snapped up. Big brown eyes stared back up at him from behind smudged lenses. “Hey. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
There was no smile, merely an acknowledgment of his presence. She usually greeted him with a big smile, one that made him melt.
“I work right around the corner.” He indicated with his coffee cup.
“Ah. I guess I forgot about that. I’m here all the time, though, and I never see you.”
“Maybe you’re never looking. Too busy engrossed in your shady book.”
“I am not reading that kind of book!”
“Just messing with you. What are you reading? Judging by your nails—” he lifted her hand to get a closer look “—it’s pretty intense.”
“A mystery.”
“Makes sense.”
She snatched his cup of coffee and took a sip. He would never allow anyone else to do something like that, but it was just one of her annoying traits—she was always curious what others were eating or drinking.
“Uck! What is that?”
He had to laugh at the grimace she produced.
“Are you gonna call that number?”
“What number?”
“The one written on your cup.”
He lifted the paper cup and inspected it. There, above the logo, were digits hastily written in black Sharpie with a heart and the name Carrie. He looked over his shoulder to find the blushing girl leaning on the counter, staring in his direction. Upon realizing she had been caught, she quickly jumped up and got back to work.
“Um, maybe.” He liked getting a rise from Micah. He wouldn’t call her. He had no interest in blushing college students. They were a dime a dozen.
“Are you kidding me? She looks like she’s barely out of high school.”
“No, she doesn’t. She’s obviously older than that.”
“Don’t you have to get to work?”
“Yes, but I can take a few moments to hang out with my best friend. Don’t you enjoy spending time with me?”
“Oh, sure, I love feeling like I’m at the center of an episode of The Bachelor.”
He almost choked on his coffee as he laughed. “You know, sometimes you are really funny.”
“I have an annual quota. That was my last one for the year. Hope you enjoyed it. Now go to work. I’m trying to read, and that girl is going to get fired if you don’t stop distracting her.”
“Okay, I’ll let you get back to your book. See you later, Mike.”
“See ya.” With that she was back with her nose in the book. It was as if he had never even been there. He tried not to be offended by that as he headed to the door. He noticed the girl behind the counter again, still looking his way. He lifted his cup in her direction, acknowledging her, causing her to blush red again. It never got old.
* * *
Micah had set about her day purposely ignoring the dream she had the night before. A dream like that could easily set her back again.
Her mind wanted to get lost in the past again. Her heart craved the love she had once believed would last forever. But she couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t let herself go through this again.
Knowing her empty apartment was the last place she should be in this vulnerable state, she’d found refuge in a busy coffee shop and within the pages of a mystery novel. She’d never expected to see Josh, and with the current betrayal and instability of her heart and mind, he was the last person she wanted to see.
She didn’t want to talk to him. Didn’t even want to see him. His presence was a complication, and only made matters worse. How could she address one problem while he was creating new problems?
She’d kept the conversation light and casual and hoped her traitorous body wouldn’t reveal anything about the effect he had on her. She had to stay away from him. For now, at least.
Micah had left the coffee shop shortly after Josh did, unable to focus on her novel any longer. She found herself back in her quiet and empty apartment. Sabina wouldn’t be home until late, leaving her alone with her overpowering thoughts.
She tried to fight it, but the pull was intense. Her plan was an absolute failure. In an effort to neatly contain her grief in a box, she had only further remained lost in this grieving process. Healing would never happen until the grief was faced head-on, until she allowed herself to work through the emotions and to feel them one by one.
She was pissed. None of this was fair to her. She had hopes and dreams, and long ago they had been centered around Drew. In an instant, everything had been stolen from her. She would never know what it would feel like to stand opposite him as he lifted her veil and claimed her as wife. She would never see the children they would have had. Would they have had Drew’s bright blue eyes and her red hair?
She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to hit someone.
It wasn’t fair!
She needed a distraction. Turning on some music, she cranked the volume and cleaned the apartment from top to bottom, hoping to redirect some of this hostility toward the grime building in the bathroom.
Word had gotten back to Micah that Josh had a new girlfriend. This