Page 73

CHARLIE’S DRINK SPECIAL: EXTRA SWEETENED EVERYTHING WITH A DOUBLE PUMP OF SUGAR

Today’s bakery delivery smelled a little sweeter than usual. The cinnamon from the coffee cake twirled above Charlie’s head. The chocolate in the cookies wafted in the air. She stacked the items in the display and treated herself to one. Wiping her lip with her pinkie, she pictured Mack’s mouth pressed against it.

The back door slammed, and Ben stomped into the shop. “God, what a night.” He tossed his keys on the desk and grabbed the apron off the hook. “Hot boy summer needs to slow down. Met a poly couple last night. They did things I’ve only seen once in a—wait. Nope. What’s happening here?” He swirled his fingers in front of Charlie’s face.

“What?” Her attempted innocent voice faltered, and she fiddled with a paperclip.

“Something’s different.”

Notsomething.Everything.

After zeroing in on her for several long moments, his eyes finally widened, and he took a half step back. “Did you get laid?”

“Benjamin!” With the heat shooting through her body, her face was undoubtedly as red as her hair. She ducked out of the storage room and realigned perfectly straight chairs as Ben trailed her like a shadow.

“You have the worst poker face,” he said. “You’re blushing from head to toe. Probably other places, too.”

The books on the bookshelf needed immediate realigning. “I’m not talking about this.” She started pushing each one in to match them up until she gave up and wandered behind the counter.

“Who was it? Tell me it was that smoke show, Mack. I see the flirty-ass eyes you two make to each other.”

She meant to glare at him. Damn the goofy grin that busted out with no regard for her attempt at subtlety.

“Niiice.” He gave her an approving nod. “Well done, Charles.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have a shipment to unpack?”

“You better spill the goods.” He stuffed a few pens in his apron. “I live for this stuff.”

She tossed a towel at him and pointed to the tables.

“I mean, she’s hella hot. Obviously,” he continued as if she wasn’t blatantly ignoring him. “How was it?”

Amazing. Legs are still quivering. Want to close the shop, call her back, and recreate every second of last night.“I’m not saying anything.” She needed to hang on to this euphoria for a few more hours before she got all up in her head.

She’d never felt like this before—not even with Jess. She had loved Jess with everything in her soul, but the nights of playing mindless solitary computer games because she didn’t know how to be alone, combined with the continuous fear that Jess would leave, had changed her internal chemistry. She had yelled a lot. Cried more. The love she had for herself had only existed through the lens of Jess’s love for her.

And this was different.

Saved from both Ben and her thoughts by the jingling doorbell, she greeted a customer. A few dozen lattes, mochas, and all breakfast sandwiches sold before the tidal wave of uncertainty brewed.

What did last night mean? Did it mean anything? Would things be weird now between them? And dear God, could Mack do that one thing again? Mack read her body like a Braille manuscript. With every sound, every moan, Mack knew exactly what to do. And yes,God, yes, she wanted to do it again. Would this afternoon seem too pushy?

Charlie could play off last night—and this morning—as a one-night stand with a friend. A release after an intense week of bills, flooding, first dates, and book signings.

But her mind couldn’t calm the elation in her heart.

Dammit. Less than four hours away from Mack, she was already turning into a hot mess. Nope. She couldn’t do this. She could never go back to being the woman she had been with Jess. Was she just processing? Or was this the beginning of a downward spiral into the dark world of codependency?

With a break in the action, Ben slid an Americano her way and leaned shoulder to shoulder. “Real-talk time.” He fiddled with his straw. “How you feeling about this? It’s kind of a big deal. Totally okay to flip out over it.”

“Would you flip out over this?”

He lifted a brow. “Do you really want to compare our sexual comfort levels?”

“Fair.” Charlie clicked her fingers against the cup. “Okay, it’s definitely a big deal. But am I making it a bigger deal than what normal people make it?”

“Definenormal.”