Page 27 of Meeting Me, Loving You (Hearts of Maple Lake #1)

JULIET

“ I ’ll have my usual, please,” I say to Aliana as she takes our orders from behind the counter. “And the ham and swiss panini.” I dig through my purse for my wallet.

“And for you?” she asks Cam. Her black hair sits in a bun on the top of her head, wild curls sticking out in every direction. It’s slightly disheveled, but tame enough to look good, as Ali always does.

“Oh, we’re not together,” he says, gesturing between the two of us. Ali scrunches her brows and looks at me, but Cam continues. “I mean, we came in together, but we’re not together . She prefers to pay separately.”

Ali cocks her head at me and widens her eyes in disapproval, her unspoken words telling me she’s either disappointed that Cam and I aren’t an item, or that I won’t let him pay for my meal.

“I told him I can pay for myself.” I lower my voice, hoping Cam can’t hear me. “C’mon, Ali. I’m a grown woman, I can pay for a coffee and a sandwich. Don’t make this a big deal.”

She leans toward me over the counter, taking the card I hold out to her. “You haven’t talked to a guy in, like, two years. And clearly, he’s into you. This is a big deal. Let him buy you a meal if that’s what he wants.”

“He already has and… he’s just a friend.” I glance over my shoulder. Cam is looking intently at the menu behind the counter. “I’ll talk to you about this later.”

“Yes, you will. After my shift, we’ll have a girls’ night!” She squeals like a little girl, and Cam’s gaze snaps back to us. I look at him and he smiles at me, stepping up to the counter as I step to the side to wait on my order.

Cam orders his lunch, a sourdough melt and black coffee, and when we receive our drinks, we head to a table near a window that faces the street.

Le Fou looks like a Swiss Alpine café. The windows are large, overlooking the main road, and the interior walls are brick, adorned with shelves throughout the shop.

Small bags of coffee beans, as well as glass jars, sit on the lower shelves, and long green vines hang from pots on the upper ones, adding color and life to the space.

The room is lit by industrial style light fixtures hanging from the high ceilings, their exposed bulbs glowing warm overhead.

Cam pulls out a chair for me and I sit, thanking him quietly.

He sits in the chair across from me and we sip our coffees. I raise my brows in question, nodding toward his cup, silently asking, how is it ?

“It’s good. Actually, it’s perfect. Nothing like that nasty mountain gasoline. Your words, not mine.”

“I told you, Le Fou is the best,” I say primly.

“How is yours?” he asks.

“It’s perfect. It’s literally the only thing I ever get here, so you could say I’m biased. I haven’t actually tried anything else. Why mess with a good thing, you know? ”

“Huh,” he says thoughtfully. “This is the only coffee order you’ve ever gotten here?” His brows furrow.

“Well… yeah,” I reply. “I don’t really like to try new things, so I just stick to the things I know I like.”

He frowns. “But what if there’s something else you’d like better? If you never try anything different, you might miss out and never know.”

I contemplate this for a moment. “You’re right. I guess I never really thought of it that way. I just… I don’t know. I get into a groove, a rhythm, and I have trouble deviating from that. That includes trying new things, traveling, making new friends—you name it.”

“It’s good to have a schedule and a routine, but you shouldn’t keep that from allowing you to experience new things. Trying new things is how we learn who we are and what we want in life.”

I tilt my head, focusing on Cam. He brings up a good point, but my mind takes it one step further, deepening the meaning of his words.

Am I missing out on a potentially better life by working so much and pursuing my master’s degree?

I know people say I work too much, but I can’t give up these things that I’ve worked hard to pursue.

They mean too much to me and they weave together perfectly with my plan to stay in Maple Lake.

The thought I had on the train comes back to mind: I’m chained to this town to wait for a sister who may never return.

Ali sets our plates on the table, and I jump as I’m shaken from the unwelcome clutches of my own mind.

“Enjoy,” she says. “I’ll see you later.” She squeezes my shoulder and walks back to the counter.

“You two seem pretty close,” Cam says before taking a bite of his sandwich. Cheese grease drips down his fingers and I laugh, handing him a few napkins in case he needs them .

“Yeah, we are. She’s basically the perfect friend.

” Even talking about her brings a smile to my face.

“She lives in the apartment next door and, because of that, we’re able to spend a lot of time together.

Sometimes she even makes me lunch and forces me to take it to work.

She’s such a mom.” I shake my head, laughing through my first glorious bite of the ham and swiss panini.

It’s warm and delicious, and I realize it’s the first thing I’ve eaten all day.

Cam and I enjoy our lunch together, watching tourists as they meander through the town, peeking through shop windows, all bundled up in their winter gear. Some are sporting new Maple Lake merchandise they’ve purchased, while they carry bags full of souvenirs they’ll take home with them.

Rays of sunshine pierce through the window, falling across the table.

A ray drapes over Cam’s face and, as he shifts, the light illuminates his eyes, causing them to shine.

They’re the purest green, and the light only accentuates the dabbles of bronze I see throughout.

I’ve never noticed his eyes to have anything but the evergreen shade, but with the sunlight sitting behind his irises, he’s overwhelming to look at.

My heart rate picks up and the pulse in my hands quickens. My whole body feels warm, and I look away from Cam, pretending to be lost in thought as I watch passersby through the window. I focus on breathing steadily, calming my unwanted nerves.

Why is my body reacting this way? I’ve been with Cam all day and, although I’ve noticed his attractiveness lots of times before, my body hasn’t reacted quite like this until now.

Cam clears his throat, and I turn to him, suddenly very interested in what he might say next.

“I have an idea. I’ll be right back.”

He leaves the table and heads to the counter, leaving me confused as I watch after him.

From this distance, I can’t hear what he’s saying, but he’s talking to Ali.

She points at me, then Cam points at me, and I’m staring at them, confused.

Ali laughs and nods her head. After Cam pays for his new order, he walks back to our table and sits.

“What was that about?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” he smirks.

That smirk is enough to undo me. Pair it with the eyes that just moments ago were blinding me with their brilliance, and I’m a goner.

I can’t do this. I can’t fall for Cam.

“Why do I get the feeling that you and Ali just became best friends?” I say, trying to take the attention off me.

“Maybe we did,” he says with a shrug. “She told me she didn’t have the best first impression since I didn’t talk you out of paying for your own lunch—something about chivalry and you’re a lady and you need a boyfriend?—”

“She did not!” I cut him off.

Cam shakes the earth with his heartfelt laughter. It’s a laugh that comes from deep within, and I can tell he doesn’t let that kind of laugh out often.

“No, she didn’t say that,” he amends, still shaking off his humor. “But she did say I made a better second impression when I told her what I wanted to order.”

“What did you?—”

My question falls as Ali steps up to our table, a tray laden with several different drinks. Some are hot, some iced, and they’re all being placed right in front of me.

“What is this?” I ask Cam, looking at him incredulously.

Then I turn my gaze to my best friend, who’s smiling so wide I can see the effects of her teeth-whitening strips—which I know for a fact she uses because she likes to hang out and talk while they’re on.

I wouldn’t personally recommend this, since I can barely understand a word she says during those conversations.

Cam is smiling, those green eyes wrinkling at the corners.

“You said that you’ve only ever tried one coffee here, so I thought it would be a fun idea to try a flight of coffees; see if you like any others.

You know, in case one day they’re out of white chocolate mochas and you’re forced to order something else.

” He winks at me, and it’s not the first time today he’s made my knees weak with that look.

My heart skips a beat and tumbles into my stomach. He’s thought of everything. An amazing train ride up the mountain, lunch at my favorite place, and now this. Cam is thoughtful in ways I didn’t know existed.

“Guys,” I say, feeling happy and completely seen in this moment, “this is too much. How am I supposed to drink all of this?” I gesture toward the tray full of cups.

“You don’t,” says Cam, opening straws and placing them in the iced drinks. “Just take a few sips of each one and see what you like.”

“He ordered you all the seasonal drinks and some others. There’s the Peppermint Latte, Chestnut Praline Mocha, and Gingerbread Latte—those are the hot drinks.

For the iced coffees, he got you the Lavender Cold Brew Latte, Hazelnut Oatmilk Latte, and the Maple Macchiato, which is the most popular with the tourists since the maple syrup is sourced locally. ”

Ali points at each drink as she tells me their names, and I’m unexpectedly giddy at the sight of all these delicious sounding flavors.

“What if I don’t like any of them?” I ask, suddenly feeling the pressure of two sets of eyes on me, and the knowledge that Cam spent quite a bit of money on all these drinks for me.

“Then I’ll take them home and give them to Penny,” he says with a shrug, leaning back in his chair as I pick up the first iced coffee.