Page 5 of Ruining Hattie

HATTIE

T he bell rings above me as I step through the door. The coffee shop is only half full, typical for a Tuesday evening after working hours. The odd time I’ve been here during the day, this place is bustling.

I come here after work about once a week.

Not because I’m meeting a date or anything, but because I don’t want to go home and sit alone in my apartment.

Sure, I may only curl up with a book on the couch in the lounge area at the back, but I’m still out in the world. Even if I’m out in the world alone.

I carry my hot chocolate to the lounge area in the back of the café. It’s my favorite place, complete with an electric fireplace, a pair of couches, and a couple of chairs. It’s cozy even though summer is almost here.

Once I’m settled, I open my book, losing myself in the world between the pages. I’m unsure how much time passes before I hear, “Evening.”

The deep male voice draws my attention, and I look up to a handsome man seated in one of the chairs opposite me.

I’m not unaccustomed to other people sitting in the lounge area, but I’m not at all used to them engaging me. Especially someone who looks like this man. He definitely doesn’t seem like he’s from around here.

For some reason, my cheeks heat, and my breath grows shallow. “Hey,” I squeak and dip my face back to the pages of my book.

God, no wonder I never have a date. Look at my reaction to when the opposite sex talks to me!

Especially a man as good-looking as him.

He has shoulder-length brown hair with a glint of highlights that fall in light waves, but it’s his eyes.

The deep blue eyes that draw me in. The jeans and deep green Henley he’s wearing leave no doubt that underneath is a fit and lean, muscled body.

“I’m sorry, have I made you uncomfortable? Would you prefer for me to sit somewhere else?” he asks.

My eyes widen at my book, and I slowly look up. “Of course not.”

It’s not that I don’t get approached now and then, but I’m not used to complete strangers making small talk with me, let alone a man this attractive and much older than me. If I had to guess, he’s probably in his mid-thirties.

“You sure? You seem like you might be more comfortable if I sat farther away.” His gaze is intent on my face.

Though being under the weight of his stare does make me uncomfortable, he’s done nothing wrong, and I’d never want him to feel bad. “I just thought you were being polite in saying hello, that’s all. I didn’t realize you wanted to have a conversation.”

One corner of his lips tips up in a wry smile. “When doesn’t a man want to speak with a beautiful woman?” He winks.

My face is like an inferno now, ready to erupt in flames. “Oh, well… thank you for the compliment.”

He doesn’t respond, instead glancing at the book splayed open on my lap. “What are you reading?”

My lips press together. “It’s a book about a family of nine siblings in Alaska who were orphaned when their parents died in a snowmobile accident.” There’s no way I’m going to tell him it’s a romance and a steamy one at that.

He nods, and from the glint in his eye, he knows I’m leaving out the best part of the book.

“Do you read?” I ask quickly, before he can question me further about my book.

He shakes his head. “Don’t have a lot of time for it, unfortunately.”

An awkward silence descends between us, and I curse myself for letting my nerves get in my way.

Taylor would be so disappointed. I always get too in my head when I’m around people I don’t know.

It takes me a long time to get comfortable with new people, which made the move here a few years ago more difficult than it needed to be.

He’s just a person, Hattie. An attractive one, sure, but still just a person, and he approached you first.

I swallow past my dry mouth and force myself to talk. “What keeps you so busy?”

A look of satisfaction crosses his face as if he’s happy I’m talking to him. “I own my own business. It keeps me pretty occupied.”

I shift my book off my lap and reach over to the table beside me to grab my hot chocolate. “What industry are you in?” When I blow lightly on my steaming mug, I notice his eyes dart to my lips, and my face heats again. Is this flirting?

“I’m in the entertainment industry.” He stands abruptly, and I’m irritated with myself for the disappointment in my chest that he’s about to leave. But instead, he leans forward with his hand held out. “I’m Bastion.”

I quickly set my hot chocolate back down and accept his hand. “Hattie. Nice to meet you.”

When our palms meet, the heat from his seems to seep into mine. A pleasurable buzz travels up my arm when his middle finger skims down the center of my palm as he pulls away.

“Believe me, the pleasure’s all mine, Hattie.”

I suppress the shiver that races up my spine, afraid he’ll realize how much he affects me. I don’t even know where my reaction is coming from. It’s never happened before.

He sits back in his seat and plucks a coffee cup off the side table and brings it to his lips, maintaining eye contact with me the entire time he sips.

Something about his gaze feels intimate, so I glance away toward the fireplace that is on but doesn’t have any heat being forced out because of the time of year. Regardless, my body temperature rises.

“What do you do for a living, Hattie?”

The way my name tumbles off his lips does something to me, which is ridiculous.

This man is much older than me and hasn’t given any overt signals that he’s interested.

He’s just being polite and making conversation.

Maybe he’s as lonely as I am, given that he’s not in his hometown. I can certainly relate.

“I do bookkeeping and other administrative tasks for a manufacturing company in town.”

He nods and sets his coffee on the table. Despite not wanting to, I notice how large his hands are and how they dwarf the mug when his fingers are wrapped around it.

“I’m envious. I’ve never been great with numbers.”

I can’t help but smile. “I’ve always liked numbers. They just make sense to me. I like that math has one answer and it’s straightforward. You just follow a series of steps to find it. There’s little room for error.”

“I’m more of a people person myself.”

A small laugh slips from my lips. “Now that’s something I’ve never been good at.”

Bastion tilts his head. “What?”

“People. I’ve never been good at figuring them out, their motivations. I tend to take people at face value.” I shrug. “It’s burned me before.” I swallow back the shame when Rich’s face flashes in my mind.

Bastion leans back in his seat and crosses his legs so that his ankle rests on his opposite knee. “Do tell.”

My eyes widen. Not a chance am I telling this stranger about Rich. The only person in this world I ever told about what went down was Taylor. “I’d rather not.”

He raises both hands. “Fair enough.” Bastion reaches for his coffee again. “So what passes for fun around here?”

I shift uncomfortably and reach for my own drink, just to give my hands something to do. “I’m not sure I’m the best judge of that.”

After he sips his coffee, he sets it down again, while I continue to hold my mug with both hands in front of me.

“Why do you say that? You’re what…” His eyes rake up and down me, and I glance away. “In your early twenties?”

“Twenty-four,” I say, mustering the courage to meet his gaze again.

“I’d think you’d know where all the fun places are around here.”

I wish my chest didn’t pinch at the reminder of how empty certain parts of my life are. Bastion has unknowingly shot an arrow right at the tender part of me.

“Remember the part about me not being good with people?”

He nods.

“A by-product of that is me not having much of a social life,” I say.

He nods knowingly, lips pressed together. “Most people are overrated anyway.”

When he winks at me, rather than looking away this time, I smile.

“What exactly brings you to Wisconsin?” I lean back into the couch and shift to my side, tucking my legs up on the cushion, but I still momentarily when something like anger flashes in his eyes.

It’s only for the briefest of moments, there and gone so quickly I’m not even certain I saw it in the first place.

“I’m considering some investment options in the area.” Before I can dig any further into what that means, he says, “I’ve seen a bunch of advertisements around town for some Lake…” He shakes his head as though he can’t remember the name.

I fill in the blank for him and tell him what the tourist destination has to offer. We chat for a while longer about nothing of much consequence, but I notice that the more we talk, the less awkward I grow. I’m sure that’s not uncommon, but it’s unusual for me to be this comfortable, this fast.

Maybe there’s hope for me yet.

Bastion finishes his coffee and picks the empty mug up off the table and shifts to the edge of his seat. I try to ignore the disappointment pushing against the inside of my rib cage at his impending departure.

“I need to be going, but I’ll be in town again next week. Would you care to meet up?”

Something in my subconscious screams at me to say no even though I’ve enjoyed our conversation. But at the same time, the flicker of excitement that rushes through my veins every time I cause his lips to lift in a small smile feels somehow addicting.

When I don’t immediately answer, he says, “If the idea makes you uncomfortable, I apologize. It’s just that it can be lonely being away from home. I thought we had some good conversation, that’s all.”

He understands what it feels like to be alone too. My chest squeezes.

We’re in public at a coffee shop. It’s not as though he’s asking me to meet him in his hotel room. There’s no danger here. What’s the harm in enjoying this small amount of spontaneous adventure life has thrown my way?

I can meet him again, enjoy his company, and once he’s left for good, it will just be a nice memory for me to revisit from time to time. It’s not even like he’s asked me on an official date or anything. It would just be two people meeting to share some platonic time together.

My mom has long been encouraging me to date.

A handful of eligible men at church have made their interest known, but none of them are very interesting to me.

After what happened in college with my one and only boyfriend, I haven’t been able to work up the nerve.

I don’t ever want to feel that way again.

My parents don’t understand my hesitance, but I’m too ashamed to explain to them what happened all those years ago.

“Okay, we can meet again.”

Bastion gives me a pleased grin. It’s the first time I’ve seen a full smile on his face, and the effect is overwhelming. A set of perfectly white teeth lights up his entire face, more beautiful than I thought possible since he’s very much the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen in person.

“Wonderful. Same time, same place?” He arches an eyebrow.

I nod. “Sure.” My voice comes out reedy and thin.

He stands from the chair and towers over me, looking down at me. “I’ll see you then.”

Without another word, he turns on his heel and leaves without a backward glance, which disappoints me more than it should.

No matter, I’m excited to have news to tell Taylor. Bit by bit, I just need to put myself out there a little more.