Page 14 of The Backup Groom

“Make it two,” Stella said. “My brain can’t function on an empty stomach and we need to do some serious research.”

“Working on the Coffee Crawl?” I asked.

The Coffee Crawl is a local event, a fun way for coffee enthusiasts to explore coffeehouses in the area and sample all the artistic ways in which their baristas make caffeine concoctions.

Amber had invited me to take part in the event, although I never did get back to her with an answer. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up.

She shook her head. “It’s a little side project we’re working on.”

“Sounds intriguing,” I said.

“Ittotallyis,” Stella said. “We—”

“Need to pay,” Amber interrupted, squeezing Stella’s arm. “We’ll also take two mango-guava juices.”

“You got it,” I said, ringing them up.

Amber tapped her credit card on the machine to pay and then glanced over toward the bathrooms, looking like something had caught her eye.

She scrunched her eyebrows together, continuing to stare.

I glanced over. “Everything okay?”

She waved it off. “Oh, yeah, it’s just . . . I never noticed thatSupermanpicture you have on the wall over there with Christopher Reeve.”

“It’s new, like the tuna sandwich.” I grinned. “Have you seen the original movie?”

“Several times,” Amber said. “I’m surprised you have it on the wall since it doesn’t exactly fit with the theme of your place.”

I blinked. “Why wouldn’t it fit? It’s science fiction.”

Amber shook her head. “Sorry to burst your bubble.Supermanis a romance.”

I squinted my eyes at her assertion. “The guy flies. It can’t get any more sci-fi than that.”

“He flies for two percent of the movie,” Amber said. “The other ninety-eight percent of the time, he’s pining for Lois Lane. Romance.”

“Science fiction.”

“It’s a romance,” Amber asserted.

I glanced at Stella. “By any chance, is her blood-sugar low?”

“Probably,” she said. “But take it from me, she’s serious.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Okay—I’ll tell you what . . . if you can prove to me thatSupermanis a romance, I’ll give you free coffee for a week.”

Amber’s hand shot out in my direction. “You’re on, Obi-Wan.”

I reached for her hand, shaking it, noticing how impossibly soft her skin was. “Prepare to lose.”

“Ha!” She continued to shake my hand, a playful tone to her voice. “You keep dreaming.”

Funny, but that was exactly what I was doing.

Dreaming that she didn’t want to let go of my hand.

Dreaming that she was enjoying my touch as much as I was enjoying hers.