Page 8 of Wake Me Up Before You Cocoa

Marina’s temperature shot to the roof, her palms got sweaty, and her heart thudded like a hammer against her chest.

The guy striding toward The Coffee Loft door was no stranger. He wasWade Kennedy. Her boyfriend from their Alabama college days, nearly a decade ago. The man she had never been able to get out of her head and heart no matter how many years had gone by.

The man she thought she would never see again.

What was he doing here?

Marina froze in place when he walked toward the antique store’s double doors—then she fell straight to the floor, crawling behind the desk so he wouldn’t see her!

She couldn’t face him. What in the world would she say to him? She had no idea he was back in the New Orleans area. Why? Why, why?

Oh, why hadn’t she already locked the front door?

There was nothing to do but hide! The faster, the better. He’d see her at the desk in ten seconds!

Crawling on her hands and knees, Marina backed away from the Customer Service desk. Keeping one eye on the door, she scrambled to the far corner, then slid behind the biggest grandfather clock in the store.

This lovely gigantic clock would hide her.

She pressed a hand to her chest to slow the pounding of her heart, taking deep breaths so she wasn’t gasping out loud.

The five o’clock chime began to peal. Good. The sound would hide her panicked breathing. It was perfect. Marina crouched in a huddle, arms clasped around her knees while the Westminster melody played through the entire tune and then slowly struck the deep top of the hour bell five times.

She was safe at last. Surely, Wade wasn’t coming in here?

Or maybe he was! After all, he might not be the man who had found her phone, right?

Except, Marina knew he was. That’s why his voice sounded familiar. It was the only explanation. But he wouldn’t see her here. He had no idea this washerstore.

He was supposed to go to The Coffee Loft to meet phone girl. Which made Marina pray that Jenna would intuitively know to pretend to be her and accept the phone from Wade.

Although, why would she do that? Jenna, her long-time high school bestie wouldn’t recognize Wade Kennedy Old College Boyfriend.

Stay calm, she reminded herself. He’d leave the phone with Jenna with instructions and drive away. He probably had important things to do, places to go, people to meet. Or a girlfriend in that gorgeous car of his.

Marina couldn’t think about that because maybe he had a wife behind those dark tinted windows. And three children sitting in the backseat.

Marina tried not to groan aloud.

Instead, she placed her head between her knees, remaining hidden. This shadowy corner wouldn’t betray her.

All at once, voices sounded through the open archway between the two stores. Nooooo!

Marina curled into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible and crossing all of her fingers for luck.

“Hey, Marina!” Jenna called out, her voice growing louder as she walked deeper into the antique store. “The guy who found your phone is here.”

There was silence, of course, while Marina held her breath.

“Huh,” Jenna said. “I wonder where she went. She was here just a few minutes ago.”

Their footsteps traversed the store’s aisles.

Why couldn’t she have the power of invisibility? Seeing Wade . . . talking to Wade . . . would be the worst thing in the world after all this time.

“Marina!” Jenna called louder. “I wonder if she’s in the storage room back there. I’ll go check.”

“Wait a minute,” Wade said. “Did you just refer to your friend as Marina?”

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