Page 60 of Until I Find You

“Nearly lost my way on the way up here!” I joke.

He leaps out of his chair and greets me with a bear hug.

“Careful of the coffee!”

Seth Carlton wasn’t much of a hugger when I started working here, but ever since he fell in love, he’s a total softy.

“Oh, is thisthe brew?” he asks in almost a whisper, like he might scare the coffee away.

I grin and nod. “It is. Let’s sit and you can try it.”

Seth and I sit in the same spots we did when he told me he had an opportunity for me with his friend.

Hard to believe that friend was once a stranger to me because now he’s…

Well, it’s complicated.

Seth tries each of the four cups of coffee I’ve brought for him, all roasted by Jack in the days since our return from Hawaii, all from the Keiki Coffee Company farm. Everything is coming together faster than I can snap my fingers, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Well, I’m not savant like Jack, but these are fantastic,” he says.

“All you need are pastries to go along with them, but Jack insisted I not pick anything up on my way over.”

Seth chuckles. “Fucking purist.”

“Exactly,” I say, unable to hide my smile.

Seth takes one of the coffees, the medium roast that Jack is developing as the house blend, and leans back in his chair. “So, it’s going well.”

If my heart could break out of my ribcage, it would. My mouth grows hot. I don’t know what he knows.

Jack and I agreed not to speak about our relationship yet because we don’t even know what it is. Want to get through the brand launch before anyone starts to give us the side eye.

But Seth is Jack’s best friend. For all I know, they’ve spoken at length about me. Or maybe they’re quintessential boys and never talk emotions.

“Yeah, we had a rocky start, but we’re working on our dynamic.” Which is the truth. He doesn’t need to know our dynamic straddles the line between professional and personal. “In fact, we’re partners.”

Seth’s brows raise. “Really.”

“Yeah, I mean, took some cajoling on my part. You know, his business sense was…”

“Well, I sent you for a reason.”

We both laugh.

“I’m so happy it’s going well, Camilla. Seriously,” Seth says. “Although, I can’t say your presence isn’t missed around here.”

I take one of the coffees. The light roast. That’s the most palatable for me without milk and sugar. “You flatter me.”

“No, I mean it. You were keeping it together more than you even know.”

A warm feeling coasts through my belly.

It wasn’t until Jack pointed out how I try to keep everything from falling apart that I realized just how much of my energy I was giving to everything around me. None for myself.

Even looking for my mother, which has taken a backseat among all the developments for Keiki doesn’tgiveme anything but heartache at this point. It takes.

For the first time in a long time, probably since I was living at home, I am being given to.

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