Page 4 of Coffee Break with the Billionaire

Here in Laandia, we get a lot of good things from our Canadian and American neighbours, but in my opinion, pumpkin spice is not one of them.

I add two extra pumps to Mrs.McKibbon’s low-fat latte with oat milk and unicorn foam and cringe at the smell.Autumn is a beautiful time of the year—and a short one—with the colourful leaves creating a picture-perfect background anywhere you look and the skies near perfect for star-gazing. Here in Battle Harbour, we’re so far north that we average about six weeks for fall, from the time the leaves begin to turn to expecting snow before Halloween.

The steady stream of tourists who come for whale-watching and to gaze lovingly at the castle, home of the Laandian royal family, may dry up in the fall, but the townspeople with their obsession with pumpkin-spice everything, more than make up for the loss of tourist business.

Of course, the steady stream of those from away begins again with the first snowfall; the ski resorts north of the town are popular and there are many who will brave the cold wind blowing in from the Atlantic to wander the streets of Battle Harbour, trying to catch sight of one of the members of the royal family. Tourists come in for coffee and gallons of hot chocolate, and for a taste of our famous unicorn froth, and at that time of the year, there is no one asking for their drink to be extra flavoured with a vegetable spice.

But that is weeks away. Until then, it’s pumpkin spice time.

“Did you see this?” Leodie thrusts her phone in my face as I slide a sleeve onto the cup. “Fenella Carrington!”

“And?” Yes, my heart gives a stupid thump at the sound of her name but it’s nothing like Leodie’s excitement. Fenella Carrington is a… I’m not sure what she is. Socialite? Supermodel? Internet darling?

Billionaire.

I know she’s beautiful, with a sheet of black hair and fascinating eyes that seem to be an actual shade of purple. I know she probably smells of some exotic concoction of flowers and fresh air and—

I may have a crush on a woman who’s in an advertisement selling handbags.

Sad.

I may have a crush on her, but Leodie is a fangirl, way worse than I am, and because of this, I indulge her. “What are you showing me?” I ask her because the way she jumps around I can’t focus on her phone.

“She threw a bottle of Pepsi at some guy! And a diamond ring. And it wasn’t some guy, it was Tiger from Opium, so I guess they’ve broken up. Did you know she was engaged?” She finishes with a note of accusation in her tone.

Leodie is my mother’s sister-in-law’s second cousin—everyone is related here in Battle Harbour—and has been working with me at Coffee for the Sole for a little over a year. She’s been a big help with her ideas and her energy, but the energy gets a little much sometimes.

“I don’t actually know her,” I remind my second-in-command.

Fenella Carrington is a friend of Prince Gunnar and has visited Laandia twice, that I know of. She seemed to have a liking for my coffee, so she was in here every day while she was in town, but seeing her that often doesn’t mean Iknowher, just enough to develop an unhealthy fascination with a woman because she smiled at me.

It might not be unhealthy; it’s not like I’m obsessed with her like Leodie, who follows every social media account Fenella has and keeps griping that she never got to serve her. I just think she’s… I don’t know what I think. She seemed a bit standoffish and pretentious, but she’s the daughter of a billionaire and hangs out with royalty, so what can you expect?

Prince Gunnar is a good guy. All the princes are. Everyone in Battle Harbour knows them, but I wouldn’t say I’m close friends with any of them.

They live in a castle. I live in a run-down apartment and run a coffee shop. There is a divide, just as much as there is between Fenella Carrington and me. I am aware of this, which means it’s fine that I think she’s pretty.

Very pretty.

It’s not like anything would ever happen between us.

Leodie rolls her eyes. I’ve noticed she’s big on eye-rolling, and it’s very dramatic because Leodie has very big eyes. Velvety brown with coats of mascara, all behind a pair of green glasses which somehow enlarges them even more.

She’s very dramatic as well, which can get a little exhausting at times but is mostly fun because I’m pretty low-key. It takes a lot for me to react, and that drives Leodie a little crazy. At least that’s what she keeps telling me.

There’s not a lot to react to in Battle Harbour. It’s a fishing village, on the edge of the Atlantic, neighbours to the ArcticCircle. Our claim to fame is being the prettiest town in all of Laandia for ten years running, our pub-to-population ratio is impressive, and Coffee for the Sole, which I own, brews the best coffee in the Maritimes.

The daily lineups do give it some merit.

Battle Harbour’s claim to fame is definitely the castle.

The castle at the top of the cliff overlooking the town, from where the king of Laandia rules our fair country.

King Magnus, and his four sons and one daughter.

There are quite a few singles that stop by Battle Harbour to throw their hat in the ring, trying to nab a royal.

This is where Fenella Carrington comes back into play. She nabbed one of the royals for a time. I’ve never had an acrimonious breakup, but I’ve never been such good friends with one of my exes like Gunnar and Fenella.

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