Page 10 of Deja Brew

Leo smirks. “The mall?”

“Yep. Are you shopping?”

“Just walking,” he says with a smile.

“Maybe we could walk together?” I ask, heart in my throat.

Leo checks his watch. “Or we could walk to my car, drive to my flat, and get dinner.”

“Let’s do that.” I loop my arm around his and breathe in his calming scent. “Where to?”

He holds me close and we stroll towards the exit, trying to avoid crowds of people taking cover in the mall. It must be raining. When we step outside, I shiver and sidle closer to Leo to steal some of his warmth. Rain pelts the concrete and splashes onto our boots, the sky’s dark and thunder cracks in the distance.

“How far are you parked?”

“It’s not too far away.”

“I don’t mind getting wet.” Heat stings my cheeks. “I mean?—”

“I know what you meant. I have an umbrella.” He opens a black umbrella I didn’t notice him holding, and wraps an arm around my shoulders to hide us from the rain.

We don’t rush out of the rain like everyone else, but walk slowly to his car. I’m enjoying being wrapped under his arm too much to care about the rain soaking my jeans.

When we reach his car, he holds the umbrella above me and helps me into the seat and closes the door behind me when I’m settled. When he slips into the car, he turns the heat on high and pulls out of the car park.

It doesn’t take long to drive to his flat—it’s a few streets over from mine, which is information I don’t need but desperatelywant. How am I supposed to sleep knowing I could walk to his place in a few minutes?

His flat’s small but has large windows, and his front door opens straight into the lounge. Leo helps me out of my coat and hangs it on a hook to dry, leaving me to peer around his home. His couch is black and squishy looking with a dark wood coffee table in front of it, and paintings on the wall. I’m too far away to see the details but the canvases are full of colour and texture. Maybe he has a family member who’s an artist.

“Sit and make yourself comfortable.” He nods to the couch. He’s removed his coat and scarf to reveal a tight long-sleeved shirt, and I barely stop myself from staring at him. “Want coffee? I have tea as well, but I don’t have the syrup stuff you use at the café.”

He remembered my favourite drink. “Coffee’s fine,” I say, taking a seat on his couch. It’s a couch that makes you want to curl up with a blanket and put a movie on—it gives you a hug—but I’d rather Leo wrap me up than his couch. I breathe in deeply, although it does smell like him, so I’ll take it.

Leo strides to the kitchen on the right and the sound of a coffee grinder echos in the room, but it doesn’t take long for him to return.

He hands me a cup of coffee and I wrap my chilly hands around it, greedy for the warmth as he sinks beside me on the couch.

“What made you want to open a café?”

I sip the coffee while I think of an answer. “I’m not sure. I always liked experimenting, and I love seeing people’s faces when they enjoy what I’ve made them. It seemed logical to open a café. The early mornings, however, I could survive without.”

“I bet.” Leo shifts closer to me. “What’s your favourite sweet treat you make?”

“For the café or myself?”

“What do you make foryou?” He runs a finger across my shoulder to emphasise the ‘you’ and I shiver.

“Brownies.” He raises an eyebrow and I shove him gently, careful of his coffee. “Not those kind of brownies.”

He laughs. “Sorry.”

“Brownies are easy to make but are comforting to eat in the middle of the night after a bad day. Warm and chewy are the best kind. I can almost eat an entire tray.”

“Only almost?”

“Gotta leave some for the morning, otherwise I’ll be disappointed.” I smile into my cup and drain the coffee.

He fiddles with his cup before setting it on the table and putting mine beside it. “Would I be allowed some of these brownies?”

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