Page 45 of Cups of You

“So how did you and our Benji meet?” Sam asked pulling her attention away from Benjamin.

“Oh. I came into the café randomly when I first got to town.” Amber breathed in deep when they stepped into the kitchen. She followed Sam over to the connected dining area. “I was having a panic attack in my car and when I smelled the roasting coffee, I immediately knew I had to go in.”

Sam nodded. “I do love the smell of roasting coffee. Not being able to drink as much as I did is a pain.. I miss it more than I miss alcohol honestly.” Sam gestured to one of the chairs and Amber nodded in thanks before sitting down.

The table was rectangular unlike Jackie’s. Amber was relieved when Benjamin sat down beside her with Randy and Sam taking the two seats across from them. Amber gazed at the food.

“Wow. Okay, now I know how you felt when you sat down for dinner with us.”

Benjamin’s chuckle was soft and had Amber suppressing shivers at the sound of it. “I figured I had to come the same or better.”

Amber turned and glanced at him. “I didn’t realize you were so competitive. You do realize though that this means next time you come over, I have to up the ante, right?”

His lips split in a grin. “Bring it on.”

“And I thought we were competitive babe,” Randy said drawing Amber’s attention. Her cheeks warmed at the grins he and Sam were sporting as they looked at them. “If she tries to outdo you next time, please bring us some leftovers.”

“You two are more than welcome next time. I’m sure Aunt Jackie would love some company that wasn’t just me. She was close to flinging me out the door tonight.”

They all laughed before Benjamin started to pass around the serving dishes. Amber filled her plate before she realized something. “Is Olivia not joining us?”

Benjamin looked surprised. “No. Just us adults tonight.”

“Oh. Is it because I’m here?” Amber asked. “It would have been totally okay for her to join us.”

Benjamin seemed frozen and it was Sam who spoke up.

“She actually had a sleepover she wanted to go to tonight. She’s at that age where we are boring old people.” She rolled her eyes. “Knowing her, she’ll stroll in sometime tomorrow night or Sunday and then lock herself in her room and do whatever teens do these days.”

Amber nodded feeling relieved that she hadn’t made things awkward. “I wouldn’t even know. Some of the kids who came into the library I managed in Chicago would always talk about things that sounded like a foreign language to me.”

Randy chuckled around the food in his mouth. He swallowed before speaking up. “You are right about that. I coach soccer at the high school, and I don’t know what those kids are talking about half the time.”

“Thanks though,” Benjamin spoke up and Amber turned to him in confusion.

“For what?”

This close and Amber could see the curl of the hair along his jaw. The ever-present need to trace along the brushes of cinnamon on his skin was almost too much to ignore. His eyes were bright and open and if Amber wasn’t careful, she knew she might fall into them and not be able to find her way out again.

“For thinking about her.”

“Of course.”

They didn’t say anything, but Amber swore it was like something between them had shifted. Their gazes were locked on one another and she could almost feel the heat that swirled between them. Benjamin was so close and yet not close enough.

“So, do you have any kids?”

Amber swallowed hard and forced her gaze away. “Um, no. No kids or pets,” she said voice trembling slightly with the force of whatever that was. “Just me, myself, and I.”

She pushed down her wayward feelings and admonished herself for taking things in a direction they weren’t supposed to be going. Benjamin was being friendly by inviting her into his circle and she was reading things that weren’t there.

If Benjamin had been interested in her, he would have said something when they were drinking and their guards were down, but he didn’t. He was probably already dating someone who was just as nice as him instead of someone like Amber who could be abrasive even on her best days.

They had nothing in common.

FIFTEEN

Benjamin groaned when the bell above the café door rang out again. He dutifully called out a greeting but didn’t look up from the espresso machine. Having continuous business was of course good for his financial bottom line, but sometimes he wished things were slower.

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