Page 40 of The Barista's Beloved

“You can be as snarky as you want about it as long as you’ll design the invitations and menus,” Angelica told her.

“Of course I will.” Naomi held her hand over her heart. “I’ll even give you a reduced rate. You know, for love.”

“What a delight you are,” Angelica said dryly. “I’m so glad we’re friends.”

Naomi grinned. “Me too.” They exchanged blown kisses and chuckles.

“Are we ready to talk about the book?” Jess asked. “Because I loved it. And I neeeeed to talk about some of those scenes.” She waggled her eyebrows so her friends would know exactly which ones she was referencing.

“Grab the Chardonnay out of the fridge,” Angelica directed. “I conned some snacks out of Max, too.”

“Does anyone pay for anything in this town?” Maeve wondered.

“Coffee,” the other three women chorused.

Maeve grinned, and finally dropped her bomb. “Speak for yourself.”

“What?”

“Really?”

“Tell!”

Maeve found herself driven back toward the parlor under an avalanche of shrieked inquisition. Laughing, she held up her hands in self defense. “I thought we were here to talk about the book!”

“I’ll brain you with the book if you don’t spill!” Angelica waved her purple-covered copy threateningly as they all settled into their seats.

“It’s possible I may have spent some quality time with River Hill’s finest barista,” Maeve said as modestly as she could manage.

Naomi snorted. “River Hill’s worst barista, you mean.” By now, everyone had had a chance to try Ben’s services at The Hollow Bean.

“Trust me, his coffee making skills were the last thing on my mind,” Maeve told her.

“Last night?” Jess squeaked.

Maeve shook her head. “Two nights ago. He took me to a rugby game.”

Two blank looks greeted her and she turned to Naomi for help. “Surely you’ve gone.”

Naomi nodded. “Iain and I went last summer when the Irish 7s were in town for that big tournament. He got the suite—ohhhhhh.” Her voice trailed off and she pinned Maeve with an accusing glare. “You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“Naughty girl.”

“Very,” Maeve said smugly.

“Can somebody fill me in?” Angelica asked, looking between them.

“The Brennans sponsor a rugby team,” Naomi explained. “One of the perks of said sponsorship is the use of a very swanky hotel suite for any family members or high level executives who attend the matches. Since only Maeve and Iain are in America to make use of it ...” She looked away guiltily, and Maeve wondered if the whole idea of nepotism was something Naomi still struggled with. It had nearly been the undoing of her relationship with Iain back in their early days.

“Wait, you had hotel sex for your first sex? That’s setting the bar pretty high.” Jess giggled.

Maeve felt herself flushing. “It, uh, wasn’t the first time we’d had sex.”

More shrieking ensued, this time accusatory. “When?!”

“You didn’t tell us!”

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