Page 18 of Isaia

“Let’s start with here in the café.”

“Obvious, isn’t it? I’m getting coffee.”

I arch a brow. “Judging by the way people stared at you when you walked in, how people are still staring at you, my guessis they all know you, yet they’re shocked that you’re gracing them with your presence. How come I’ve never seen you in here before?”

“Maybe you missed me.”

“Oh, I doubt that.”

Molly sets our espressos down, and I glance at her as she turns to leave, wide-eyed, as if to silently scream,Get out now.

I pretend not to notice. “You don’t seem like the kind of guy who randomly grabs coffee with strangers.”

His expression deepens, but now it’s calculated. “Who said anything about random?”

I blink, caught off guard. “So, this isn’t random?”

“It’s as random as your dog wrapping her leash around my legs,” he says, but there’s something unsettling in his tone, like he’s hinting at more.

I watch him grip the tiny espresso cup, his large hand making the cup look comically small. Coffee spills over the rim, and he curses.

I study him. “You’re not built for delicate things, are you?”

“I have a nasty habit of ruining delicate things.”

There’s a double meaning in there, loud and clear, and it’s dialed up the heat a notch.

“So, Everly,” he starts, saying my name like he’s testing out the taste on his tongue, “have a surname?”

“Beaumont,” I say. “Everly Beaumont.”

“You’re new to town.”

“Who said I’m new?”

“I haven’t seen you around.”

I lift a brow. “Maybe you missed me.”

He licks his lips and tilts his head slightly. “I doubt that.”

There it is again—that unmissable rise in tension, the gentle chill that brushes along my skin. It’s a heat, like a simmer that starts at the corners, slowly spreading through bone.

“Where you from, Everly Beaumont?”

“Here and there.” I pick up my cup and take a sip, casually avoiding going into too much detail.

“Here and there,” he repeats, rolling the words over like he’s weighing them. “Mysterious.”

“Not mysterious. Just private.”

“You got family here?”

“No. It’s just me and Luna, passing through.”

He raises a brow. “Passing through? You got business in town?”

Those alarm bells are chiming slightly louder.

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