Page 63 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

I rubbed my fingers down my beard. My instincts were tingling. I was missing something.

“We’ll figure this out, Alden. We always do. We just need a little more time.”

He was right. Gage was good at his job. He’d find a trail or connection somewhere. “How’s Lexi?”

“She’s good. A pain in the ass, but good.”.

“Tell her I miss her.” Lexi liked to butt into my life, but not having her around made me realize how much I took that for granted.

I watched Jess chatting with Ruby. “And if you get a chance, maybe send a picture of Reina. I think Jess would really like that.”

“Will do. And, uh, Alden?” He paused. “Be careful.”

I wasn’t sure if he meant my general safety or my heart because I knew my heart was already in danger.

Chapter Fourteen

Jess

Ileaned my elbowson the Formica counter in our small kitchen and grabbed the square bakery box that held a bunch of sugary goodness from Red’s Sweet Salvation. Ruby had filled it with way more cupcakes than what we’d paid for. I think she was grateful for the advice I’d given her on how to improve her social media and marketing campaign.

I hadn’t told Alden that I wanted to work with her while I was here. The first bakery, the one her grandmother ran, was an old staple in the neighborhood, everyone went there because it was established. Ruby was starting something new and was overwhelmed.

I grinned as I grabbed an espresso infused chocolate cupcake with whipped coffee flavored cream cheese frosting. The frosting touched my lips, and I was ready to sink my teeth into it for a big bite.

“Wait.” Alden stopped me. “I’ve got the perfect drink to go with that.”

He moved the two feet to the refrigerator and pulled out the milk, then reached into a cabinet to grab a dark bottle with a yellow label, and a tall glass. He filled the glass with milk, then he poured the thick syrup, and mixed it all with a spoon. With a huge smile he handed me the glass as though presenting me with a bar of gold.

“Violà, coffee milk to go with your espresso cupcake.”

“But doesn’t it need to have coffee to be coffee milk? You just poured some syrup shit into milk and called it a day.” I pointed at the bottle.

He spun the bottle around.

Sure enough the label read, coffee milk. What the hell was that?

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