Page 3 of Seduction in the Mountains

This just became the longest first day in the history of new jobs.

Chapter 2

Miranda

"Honey,areyouokay?You look like you've seen a ghost!" Ellen's usually cheerful voice is shrill even in the noisy shop. It's so fucking loud, I drop to the floor fast, and she does a literal double-take, staring at me with her mouth open.

It would be funny if I weren't so horribly panicked right now.

"Did you fall down?" she practically screeches at me.

I hold my finger to my mouth, desperately trying to shush her as panic sluices through my body, making my limbs manic. My hand shoots out, flailing directly into a pile of napkins stacked under the counter. They scatter on the floor around me.

I motion for her to look forward, whisper-yelling, "Stop staring at me. Turn around!" over and over while she gapes at me like I've grown another head.

Ellen is the sweetest woman I have ever met, but damn her lack of ability to pick up on my terror right now. She finally turns forward but keeps side-eyeing me in a move so obvious I have to fight the urge to pull her down here with me, consequences be damned to her bad hip.

She speaks out of the corner of her mouth, none too quietly. "What are you doing? Do you need help?"

Argh! Note to self: do not pick Ellen if I'm captain of any game requiring stealth. Adrenaline kicks in with a desperate need to hide as I roll to my stomach and army crawl across the large tiles, already sticky and gross from the morning rush. I make a beeline to the curtain leading to the back and slide under it, popping up on the other side to plaster myself to the wall like a cartoon cat.

Cole Rose is in my shop.

Oh. My. God.

Maybe it's not him. Maybe it's a Cole lookalike, and I'm desperate for a happenstance that makes that sexy, tall drink of water end up in my coffee shop after eight years. Cole "City Loving" Rose had big corporate plans after graduation. The odds of him being here, in my shop, are slim to—

Levi's voice floats through the curtain, carrying a single name. "Mr. Cole Rose."

Levi may as well have screamed his name right next to me because I take off like a bullet from a gun and race to the supply room. It's more of a big closet, but I can still panic-pace a few steps before I have to turn around.

It's him.

I fumble for my phone and open the door a crack before I slam it shut again, waiting for my best friend to pick up.

"Hi, this is Scarlett." Her melodic voice fills my ear, and I'm hit with another wave of panic.Fucking voicemail. Great."I'm working like a responsible human, so leave a message, and I'll call you when I come up for air."

"Responsible human, myass. Irresponsible friend is more like it!" I hold my hand to my chest, trying to stem the panic, "I'm sorry. It's not your fault, but I am in the middle of hell. Sexy muscled tall handsome sexy sexy hell and I need you to talk me out of my supply closet right fucking now!"

I open the door again and stare at the curtain before slamming it shut once more. "Cole Rose is in my shop," I whisper loudly into the phone. "He's talking to Levi, and I need you to call or text me or something because I'm freaking out, Scar. Call me." I start to hang up and then continue, "I'm sorry for leaving the world's longest voicemail. This is Miranda. Call me."

I hide for a whiiiillle in the supply closet doing inventory, which consists of aggressively counting everything, poking randomly at jars, then sitting on a box and staring at the door until I finally have enough backbone to poke my head around the curtain to find both Cole and Levi gone.

An unwanted sense of loss at having let him walk out the door after eight years cuts through my palpable relief. He was with Levi, though, so does he know him? Oh god, what if he comes back? I cannot handle a man in my life right now, and I certainly cannot handle a Cole Rose type of man.

Although, the Cole I met in college compared to the muscled sex god wearing a button-up shirt and tie in my shop this morning is like comparing apples to apple pie. There was a time I could have painted his profile with my eyes closed. Same dark hair and bright blue eyes, and he was always sexy with a strong jaw and those cheekbones. But the purposeful stubble and delicious biceps are new. He also looked more relaxed and manlier than the last time I saw him. Less college boy. And that ass has only gotten better with age.

Yum.

Butterflies erupt in my stomach. Sexy little butterflies spreading their legs wide open.

Slutty butterflies can't be good.

My body is on auto-pilot around the shop as my anxious brain tries to process the onslaught of emotions pelting me like wayward hail throughout the day.

I refill creamers at the counter during a lull, and my blood is suddenly boiling. This is my town,myshop. I don't have to hide! Then I realize it was all me rolling around in spilled coffee to avoid talking to Cole, and my cheeks heat with embarrassment. I should probably buy Ellen lunch for forcing her to witness that spectacle.She didn't even ask anything when I came back. Just patted my arm and said, "I'll stay up front if you want to go clean up, hon." I looked down to find a swizzle stick plastered to my apron and coffee grounds smeared on my legs.

Distracted and stormy, I almost drop the tongs I'm using to add fresh pastries to the display case as a terrible thought hits me, and I process the all too real possibility that Cole Rose might not have even recognized me. My heart squeezes with the realization that although he’s starred in almost all of my late-night fantasies for the past eight years—especially after I stopped watchingSupernaturalright before bed—it doesn't mean Cole remembers my name.

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