Page 17 of Three Rules I'd Never Break

Much earlier than I’d intended to be up on a Sunday morning, I knocked at the doughnut shop. Tessa wasn’t open yet, but I knew she was inside.

She unlocked the door. “Come in and lock it behind you.”

I did as I was told, then perched on my favorite barstool. “Want me to start the coffee?”

“Sure. You’re up early. Something bothering you?” Tessa poked her head out of the kitchen. “Trouble with Eli?”

I’d debated about whether to bring up the topic, but now that she had, I was grateful. I needed someone to talk to about this. Keeping secrets was too hard.

“I wish I could read his thoughts.”

“Eli? The guy has his thoughts written all over his face.” She laughed as she set a pan of glazed doughnuts on the counter. “I did feel bad for him last night.”

“Me too.” I faced the coffee pot and added water before flipping the switch. “I love Cami, but she cannot hear anything of what I’m about to tell you.”

Tessa opened the display case and began loading trays onto the shelves. “My lips are sealed.”

“On my way home from the bombed date, Eli pulled me over, and I sort of unloaded on him about guys only wanting one-night stands.”

Tessa’s mouth fell open.

“It gets worse. When I got back to the shop, I forgot to turn off the alarm. I didn’t figure that out until Eli was standing in the store with a gun pointed at me.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would he point a gun at you?”

“He didn’t recognize me in a towel, and I had a mask smeared all over my face because I was about to jump in the shower.”

She slapped a hand over her mouth as she laughed. “No wonder he wouldn’t sit with us.”

“Yeah.” I refilled the napkin holders. “If he’s interested, why won’t he ask me out? I get that he’s a bit shy, but he talks to other people. Like you. And Haley. And Cami. Is it really so hard to talk to me?”

“Eli isn’t really shy. He just can’t form sentences when he’s around someone he’s attracted to.” She lifted her eyebrows and shot me that knowing look. “Occasionally he’ll muster up a spurt of courage and rattle off a sentence or two, but it’s rare unless you get him talking about something like work.”

“Or safety.”

Tessa laughed. “Oh yes. I’ve been lectured on going out alone at night. And the one time I picked up a stranger off the side of the road, Eli came unglued. For weeks, he repeated all the reasons it was dangerous. Also, he hated it when Cami lived in the back of the photography studio. He’d go by there to check on her.”

“Was that the stranger who puked in your car?”

“Yep. I didn’t need Eli to explain why it was a bad idea. My car reeked.”

“You knew Eli was coming by because he did that with Cami.”

“I guessed, but your reaction confirmed my suspicion.”

“He’s checked on me every night he’s worked since the towel incident, but he didn’t stop by last night.” I looked around the shop. “Anything else I can do?”

“Figure out ways to talk to him. About work. Or you could learn to play video games. He likes those. What do you know about cars? He has a thing for cars.”

“Law enforcement. Video games. And cars. Got it.”

She closed one case and moved on to filling the next one. “Some of the guys give Eli a hard time about not talking to you. Not nearly as bad as it was during high school, but still. Anyway, because of that, last night was embarrassing for him.”

“When I asked if there was anything I could do, I meant is there anything I can do right now. To help you.” I tore the napkin that was in my hand. “And people should leave Eli alone.”

“Teasing is their way of trying to help him get over it.”

“So, what happened before when he wouldn’t talk to someone? Does he just have this long list of females he won’t speak to?”

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