Page 131 of Absolute Certainty
For the briefest beat after they parted, she looked at him like they were the only two people in the coffee shop. Her smile was brighter, and the blush staining her cheeks was a sight to behold.
Mine,he thought again.
Then he shifted his eyes toward Willa, who was looking at Martin with a mocking gaze. She faced Jay and Sahar then. “Get it, cuties!” she hollered. Molly let out a laugh. Jay managed a genuine smile.
Clark called out for Nancy’s drink, and Jay glared back at Martin. This time, his scowl no longer withheld that he knew exactly who he was and what he’d done. And like the fucking coward he was, Martin immediately looked down, turning to take Nancy by her shoulder.
The poor girl looked so confused, but she wasn’t his problem. Jay dropped his gaze back at Sahar, who hadn’t taken her eyes off him.
“You’re not mad I did that, are you?”
She shook her head. “Not even a little.”
“I, for one, would like to thank you,” Willa started. “I’m going to tell my grandkids about what I saw today. You don’t need my blessing, but you now have it forever,” she declared proudly.
He laughed, adding in their usual orders to the register. “I’ll make sure I never fumble it.”
Sahar laughed, low and sweet. “No one hated Martin the way Wills did. By the end of our relationship, she wouldn’t even acknowledge him if he was in the room.”
Willa shrugged. “And I was right for that. It’s a real fucking shame he doesn’t drink coffee because I would’ve given anything to see you spit in his drink,” she said to Jay. “Though this was glorious, too.”
It made him so happy that Sahar had a friend like Willa in her corner. “Oh, orders. Sorry. Anything other than the usual?” he asked.
“Dec won’t be home. But another lavender latte for Priya and a hazelnut for Carmen, please,” Sahar said.
Nodding, he added that order in as well, then took out his card and swiped it through. He eyed Clark to get on the register while he moved to make the drinks.
“Jay, no! Why are you like this?” Sahar tried to argue.
He shrugged, smiling.
“Jay,” she said again.
Molly interjected, facing the women. “Eh, just accept it. He doesn’t always get to be nice here.”
“Well then, thank you,” Willa said.
He bobbed his head, eyeing Sahar again as he started on their drinks.
“I don’t know what to do with you right now,” Sahar said.
“I can think of a few things,” he whispered.
Jay passed Willa her Irish cream oat milk latte.
He made Carmen’s next, then Priya’s. He was extra attentive to Sahar’s. Passing it to her, their fingers brushed, and electricity jolted right through him.
Sheleaned closer this time, and he obliged, meeting her halfway over the counter for one more kiss. “I’ll talk to you later?” she said, phrasing it like a question.
He nodded. “Course. Have fun.”
Thanking him again, they both left. As the door closed and he returned his attention to the shop, he heard Molly say the words, “and then he kissed her while her ex watched.” Abruptly turning, he noticed Dahlia standing in the breakroom entrance.
“Not another fucking word,” Jay said to them both.
Dahlia’s grin widened. “I knew it! I called you being a big ol’ softy from day one.”
He ignored her. But he didn’t hate it. Not at all.
