Page 94 of Of Literature and Lattes
Her joy inspired his. He scooped her up and swung her around in a circle. Becca’s legs flew behind her, making them laugh even more.
“Again?” she called as soon as her feet touched the ground.
“Can’t. I’m too dizzy. We gotta take a break, Bug.” Jeremy stretched his back. “Besides, Alyssa’s here. Monkey bars?”
Her reply was to race to the monkey bars, waving to Alyssa on her way.
“I’d say you’re getting all the energy out.”
“Trying to.” He covered the distance between them in three long, slightly skewed strides. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. As he bent to kiss her, he wondered if he’d ever tire of these first moments, seeing her with the anticipation of talking to her, kissing her, being with her.
Just as Alyssa lifted on her toes, an incongruence caught his attention. He straightened and looked toward town.
She dropped back to her heels. “Jeremy?”
He looked down at her. “Sorry. I thought I just saw Krista standing over there. That woman walking away.”
Alyssa turned. “Are you sure?”
“No, but...” He gave a slight shrug. “Doesn’t matter. Where were we?”
Epilogue
Becca perched by Andante’s front door. Just behind, actually. She didn’t want to greet people. She wanted to count them.
Her dad, standing next to Ryan, clapped his hands from the counter area. That was the signal. She darted away from the door, skirted around the adults milling about, and tucked close to her dad. He laid a hand on her shoulder. She lifted her chin and stretched taller. This was a big night.
“Thank you all for coming to our first Literature and Lattes book club event.” His voice rose above the din and everyone quieted. Two ladies near the fireplace didn’t, and Becca felt her mouth purse like Mrs. Gutierrez when she would “tsk” the boys at the back table during reading.
But maybe her dad didn’t hear. He kept talking. “We will pass around another round of cookies and coffees, and if you’d like tea, please come let us know. We’ll begin in about five minutes.”
Becca pulled at his arm and waited until he bent close. “There are forty-four people here.”
“No way.” His eyes lit, and Becca thought her chest was going to swell right out of her rib cage. Her dad gripped her shoulder the way he did to Ryan when he was saying something super important. She straightened. “I filled the cookie tray again. Will you pass it around? Be sure to put more napkins on the edge.”
Becca ran behind the counter and disappeared into the kitchen.
“She’s excited.” Behind Jeremy, Alyssa settled a last white china mug of coffee onto another tray and lifted it.
“I’m glad one of us is. I might throw up.”
Alyssa set the tray down and reached for his hand across the counter. “Why? This is a far better turnout than we expected.”
“That’s why. It’s like tasting the best coffee in the world, then discovering an embargo on the beans. This is it—what I’ve been after before I even knew what it looked like. But it’ll be gone in a month. So unless the community comes out and drinks coffee by the gallon and cookies by the dozen, I’m sunk. One night can’t change that.” He looked at her, really looked at her, and realized she was biting her lip against a smile. “Are you laughing right now?”
“Yes.” She gestured past him. “What do you think is happening here? Thisiscoffee by the gallon and cookies by the dozen. And what’s more ‘community,’ and enduring, than a good book club? Look around, Jeremy.”
He took a deep breath. It rattled every nerve on its way past his lungs to his stomach. But the exhale, as he swept the shop, came out slow and smoothed his frayed edges. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She squeezed his hand again. “And you are trending in the right direction. Only one more day in July, but the numbers are looking good. Really good.”
“Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
“Numbers don’t lie,” she quipped as she leaned across the counter and kissed his cheek. Then she picked up the coffee tray and wove her way through the tables.
Jeremy leaned against the counter. Alyssa was right. This was what community looked like. He noted David Drummond; George Williams and his son Devon; Madeline, Claire,andJanet—who’d only landed from Italy that afternoon; Seth, standing over near Mike and a few other men from their group; Jill Pennet, who had supplied all the cookies free of charge for tonight; Eve Parker and Olive—whatever her last name was—and more.
“You ready?” He turned to Ryan, who was striding past him and had been working like a whirling dervish since six that morning.
