Page 27 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
‘That’s enough of that, my love,’ Nancy said sweetly, even though Jeanie was sure the kick had come from her direction. ‘Lucy never really fit in here. She wasn’t a good match for Logan in the first place.’
Lucy never really fit in here.Jeanie glanced around the table. Didshefit in here? Maybe she needed ripped jeans like Jacob? Or more crystals like Isabel? Even little Mateo wore a string of amber beads around his neck. Chunky scarves that looked like a grandmother had knitted them seemed to be integral to the look of Dream Harbor as well. And Jeanie didn’t own a single pair of fingerless mittens. They should hand them out when you cross into town.
Instead, Jeanie had been stuck with her business-casual wardrobe and hadn’t had time to shop for anything different. In her slacks, sweater, and ballet flats with her hair in a low twist, she felt more ready for an afternoon business meeting than for a day running the town coffee shop. Kaori had a similar vibe, but she really was headed into the office for the afternoon –as some sort of lawyer, maybe? Accountant? Jeanie couldn’t remember but she did know Kaori drank a large French roast with soy milk every morning.
If Jeanie wanted a new lifestyle here, maybe she needed to start dressing the part...
‘You and Logan looked pretty cozy together at the counter,’ Jacob said, derailing her wardrobe thoughts and diving directly into her Logan daydreams instead. ‘He looked like he wanted to jump over it and––’
‘Jacob,’ Kaori snapped. ‘You’re making Jeanie blush. Don’t mind him, sweetie. He gets all kinds of crazy ideas in his head after we read these books.’
‘If equal-opportunity orgasms and parity in relationships are crazy ideas, then I don’t want to be sane!’
Kaori waved him off. ‘Yes, yes, but let’s not traumatize Jeanie at her first meeting.’ Jeanie felt less traumatized and more horrified that Jacob was reading her mind, but she wasn’t about to add that to the conversation.
‘My first meeting? Does this count?’Look at me, making grown-up friends and getting hobbies!She could already feel years being added back onto her life.
‘Of course, it does! And you’re welcome to join us anytime. Give Jacob your number and he’ll text you the book for the week. Now I have to go.’ Kaori grabbed her purse and stuffed her book inside. ‘I’ll see you all later.’
‘I should go, too. I want to get this monster down for a nap before his sister gets home,’ Isabel said, collecting Mateo’s pile of half-eaten cookies.
And with that, Jeanie’s first unofficial meeting with the Dream Harbor book club ended in a flurry of goodbyes and promises to chat again soon.
Jacob stayed behind to get Jeanie’s number.
‘Thanks for including me,’ she said as he typed.
‘We’re open to all,’ he said with a smile. ‘And...’ he leaned in conspiratorially, ‘I know this town is like weirdly protective of Logan, but trust me, I saw the proposal and it was brutal. And the whole town witnessed it.’ He winced, remembering it.
‘We’re just friends,’ Jeanie said weakly. The thought of Logan having his heart torn out in front of everyone was making her feel dizzy and a little sick. Maybe she should sit down?
‘Well, if you’re thinking of becoming more than friends, which I don’t blame you, that man is all the big broody handsomeness I could ask for, just make sure you’re serious about it.’ Jacob shrugged. ‘Lucy hightailed it back to Boston after she dumped him, but if you really plan on staying ... things would be awkward, to say the least.’
‘Right. Got it.’
Jacob smiled and slung his bag over one shoulder. ‘K, well, see you later!’
‘Bye.’
Jeanie dropped hard into the nearest chair as soon as Jacob was out the door. For the second time since she got here, she’d been warned to stay away from Logan. This town was not kidding about protecting their own. She rubbed her temples with her fingers, a full-blown stress headache coming on.
If she got involved with Logan, the whole town would be watching. And then what happened when it inevitably ended? That was way too much pressure. Pressure she absolutely did not need. Pressure she left her old life behind to avoid.
She took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly, like she’d learned from the meditation app she’d downloaded shortly after Marvin’s death. Not a problem. She would just steer clear of Logan from now on. Polite customer and barista chatter only. No flirting. No staring into his deep blue eyes. Definitely no breathing in his outdoorsy scent.
They were friends. Acquaintances, really. And that was just fine.
Jeanie was here to focus on herself, not to get tangled up in a town scandal, and she would just keep reminding herself of that until it stuck. She’d been silly to add Logan to her plan, anyway. Coming here was about finding New Jeanie, not about finding a man. Right?
Right.
It wasn’t until she went back behind the counter that she noticed the book Jacob had left for her.The Farmer and The Milkmaid. The Post-it note on top read: to help you get it out of your system.
As Jeanie stared at the rugged man on the cover, his flannel shirt unbuttoned and flapping in the breeze, she knew it could never be as good as the real thing.
ChapterThirteen
Wait, I’m confused. Why does running Aunt Dot’s café require a full personality makeover?’
