Page 86 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
‘I just can’t believe I missed it!’
It was after-hours at the café, and Annie and Hazel had come for their afternoon pumpkin-spice drinks and chat. It had become somewhat of a routine over the last week. They all sat at a round high-top table, mugs and plates of leftover goodies from the bakery laid out between them. It was another day of rain and the café was dim but cozy, the windows fogged up with the warmth from inside. Someone had drawn a heart in the condensation earlier in the day and it was still there, a happy little doodle standing out in the gloom.
‘It was pretty romantic,’ Jeanie said with a smile she knew must be dreamy and ridiculous, but she couldn’t seem to help it. ‘And then we went back to his place and spent the whole day—’
‘Nope!’ Hazel held up her hands as though she could physically stop Jeanie’s words from reaching her. ‘No way. That’s where I draw the line. I cannot hear about Logan doing whatever it was you two were doing yesterday. Nope. Sorry.’
‘Okay, okay. I won’t get into the details.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’ll just say he was very good at it.’
‘Agh!’ Hazel covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.
Annie cackled beside her. ‘Good for you, Jeanie. Glad to hear our dear Logan is up to the task.’ She took a bite of her scone. ‘But, seriously, no details.’
Jeanie nodded and peeled Hazel’s hands away from her ears. ‘No details. I promise.’
Hazel blew out a long dramatic sigh of relief. Jeanie smiled thinking of the first time the two women had come in to warn her about Logan, and, she now realized, tried to protect their friend’s heart. It made her more than happy to know that not only did Logan trust her, but his best friends did as well.
A sharp rap on the front door startled them all.
‘Who on earth?’ Annie muttered.
A tall figure in a black raincoat stood outside the door. Rain ran in streams down his hood and the wind crashed into him from the side. Jeanie was proud of herself for thinking it might be a murderer for only a second before realizing it most likely wasn’t.
The figure raised a hand in greeting.
‘Noah,’ Hazel breathed, recognizing him first.
‘Oh!’ Jeanie hopped down from her seat and hurried to let him in. ‘Noah, what are you doing out there?’
Noah came in with a rush of wind and rain, his entrance making an instant mess of the café floor. He pushed down his hood and grinned at her. ‘Just a little rain.’ His gaze flicked to where Hazel and Annie still sat, and his smile grew.
‘I was looking for you,’ he said, his gaze now fixed on Hazel, and Jeanie didn’t miss the blush that was slowly creeping up her friend’s cheeks.
‘You were?’ Hazel’s eyes were wide behind her glasses. ‘Why?’
Noah’s grin slipped, some of his usual confidence faltering in the face of Hazel’s shocked question.
‘I ... uh ... was hoping that book I ordered had come in.’
‘And you needed it right now?’ Hazel asked, gesturing toward the storm out the window.
‘Well, I was pretty excited to read it.’
Annie huffed a laugh, but Jeanie shot her a warning look. This thing between Noah and Hazel was too cute and awkward to interrupt.
Hazel sighed and grabbed her coat from the back of her chair. ‘I did get some orders today. I guess we could go check.’
‘Great.’ Noah rubbed his hands together in excitement and Jeanie had to bite down on her own giggle.
‘Come on.’ Hazel flipped up her hood and headed for the door. ‘See you guys later,’ she said over her shoulder and Noah followed her out into the rain.
Annie collapsed onto the table. ‘Oh, my God! Those two are ridiculous!’
‘I think they’re cute.’
