Page 36 of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe
He took another swig of beer, letting the bitter liquid wash away Lucy’s name from his mind. He should have let Nana make him that dating profile, after all. He could be peacefully dating someone from Colorado or South Africa or the damn moon right now. Anyone other than the new girl in town that had captured everyone’s attention.
Attention was the last thing he wanted. And yet he couldn’t seem to stay away from her.
‘We should go say hello,’ Noah said, clapping Logan on the back and startling him out of his thoughts about dating moon women.
‘Uh ... I should probably keep the table.’
‘No worries about that.’ Noah flashed him a grin, slapping a laminated card with a big number 4 on it in the middle of the table. ‘It’s reserved for us now. Go Team Four! We should probably come up with a catchier name, but first let’s go say hello.’
Noah had already hopped down from his stool and was pleading with his eyes for Logan to join him. Was his loquacious friend nervous about talking to Hazel? Interesting.
Logan took one more gulp of beer for courage and followed Noah to Jeanie’s table.
‘Hello, ladies.’
‘Hey, Noah, you remember Jeanie,’ Hazel said, feigning casualness, but Logan watched her fidget in her chair.
‘Are you guys ready to lose?’ Jeanie asked with a grin, her eyes bright in the dim room.
‘Wow, Jeanie. Coming in hot,’ Noah laughed. ‘I like it. And no, we are definitely going to win.’
‘We’ll see,’ she said, crossing her arms over her chest. She let her gaze drift to Logan.
‘Hey,’ he said, his voice sticking in his throat.
‘Hey.’ Her gaze slipped to his mouth for just long enough to send heat through his body. She had ditched her usual sweater for a fitted tank top. In the heat of the crowded bar, the sight of all that bare skin short-circuited his brain. His thoughts were nothing more than static and the memory of how soft she’d been when he’d slipped his hand up her shirt.
‘Um, hi everyone.’ Annie’s voice tore through the tension as she tossed her bakery bag onto the table. ‘Weird energy here. What’s up?’
Jeanie broke their stare first. ‘Nothing’s weird. Everything’s great! Very excited to kick these guys’ butts.’
Noah laughed. ‘More fighting words. Okay, new café owner Jeanie. I like you.’
She beamed at the compliment and Logan wanted to punch Noah in the face for making her smile like that. He shook the irrational thought from his head.
‘We should get back. I think it’s starting soon,’ Logan said.
‘Good luck.’ Noah flashed Hazel another smile and Logan didn’t miss the flustered look on her face. He’d be sure to hassle her about that later. Especially after her ‘crush’ comments.
Jacob was waiting for them back at the table. ‘Who wants a muffin?’ he sang. ‘They’re from Annie’s class and I think they came out pretty good.’ He placed a misshapen muffin in front of Logan with a flourish. ‘Ta-da!’
‘Uh ... Is it supposed to be caved in like that?’ Noah asked, and Logan nearly choked on his beer.
‘Maybe I still need a little practice.’ Jacob frowned.
‘I don’t think muffins go great with beer,’ Logan added. Jacob’s face fell. ‘But I’ll take one home for the morning.’
‘Great! You’ll have to tell me how it is. I think maybe I undercooked them a bit.’
‘Alright, that’s enough muffin talk,’ Noah said, his attention fixed on Amber, the bartender and apparently the evening’s MC, as she stepped up to the mic they’d set up in front of the bar. ‘It’s starting!’
Logan groaned into his beer.Here we go.
* * *
Unsurprisingly, they lost.
By a lot. Like, it wasn’t even close. As it turned out, Hazel was a trivia master, which considering she spent her days surrounded by books, probably shouldn’t have surprised Logan as much as it did. Her team won, although Nancy, Linda, and Tammy came in a close second.
