Page 4 of Koa's Little Girl
“Count me in. I don’t have a life,” Max answered.
“I’ll help,” Koa volunteered. “I’ll even stop and pick up some coffee for everyone.”
“You don’t even drink coffee,” Zale pointed out.
“So?” Koa answered. “I may have to take up the habit.”
CHAPTER 2
Whoever invented an Americano with two shots of espresso should be a millionaire. Giana yawned behind a polite hand and tried to keep her toe from tapping impatiently as she waited. She had ordered after the flashy young woman ahead of her had finished batting her eyelashes at the barista. Giana thrust a hand through her work-rumpled hairdo and remembered dressing up to be seen and admired. She was not attracting the same level of attention as the blonde dazzler.Priorities definitely change with time and responsibilities.
Customers packed the coffee shop in the early evening. She loved this place for the great coffee and the range of customers. Everyone from elderly couples to teenagers already addicted to caffeine filled the shop. Giana had found a spot close enough to hear the barista yell names, but far enough away to avoid the crush of people hoping their order would be crafted next.
“Order for Lookaloo!” the barista called.
No one moved.
“Lookaloo?”
When no one stepped forward to take the cup, she tried, “Three pumpkin spice latte frappes?”
A muscular man stepped into her line of sight and claimed the milkshake-like concoctions in a cardboard carrier. He didn’t fit the image she had of the average pumpkin spice frappe drinker. Giana controlled her expression with effort as she laughed inside. And his name? Lookaloo? Poor guy. Thank goodness he didn’t work at the fire station.
Crap!Giana glanced down immediately as the buff man turned to face her. She recognized the man who’d come to see her this morning.
“Hey, fancy meeting you here,” Koa said, stopping in front of her.
That was all she could take. Her mouth quivered with merriment. “Lookaloo?”
“Yeah, it took me a minute to figure out they’d butchered my name. It’s actually Lokela. It’s Hawaiian.”
“Do you drink a lot of pumpkin spice?”
“Are you the coffee police?” Koa lifted the cup to his mouth and stopped, realizing he needed a straw.
That was the final blow. Her control totally evaporated. Giana shielded her mouth with one hand as she giggled. She tried never to laugh around anyone other than family. Her amusement sounded like a delighted seven-year-old. It hadn’t changed since then. His answering smile told her he’d noticed.
Giana spoke quickly to distract him. “I thought you Special Forces guys treated your bodies like a temple?”
“Noticed my physique, did you?” Koa teased.
Immediately back on the defensive, Giana pushed back her shoulders to stand at her full 5′5″ height. She’d grown up with five brothers. Giana had learned to go toe to toe with any of them. She never backed down from a fight.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I thought we were joking with each other. You’re right. I do watch my diet carefully,” Koa assured her.
She eyed him, trying to figure the soldier out. Something was different about him. “I bet. Nutrition is important.”
“Giana? An Americano with double espresso?” the barista called.
Koa looked at her as he absorbed her order. Less sugar than his, but an insane amount of caffeine.
She held up a hand and shook her head. “I know—the proverbial pot calling the kettle black, right? A coffee shop is a nonjudgmental zone. Excuse me. I’ll go grab that.”
Giana weaved her way through the gathered customers and claimed her drink. Tightening her resolve, she headed for the door.Time to leave.
As she opened the door, she spotted him waiting for her outside. Koa had anticipated her actions once again. First her coffee run and now her escape. “I’m not interested, okay?” she told him bluntly.
“Gotcha. I wanted to thank you for the coffee shop recommendation. It’s hard to find good…” His voice died away as he waved a hand over the drinks he’d ordered.
