Page 34 of Tides of Discovery
“The usual for you?” He nodded, and I picked up my phone to call in our order: beef with broccoli and fried rice for me, Cooper’s standard order of cashew chicken and brown rice, and egg rolls to share. The ritual restored some normalcy, and by the time I hung up, the atmosphere had eased further.
“Food will be here in thirty.” I sat down in the armchair across from Cooper rather than joining him on the couch. Distance seemed prudent, considering we needed to work. “Let’s figure out this event before Isabelle hunts us down for details.”
Cooper pulled a notebook from his messenger bag. Of course, he’d come prepared. “I’ve been thinking…what about a blind taste-test, in which couples have to find their partner’s favorite drink by taste alone?”
I waggled my hand back and forth. “Let’s keep thinking. How about a special menu, pairing different coffees with desserts that complement them, designed to be shared?”
“That’s a thought.” His gaze turned unfocused. “We could do something with the coffee sleeves.”
“We’d need a theme.”
“What if we did something like those candy conversation hearts?” Cooper suggested and flipped open his notebook. “Short phrases printed on the sleeves. My commercial printer can handle small batches of custom sleeves.”
“A Latte Love.” The event name came to me suddenly.
Cooper’s eyes lit up. “That’s perfect! We could print different sayings on different sleeves, all coffee-related love messages.”
“People can collect them or trade for their favorites.” I warmed to the idea. “It’s interactive, memorable.”
“And it’s something only The Coffee Cove could do,” Cooper nodded, already jotting notes. “We need to come up with catchy phrases, though.”
“How many different sleeves do you think you could afford?”
Cooper tapped his pen on his notebook. “Maybe ten different sayings? That’s enough variety without breaking my budget.”
“Ten coffee-themed love messages coming up.” I leaned forward with newfound enthusiasm. This was familiar territory: brainstorming, creating, solving problems together. This was us.
“How about ‘Yours to the last drop’?” I threw out with a grin.
Cooper wrinkled his nose. “That sounds…suggestive.”
“That’s half the point.” I chuckled. “It’s for Valentine’s Day, after all.”
He jotted a note. “Let’s put that in the maybe column,” Cooper said diplomatically, though I could see him fighting a smile. “What about ‘Let’s French press together’?”
I burst out laughing. “And you thought mine was suggestive?”
Cooper’s cheeks flushed, but he was laughing too. “Fair point. Scratch that one.”
“‘My heart is percolating’?” I offered.
Cooper groaned. “Too cheesy.”
“‘You’re my perfect brew’?”
“Getting better.”
“‘You’re my cup of love’?” I wiggled my eyebrows exaggeratedly.
Cooper threw a couch pillow at me. “These are terrible! We’re going to be the laughingstock of the festival.”
I caught the pillow. “Not all of them are bad,” I protested. “How about ‘Bean mine’?”
Cooper paused and considered. “That one’s actually not terrible.” He scratched a note.
“‘You mocha me happy’?”
“I like that.” Cooper nodded and wrote it down. “Simple but cute.”
