Page 6 of Love & Lattes at The Mermaid Cafe
Pushing his sunglasses up into his brown hair, Cade walks back to where Merry is working. “I’m Cade Delaney. Aren’t you Merry Winslow?”
“Do you hear that, Lena? I’m famous.” Merry’s blush spreads much needed color across the cheeks of her pale, wrinkled skin. “A stranger knows my name.”
“I’m taking Cade on the Mermaid Bay Legacy Tour,” I say as a reminder. Merry is a dear but isn’t always on top of her mental game. “He wants to buy property here.”
“Oh?” Merry gives Cade a much cooler once-over. And then she reaches beneath the counter. She hands a brochure to him. “Here you go.”
Cade reads the front of the brochure aloud. “Are you ready to experience the heart and soul of Mermaid Bay? This exclusive, guided tour takes visitors on an unforgettable journey through our historic boardwalk and pier businesses.” He opens the brochure, continuing to read, “Meet beloved local business owners and hear their incredible stories.” Cade gives Merry a measured look. “Youhave an incredible story?”
“I do.” Merry nods.
“I’d love to hear it.” Cade returns his gaze to the brochure. “Enjoy interactive tasks around local myths and maritime traditions.” He glances around the Christmas-themed store, carefully folds the brochure, and tucks it into his back pocket. “All right. Give me your spiel, Merry.”
“First, a riddle.” Merry smiles but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “What has a sharp eye for detail and works with grain?”
Cade turns toward me, a frown creasing his brow. “The Mermaid Bay Legacy Tour has storiesandriddles?”
“Yes. It’s part of the town’s charm.” I smile. “Are you good at riddles?”
“I was when I was twelve,” Cade says with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
I subtract two points from his tally.
“Oh.” Merry titters. “I always give children and adults who are bad at riddles another clue.” She leans her torso over the porcelain angels on her sales counter. “What has a sharp eye for detail, works with grain,andis always chipping away?”
Cade’s frown deepens.
“Since this is your first stop, I’ll tell you. The answer is a woodworker.” Merry draws a small wooden heart from behind the sales counter, dangling it from a bit of looped twine. She presents it to Cade as if it’s a diamond-studded pendant. “My great-great grandfather was a woodworker. He started this shop.” Merry smiles, a faraway look clouding her eyes. She often gets lost in her family history. “He made ship wheels. Banisters. Fine wooden furniture. I can tell by your fancy shoes that you aren’t from around here. Oregon is known for its lumber, you know.”
“I know.” Cade isn’t enamored with her history. He hasn’t even taken the heart from Merry. He looks the way a tourist does the first time they visit Times Square in New York City and are confronted by Iron Man, the red Power Ranger, and Elphaba from Wicked, as if he’s been unexpectedly dropped into the Twilight Zone.
I take the small wooden heart from Merry by the looped twine and swing it in front of Cade as if trying to put him in a trance. “Merry carves these hearts herself, carrying on a tradition passed down from one family member to another. This one is yours. You might add it to something you’ll be given later.”
If you get that far.
“Or you can hang it from a tree branch by the lighthouse.” Merry gives us both a smile. “In the hopes that your love will return.”
“Are you going somewhere?” Cade asks me, a bit of that playfulness returning to his brown eyes.
My pulse races like I’m eighteen again.
“I’m staying right here, Trouble.” I take Cade’s hand and place the small wooden heart on his palm, curling his fingers around it.
Instead of giving me a renewed sense of control, the warmth of his hand lingers, even after I cross my arms over my chest.
“I see it now,” Merry says, grinning. “Marina told me there was something between you two.”
“There is nothing between us.” I take Cade’s arm, annoyed—and thrilled?—that he’s chuckling.
I revise my tally downward.
Cade now sits at minus two.
Chapter Six
Cade
“Marina told me to bring lattes.” A pretty redhead wearing a Mermaid Café apron is standing outside of Merry’s Christmas Cheer holding two disposable coffee cups when we exit. She looks to be in her thirties.
