Page 82 of To Believe In You
“Of course. Lakeshore’s coffee shop has some good flavors, and I haven’t needed it as much as I was afraid I would.” Besides, the coffee syrup was the only bribe she could think of to smooth over the fiasco at the wedding.
She followed her host to the kitchen. Between the stretching ceiling, the views of the lake, and the gleaming counters and appliances, the room belonged in a magazine.
Adeline took milk from the refrigerator and poured it into a small metal pitcher. While she steamed it, Lina unpacked the second item from the grocery bag, set it on the counter, then opened the coffee syrup.
Gannon ambled in wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. At best, he’d finger-combed his hair.
Lina dropped her gaze and froze. What if Adeline hadn’t warned him she’d invited company?
“Consider yourself lucky.” The laughter in his voice told Lina to relax. She looked up as he motioned toward his wife with his mug. “Instead of winging it, she actually looked up directions and practiced.”
“The guy in the video said I had no chance of doing it right the first time.” Adeline seemed to test the temperature of the milk by tapping the outside of the froth cup. “According to the recipe and the instructions, those”—she tipped her head toward two shots of espresso waiting on the machine—“should be pretty good, but we’ll see.”
Gannon picked up the box of tea Lina brought. “Lemon cake, huh?”
Winning him over was even more important than Adeline, considering Lina’s reason for coming. “I know you’re more of a tea guy, and that’s the best there is.”
And she was betting Matt’s career on it. Poor guy.
Lord, grant me success.
“That’s quite a vote of confidence.” Gannon swirled his mug, then lifted it and drank the last of whatever he’d had in there.
Adeline glanced at Lina’s second offering. “You know you didn’t have to bring us anything.”
“I had it on hand, and I feel bad encroaching on you guys right after you got back like this.”
“Friends are never an intrusion.” Adeline shot her a smile, then grabbed a mug and began assembling the first latte.
Friends. Why did Lina have such a hard time accepting the role when they kept offering?
Gannon didn’t suffer similar reservations with accepting gifts because he plunked the lever to turn on the electric kettle, opened the box, and dropped a tea bag in his mug. “I hear you have a story to tell us.”
Now that they’d been thoroughly bribed was as good a time as any. “The fight at the wedding wasn’t Matt’s fault. My ex grabbed my arm. Matt was trying to get him to back off.”
“Who’s your ex?”
“Yeah.” Adeline slid the first latte toward Lina. “We wouldn’t have invited him if we’d known.”
“He wasn’t invited. Showed up and didn’t make it past the lobby, which I’m glad for. The last thing I wanted was my drama to intrude on your reception. If you were billed for the broken table or anything else, I want to pay for it.”
Gannon waved the offer away and poured steaming water into his mug. “The important thing is that everyone’s all right.” He eyed her, assessing.
“I think we are.” She hesitated, but they kept insisting she was a friend. With a deep breath, she took them at their word. “As long as Matt can still audition for Awestruck. I don’t want him to lose his chance because he was defending me.”
Gannon had lifted his tea, but he lowered it at her statement. “He turned us down.”
“A conversation with Philip changed his mind.” And hopefully everything Matt had come to believe about the accountability within the band and the opportunity to make a difference was all true, or this favor would end up being a death sentence. Forcing her mind back on hope, she lifted a smile. “Tim didn’t tell you?”
Smirking, Gannon checked his phone. “Not yet, but my ultimatum on not contacting me ends in about an hour. Either my phone will blow up then, or he’ll be on my doorstep.”
“With Matt, probably.” Adeline chuckled as she steamed milk for the second latte.
“Wouldn’t do any good without John, and he’s not headed over until tomorrow.”
Lina sipped her coffee and found Adeline watching for her reaction. “It’s at least as good as the ones from the coffee shop.”
With a quick laugh of triumph, Adeline assembled the second latte.
