Page 16 of Heart of Stone
I sat down at the table across from him.
“I’ll go up and order our coffees,” he said. “What would you like?”
“A coffee mocha with whipped cream and an extra shot of chocolate. Oh, and see if they’ll put in a drizzle of caramel.”
He smiled. “Got it. Although it sounds more like an ice cream sundae than a coffee.”
“Trust me, if they had any ice cream behind that counter, I’d be asking for a scoop of that too.”
Stupidly, I looked around to make sure no one who knew me or Hunter was in the shop. I’d had to drive to a neighboring town to get to a pharmacy that stocked themedication my mom needed, so I was out of Stone range. I relaxed back in the chair and decided to stop being so damn paranoid. Otherwise, I’d eventually be standing in an apron next to my mom making suspicious tasting cookies.
David was tall and nice looking, not Stone brother handsome, but then few were. But this guy might have had enough more gentleman-like qualities to make up for it. Maybe it was time to move away from the Neanderthal type and onto something a little more evolved. That thought made me smile.
David returned to the table with the coffee. He pointed to my cup. “Took the liberty of having some cocoa powder sprinkled on top. Thought you might appreciate it.”
“Good call. I like your way of thinking.”
“What were you smiling about just a second ago? Looked like something amused you.”
I picked up the cup and cradled it in my hands. “Guess I was just thinking how nice it was to have a good-looking guy bring me a cup of coffee.”
“Uh, I hate to break it to you, but that thing you're holding stopped being coffee three caramel squirts ago.”
I laughed. “Guess I do sort of order coffee that a ten-year-old might like.”
He took a drink from his cup and leaned back. “Actually, it’s refreshing not having my date order a cup of hot water with a side of lemon.”
I laughed again. “So, is that what this is? A date? I thought it was an apology for taking my parking spot.”
“I think this transitioned from an apology to a date when I watched you walk into this place and thought— holy hell,when did this angel land on earth.”
I shook my head with a smile. “O.K., that line just had more sugar than this cup of coffee.”
“Too much?”
I pinched my fingers together. “Little bit. Listen, you don’t have to try so hard. My usual male companions think ‘hey, get me a fucking beer from the fridge’ is a term of endearment.” I stuck the tiny stirrer into my cup and scooped up some whipped cream. He watched with great interest as I licked it off the stirrer. Apparently, I still knew how to flirt, after all. Of course, whipped cream was always a good tool for drawing in a guy’s attention.
“So, there is a malecompanion? Actually, you said companions, didn’t you?”
I took a sip of my extra sweet drink and twisted my lips. “Wow, that almost makes my teeth hurt. My kind of coffee.” I’d avoided his question, but he seemed to be waiting for a response. It was a question that sort of hurt my head just thinking about. I’d been so damn attached to Hunter and his brothers, that it was hard not bringing them up in every conversation. “My neighbors,” I finally blurted. Sometimes in my own mind it was just easier to talk about Hunter as my neighbor rather than as the person I was more connected to than anyone else on the planet, my own mom, included. “We all grew up together.” I shrugged to assure him that they were nothing more than acquaintances. It was sort of like saying my nose was just the center point of my face, but I was going to have to stop thinking about Hunter. And dismissing him as unimportant was the first idea I’d come up with in a pinch. The last thing I’d expected on my way to getting my mom’s drugs was to meet a hot guy andhave to discuss my personal life.
“Good to hear.” David seemed genuinely relieved. Or at least I convinced myself of it. Free coffee samples dispersed, the crowd in the coffee shop dwindled to just a few people working on computers and a couple of women who looked as if they could be sisters.
I glanced out toward the parking lot. The pale green surfboard jutted up over the expensive car. I motioned toward the window with my head. “Now that you know a little bit about me.” I lifted my drink. “Like the fact that I have a monstrous sweet tooth, and I live next to guys with caveman manners, and that overdone compliments make me cringe— tell me a little about you.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Well, you can start by explaining the really weird inconsistency of a man with a wax-covered surfboard and salt-faded board shorts driving a sleek, black Jaguar. Shouldn’t you be driving a beat up jeep or something?”
“I like to head to the waves in style. I make good money, and you only live once. Besides, the Jag helps get girls.” He swirled his cup around and took a drink. “I mean would you be sitting here having coffee with me if I’d just climbed out of a run-down jeep?”
“Actually, I would. Let’s just say you sort of drove into my parking spot at just the right time. I needed this. And this.” I lifted my coffee. “Thanks, by the way.”
His phone buzzed. “Excuse me.” He took it out and checked it. I was sure a guy like him had to get a flurry of phone messages and texts from girls. Or maybe I was just so used to it with Hunter, I assumed it was the case with any guy. Ugh, Hunter again. In my head, this was turningout to be one of those lame dates where the one person spends the entire night talking about their ex. At least the conversation was only going on in my mind, otherwise this man would have walked off with his coffee long ago. And I didn’t want him to walk away. In fact, I hoped he’d ask for my number.
“Where were we?” he asked as he stuck the phone back in his pocket. “Oh, that’s right, my unusual beach bum mobile. I guess I like nice things.”
“What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”
