Page 18 of The Sweetest Connection

Chapter Twelve

Teagan

Silas leaned over the café table, lowering his voice. “This is creepy.”

I sipped my mocha and glanced over his shoulder. “It’s only a little creepy.”

“We’re pretending to drink coffee to spy on two twenty-year-old baristas. I think that fits the bill for creepy.” Silas’s eyes darted around as if everyone knew what we were up to or would care.

“For the record, I’m actually drinking mine.” I took another sip, enjoying his twitchy discomfort with more glee than I would ever admit. “And look on the bright side: If it’s these two, then we’ll return the note and you don’t have to play my game anymore.”

He grumbled something unintelligible and sat back in his chair.

Mara, the barista with swept-back brown hair, stepped up to the counter and set down two disposable cups. “Half-caff Americano and a caramel latte with oat milk!” Our view of the counter was momentarily obscured by the suited duo who approached to grab their drinks.

“Have either of them been in the shop?” He looked over my shoulder again, and as much as he grumbled, I was pretty sure Silas was excited about solving the mystery.

“Not that I remember, but there’s lots of times I’m not there.” I followed his gaze to where Mara was laughing with the other barista, whose name tag we couldn’t see when we ordered. “Look at them. Ah! Silas, what if we found the owner of the list? There is some serious pining happening between those two.”

He looked back at me skeptically. “How can you tell?”

“The way they’re leaning in toward each other, how the one on the left is pushing their hair behind their ear. I think this is it.”

“I kind of think you’re seeing what you want to see. That’s how James and I look when we work together.”

Her eyes met mine and she blinked slowly, lowering her long lashes. “First, I see you guys all the time and you don’t look like that. Second, are you pining for James? Because if so, I have questions. Namely, does your girlfriend know and would you like me to turn James down the next time he asks me out?”

He leaned forward again and I had to clutch my cup to stop it from toppling at his sudden movement. This was the second time in one day that I was in danger of losing my beverage because of Silas.

“James asked you out?”

“That’s what you took from that?”

He picked at his thumbnail and I absently let my gaze wander the even trim of his short beard. “But he asked you out?”

James was sweet and kind of cute, but I’d turned him down since I was going to be leaving soon. “Last week, but I asked for a rain check until I’m back in the country.”

Silas’s jaw worked and he bounced his clenched hand on the table.

“He was polite. It’s not like he catcalled me in a stairwell. Why do you look so ragey?”

“I’m not ragey,” he said, unclenching his fists, his long fingers awkwardly stretching on the table between us. “I just didn’t know he asked you out is all.”

“Well, at the time, I didn’t know you were pining for him, but I’ll proceed accordingly.”

“If I was pining for James, you’d be the first to know.” He took the first drink of his black coffee and winced. “Cold,” he muttered.

We’d been sitting there for fifteen minutes and he hadn’t touched it, so I wasn’t shocked it wasn’t piping hot anymore, but in that moment, the last customer in line moved aside and the line was blessedly empty. “We’re coming back to the James thing,” I said, finishing my drink and standing. “C’mon.”

“C’mon, what?”

“Let’s go ask them!”

He shook his head, his vehement disagreement with my plan written on his face. “No way. What are we going to say? ‘We’ve been watching how you flirt. Is one of you in love with the other?’ ”

“I’ll be smoother than that,” I said, tipping my head to the counter. “No veto, remember?”

He grumbled but stood. After all the years I’d known him, I still wasn’t used to Silas’s height or the way his long limbs unfurled like a giant’s when he stood. I wasn’t short, but he had a good eight inches on me and I loved the rare occasions when I had reason to get a hug from him and his long body wrapped around me. I always wanted it to last longer.

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