Page 26 of Sweet Christmas Wish
“Don’t you need to get back to your store?” he asked, rolling his eyes at his friend and mouthing,You’re dead.
The other man raised his hands in surrender. “Oof, I can’t take the heat in this kitchen with you two kiddos, so time for me to get out.”
Will groaned aloud at that terribly lame line. “Seriously, man, what happened to you?”
Clark grinned, unrepentant, and began whistling “That’s Amore” as he waved at Sarah and headed out of the shop. Will turned to Sarah, feeling embarrassed and apologetic.
“Sorry about that.”
Sarah waved that away. “He’s probably just bored and that’s why he’s trying to play matchmaker. I should’ve told him that’smyjob in this town. Speaking of, he can’t talk until he finds a girlfriend.” She grew thoughtful. “I wonder who I should set him up with…”
Will groaned. “You’re just as bad as he is.”
“Guilty.” Sarah grinned cheerfully, but her expression sobered as she looked back at the machine. “Okay, what do we need to do to get started here?”
“First, let me show you the other supplies I brought,” he said, pulling out the box he’d brought over earlier.
“Oh, right, let me get you some money for that.”
Before Sarah could hurry to her office, Will reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her. She instantly froze and he dropped his hand quickly, feeling as though his hand was burning from the brief contact with hers. Swallowing, he forced himself to speak evenly, afraid his voice might betray how much that brief touch had shaken him.
“Please, don’t. After all the years we’ve known each other, please just consider it a gift.”
“Well…” Sarah frowned. “That’s very kind of you, but I couldn’t possibly. This is business.”
“Sarah.” Will gave her a level look, standing his ground. He could tell how hard it was for her to accept help of any kind, but the cost of the supplies was piddly, and it was the least he could do to help.
She held up her hands, giving him a grateful smile. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s nothing, seriously.” He pulled out a couple of bags of coffee beans, a carton of oat milk, heavy cream, and a few syrups for flavoring. “Let’s talk about coffee beans first. It’s good to have a couple of different roasts and blends on hand because they end up with such different flavor profiles.”
With that, he was off, describing the intricacies of coffee flavoring, how to pick the best roasts, and the merits of buying the bean whole or already ground. As he talked, he began hooking up the espresso machine and smoothly moved the lesson into the details of the machine—how it worked, how to take it apart to clean it, where the beans went, and more. To make the process easier to understand, Will made a few cups of coffee from start to finish, to show her the steps so that she could do it herself.
“What do you think?”
Sarah took a sip of the coffee he had handed her and her eyebrows rose. “It’s delicious!”
“See, I told you using the best ingredients made a difference.”
“And here I’ve been using instant for years.”
“Never again, am I right?”
To his surprise, Sarah’s expression sobered. “Well, I may have to keep using instant coffee. I’m not sure I’m ever going to get the hang of using this machine. I’ve watched you make two cups of coffee and I still feel completely lost. If you asked me to make one by myself right now, I’m not sure I’d be able to.” Her words started coming faster now and she began pulling at her ponytail unconsciously. “And that’s even if I was able to concentrate fully, but I’ve still got to bake all the pastries and run the front counter and keep the shop tidy and—”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Will said, cutting her off gently by putting his hands on her shoulders. “Take a couple of deep breaths for me.”
Sarah complied, inhaling slowly and then exhaling. Eventually a sort of calm returned to her face.
“Better?”
“Sort of, but I still don’t know how this is all going to work.”
Will knew that taking on this machine and serving drinks in her shop had been a big leap of faith for Sarah. Now that he’d seen her account books, he knew how tight her finances were, and he also knew that she was feeling incredibly overwhelmed by not just the new tasks but also the new financial burden she’d taken on as well. If he were in her shoes, he would be feeling the same way, and his heart went out to her for all she’d gone through by herself.
Suddenly realizing how close they were standing since his hands were still on her shoulders, he dropped them and took a miniscule step backward, feeling his breathing catch.
“I know Clark was goofing around earlier, but he wasn’t wrong—Iwillbe around to help you out, as long as you need it. I’m not going to just bring the machine in and then leave you high and dry to figure this all out on your own.” He swallowed, his voice growing softer. “I know you’ve been running things alone for a while now, but at least until you figure out how to make the coffees yourself, you won’t be alone. I’m here with you.”
