Page 28 of Sweet Christmas Wish
“And now I’mvolunteeringtohelpa friend,” he corrected her.
“Right, sorry,” she said, giving him a half-smile. Her curiosity about his life impelled her to ask. “So, is your life what you pictured it would be?”
Will stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Not really, if I’m being honest. I mean, I like my job, don’t get me wrong, it’s just… sometimes I want more than just staring at figures on spreadsheets all day. I help other businesses manage their accounts, and sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d gathered my courage and started my own business the way I’d always dreamed.”
Sarah was about to ask him another question, when Will sniffed the air.
“Are you baking something?”
Sarah gasped. “The cookies!”
She raced back into the kitchen and grabbed an oven mitt, yanking open the oven doors so that she could pull the trays of cookies out. Tossing the oven mitt aside, she bent down to examine the cookies, which were ever so slightly browned on their edges.
“Will they be all right?” Will asked, having followed her into the kitchen.
“A bit crispy, but definitely still usable,” she replied, sighing with relief. She looked up at him, grinning a little. “Good save.”
Will nodded, turning to go back out to the front room of the shop. As she transferred the cookies to a cooling rack, she could hear him puttering around with the machine, getting it prepped and ready for the day. As she worked, she began to wonder if having Will help out was really a good idea. Sure, she needed his help to make the drinks, at least for now, but having him around was also a distraction. If she kept getting so lost in their conversations—or in his crystal blue eyes, for that matter—it could have destructive consequences for her baking and her shop.
Pull it together, Sarah Langston,she reprimanded herself, her inner voice stern.
After all, being a flustered mess was not an attractive look on a woman, and certainly not on one who was supposed to be a successful business owner. Especially not in front of a man as organized and capable as Will. He may have only come to Snowy Pine Ridge to see Michelle, but Sarah still had her pride, and she wasn’t about to let herself constantly show up as less than her best.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the swinging kitchen door and walked into the shop, determined to face the day with her game face on.
* * *
“What do you think?” Will asked, watching a customer take their first sip of the caramel macchiato they’d ordered.
The customer, a middle-aged woman with a little girl in tow, took a careful sip and then her eyes lit up. “It’s delicious!”
“Wonderful. We’re so glad you like it,” Will replied.
“Instant coffee at home just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Sarah, you can bet on seeing me around here even more than you already do.”
“I’m glad. I’ll take any excuse to see you more often, Amanda. And you too, Ruth,” Sarah said, including Amanda’s daughter. “How about a mini cupcake, on the house?” Sarah looked back up at Amanda. “Is that okay?”
“Absolutely! Ruthie, what do you say?”
“Thank you, Miss Sarah,” Ruth chirped, clapping her little hands together. “Can I have one with sprinkles on top?”
“As if I would give you anything else,” Sarah said, pretending to be affronted, as she put a mini cupcake on a napkin and handed it to Ruth. “A princessalwaysgets sprinkles on her cupcakes.”
Beaming, the little girl took a big bite of the cupcake, leaving frosting on her upper lip.
“Come on, let's find a seat before you get crumbs all over the floor,” Amanda said, leading her daughter over to a booth. “Thanks again, you two,” she called over her shoulder.
As she walked away, Will and Sarah shared an excited, almost conspiratorial smile.
“It’s working!” Sarah whispered. “People are loving these drinks!”
Will smiled back. “See,” he whispered. “I told you! Plus, in no time at all, you’ll be making these drinks yourself like it’s the easiest thing in the world.”
“I don’t know about that,” Sarah began, but didn’t get to finish her sentence as another customer walked up to the counter and she turned to take their order.
Will watched her work, her face slightly flushed with excitement from the flurried busyness of the day. All in all, things had been quite the success, and it was only noon. The drinks had been selling wonderfully, and Will could see that Sarah was over the moon about it. As for himself, he was loving the chance to serve as a barista again, mixing up the different drink orders and enjoying the familiar rhythms of it. He had worried a bit that morning that he might have forgotten how to do it all, but it had proven to be just like riding a bike. Even more than his own pleasure at working as a barista again, it had been a treat for him to observe the way Sarah interacted with her customers. It was clear that she had a loyal base of customers and she clearly had their hearts. Not that it could be possible for anyone to dislike Sarah, in his opinion.
A few times since he’d come to Snowy Pine Ridge, he’d gotten the sense that Sarah was a bit discontented with where she was in her life, hard as she tried to hide it, but he could tell that her love for the town and for her customers was genuine.
