And now Iris was staring at this woman who was radiant, her presence so confident it quite literally had her struggling to remember how to breathe. Her caramel-colored, medium-length hair fell in wavy curls, framing her stunning face. The warmth the honey color, paired with the soft waves, added to her overall appearance was incredible. Her dark brown eyes, deep-set and captivating from behind black-framed glasses, conveyed an overwhelming amount of wisdom and kindness. Elegant, high cheekbones accentuated her features, giving her a sculpted and sophisticated look. Her sharp jawline—Jesus Christ, her jawline. The strength it added to her facial structure was stunning. And the way she moved? She wasenchanting. It was as if she’d been doing this—ensorcelling people with her magnificence—her entire life.
Say something, Iris. What the hell is going on with you?
The woman narrowed her dark eyes, then smiled a smile that could have electrified a stopped heart into beating again. “Cat got your tongue?” Her bottom lip was much fuller than her top, her teeth straight and perfect, and the way the smile—the smile!—lit up her entire face had Iris gripping the counter like a lifeline.
“Uh”—Iris cleared her throat—“uh, hi, I’m, I’m sorry. It’s early.” She forced out a nervous chuckle that fell incredibly flat. She could feel heat filling her cheeks and traveling down her neck, flooding her entire body with the temperature of the fucking sun, a telltale sign that she was embarrassed. Goddammit.You idiot, open your mouth and fucking speak.She cleared her throat again after her internal tongue-lashing and finally said, “Good morning.”
The woman was still grinning at her, and it made Iris’s stomach fill with a million more butterflies. She was in the middle of aholy shitmoment. A moment she’d talked about a thousand times to her clients. The moment when something happens huge or small, but it turns your entire world upside down. The moment when you are hit with the realization that you’ve quite possibly been asleep your entire life. The moment before it all begins. They were few and far between, those moments, but when they did happen, it was imperative to hold on to them. They were a gift, and to squander that gift would be pure stupidity. And now she was having aholy shitmoment. In the middle of the armpit of America.What the hell?
“No need to apologize. Itisearly.” The woman’s smile remained in place as she wiped the counter with a damp towel. Her eyebrows had a natural arch in them, which made Iris’s hands ache. Of all the things she loved about women, there was something about an arched eyebrow that drove her fucking wild. Her attention to this woman’s details was bordering on obsessive. Butholyshit. Holyshit. The most beautiful woman Iris had ever seen in her entire life was now looking at her with amusement, intrigue,confusion, and that awareness was making her unsteady, uneasy… uncomfortable. Graceful entrances and first impressions were her forte, but now she was like an infant who was learning how to walk and still had no idea how to speak.
“Is this your first visit to Easy Bake?” the woman asked as she slid a menu in front of Iris. The way her dark brown eyes held on to the happiness of her smile was a phenomenon that deserved to be studied by the finest scientists in the world.
“It’s my first visit toEarth, apparently,” Iris said with a laugh as she tried to regain her bearings with the only defense she possessed: her humor.
The woman laughed,thank god. “Rough night?”
“You could say that.” She took a deep breath. “Yes, it’s my first time here.”
“I thought so. I feel like I would have noticed you before.”
Iris sat up straighter and tried to seem as nonchalant as possible while also praying that she didn’t look like a potato. “I’m visiting from out of town.” She pushed the stray strands of hair falling from her messy bun behind her ears. She pulled at the neck of her sweater; suddenly the heat in the café was getting to her.
“How wonderful that Mother Nature decided to welcome you with a blizzard.” The woman pushed the rolled sleeves of her white button-down up her arms, then folded them across her chest. “She sure has impeccable timing, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, yeah, it was definitely nice of her.”
“In for the holidays, I presume?” The woman turned and grabbed a mug. “Would you like a coffee? A cappuccino? They’re my specialty.”
“Oh my god, yes, that sounds delicious.” A sense of relief began to replace the butterflies in her stomach. Maybe coffee would calm her down. Yeah, sure, because caffeine had always relaxed her in the past. She wanted to roll her eyes at herself, but doing so would mean looking away. And she just couldn’t bring herself to do that. “And yes, I’m in for the holiday.”
The woman tamped freshly ground coffee into the filter and popped it into the brewing station. She pressed a few buttons and waited as the espresso started to brew. She moved through the steps as if she’d been doing it for most of her life.
“Milk choice?”
“Can I do oat?”
“You can do whatever you’d like,” the woman said as she reached up and adjusted her glasses with the back side of her index finger.
“Yes, then, oat milk, please.” Iris was embarrassed all over again.Can I? Come on, Iris.She forced herself to look at the menu instead of watching every move the woman was making. Unfortunately, the menu was small; peering over the top of it wasn’t hard to do. And the way the light blue jeans this woman was wearing were hugging her curves should have been illegal. Iris bit down on the inside of her cheek. She had to stop staring. If for no other reason than she was going to have to go back to the house and masturbate. In Zac’s family’s bathroom. How lovely.
A new barista arrived behind the counter, wearing the same khaki-colored apron the woman was. “Hey, yo, Heidi,” she called.
Heidi. Her name is Heidi. She looks like a Heidi.
“I can take over now. Thanks for helping out,” the new barista said as she pushed the sleeves up on her white shirt and revealed a sleeve of tattoos. She was adorable, with short, bleach-blonde hair and a nose ring. “Anyone here need anything?”
Heidi finished frothing the oat milk and poured it over the freshly brewed espresso. “You can grab those new people down there. I’ll take care of this young lady here.” She glanced up and winked at Iris, whose stomach tied into a knot. Iris was long gone, and she’d only found out Heidi’s name seconds ago.Wow. I desperately need to get laid. “Here you go, miss. One cappuccino.”
A snowflake had been designed on top of the cappuccino foam. Iris grinned. “Wow, look at that. I figured only big-city baristas knew how to do that.”
“Well, I learned everything I know in Paris. Maybe that counts as a big city?”
Iris let out a small puff of air. “That definitely counts. Paris?Wow. That’s wonderful. Why are you here then?” She heard the way her question came out, and she put a hand in the air. “I am so sorry. That came out very wrong. I didn’t mean to insult—”
“Don’t. It’s fine.” Heidi motioned to her surroundings. “It’s not like I’m unaware that Vale Park, Indiana, isn’tParee.” The way she said Paris, with the accent and everything.Christ. Heidi licked her lips after she smiled and leaned against the lower counter behind the bar. She was so laid-back and comfortable. She seemed sosureof herself. “I got married, started a family there and everything, believe it or not. I loved every second of it. But we ended up back here, for, y’know, reasons, or whatever.”
“Well, that makes sense then. Probably easier to raise a family in America.” Iris’s eyes were drawn to Heidi’s neck, to the two open buttons at the top of the white shirt she was wearing. She could see all the way down to the hint of white lace lying flat against the swell of her cleavage.