Page 70 of Mistletoe Latte

Her cheeks lit up red, and he ached to see the same across her buttocks. “I don’t know how.”

He pressed his lips to her ear, darting the tip of his tongue against her lobe as he whispered, “Yes you do.”

“The oven’s making a weird noise and…”

Nick walked away and flipped off the espresso machine. Emma tried to pick up the chalk in her fingers. Both looked completely guilty as Skylar stared at them.

“Weird noise, yes, that’s… I mean, I assume it’s normal. I’ll go check. Maybe I could whip up a mistletoe donut for the occasion.” She said that to Nick, but it was Skylar who perked up.

“Ooh, can I have one?”

“Do you have five bucks?” Nick interrupted.

“Don’t listen to him. Of course, you can have one. There’s always a few that don’t make it to the tray,” Emma whispered to Skylar as if he didn’t overhear. The two, thick as thieves, slipped into the back room.

A soft twinkle of Jingle Bells filled the air and Nick breathed in the crisp cut of snow. Not even a week ago, he’d been tempted to abandon this place and go back to building tractors. Now, he’d never known such serenity. Emma was the piece he didn’t realize was missing.

Nick stared at the gin syrup he’d mixed up himself for the latte. “I wish this thing actually worked.” If all it took was one sip of his brew to keep her in his life, he might start believing in fairy tales and Santa Claus.

The bell jangled, surprising him. Nearly no one stopped by until after five. Shaking like a wet dog, a woolly coat shivered the snow onto the black mat, then a head raised up.

“So ya didn’t die after all,” Sam said. “Did you know this place wasn’t open yesterday? Do you know what yesterday was?”

“Morning, Sam. Usual?”

“It was Sunday! That’s crossword day, which means my old lady is spitting hot tacks over the damn thing. Where am I supposed to go, Nick, if your place is closed?”

He started up the pot of black coffee. “How about the library?”

Sam shooed away that suggestion. “They chase me out the second I turn on my scanner. Hey, is that right? You got the mistletoe latte back?”

“Sure do.”

“Are you Nick’s evil twin?” After a second’s pause, Sam asked, “The nice twin?”

“I’m the exasperated cafe owner about to toss you back out into the cold.”

“So you weren’t replaced by lizard people. Good. I’ll try that thing then. And put me down for three donuts.”

It came back to him like a musician picking up their instrument after decades of abandonment. After the gin syrup, walnut and pecan flavoring, he added a dash of peppermint, then the milk. Instead of shoving it over, Nick took his time, pouring off a sprig of holly design and dotting three berries in the milk. Pride swelled in him as he passed it to Sam.

The old man raised it to his lips. He looked up at Nick who couldn’t stop hovering, shrugged, and drank. “Not bad. Prefer my usual, mind. But not bad.”

The bell jangled again, people taking care to wipe their feet as they gazed around the warm and bright cafe.

“Come on in. This crazy bastard’s brought the mistletoe whatever back,” Sam shouted before he took such a long sip the foam left a milk mustache on top of his salt and pepper one.

“Really?”

“You can tell whoever that Miss B lady is that Brew 4 U is serving mistletoe lattes.”

The exhausted people gave a minor cheer but it was enough to invigorate Nick. He reached for the mugs and the beans, before remembering most were still in the grinder. “Give me a second,” he said, walking to the back room. “Sam, watch the counter.”

“Aye aye, captain. So, any of you hear about the next snow storm?”

Nick wanted to whistle and almost did as he approached the storage room. He pushed on the door, and Emma’s voice struck him.

Instead of sounding delighted, it was hushed and sharp. “When’s the interview?”

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