Page 30 of Head Over Wheels

He raises his eyebrows. “Everything okay? Can it wait until after we order our coffee?”

“Sure, let’s order and then we’ll talk.” I’ll take the mini reprieve where I can get it. I’m a total coward.

We head over to the counter to place our orders, and he taps his phone to pay for both of them before I can argue.

“Thanks Jeff, but you didn’t have to pay for my coffee.”

He waves my protestations off. “It’s my pleasure. I’m glad we were able to squeeze this in.”

I wonder if he’ll still think that after I tell him about Jace. Oh well, too late now. “Why don’t we grab some seats while we wait?”

He nods and leads the way to the low couches by the window. After he puts his phone face up on the table he leans back. He’s wearing a blue shirt and dark jeans and I can tell he put effort into his appearance. A pang of guilt shoots through me. I need to tell him how I feel, but he beats me to it.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” He’s sprawled out with his arm along the top of the seat.

I push a curl behind my ear, buying another minute to pull my speech together. “Jeff, I really enjoy spending time with you…”

“Oh, anything that starts with that line never ends well.” He drops his arm and laughs a little too loudly.

A nervous giggle escapes me. “It’s true though, I do. And it’s been fun getting to know each other this weekend. But I need to be honest and tell you that there’s someone else.”

“Okay. Wow. Is there anything I can do to change your mind?” His lips press into a grimace.

“No, sorry, I’m pretty sure this is the real deal. And I know it sounds cliché, but I would like to stay friends.” I make a conscious effort to stop wringing my hands.

“Who are you seeing? Is it Jace?” His upper lip curls up when he says the name.

Do I have to answer that? I’m not getting the impression that he’s really open to a friendly conversation. Before I can make a decision, the barista calls out Jeff’s name.

“I’ll grab those, you can stay here.” He gets up and strides over to the counter.

I give a silent salute to the barista for his excellent timing. Maybe Jeff will have forgotten his question by the time he gets back. It’s probably wishful thinking, but that’s the kind of girl I am. My eyes wander around the café. It’s quiet today, with just a few tables taken on the other side of the room. No one is in earshot, which is probably good since we’re having such an awkward conversation. Jeff’s phone is still on the table, and it lights up and buzzes with a notification. I automatically glance down to see what it says.

It’s a notification from Elevate, and the username on the screen is @greasemywheels.

My heart immediately jumps into my throat. Oh my gosh. It’s him. Jeff is @greasemywheels. He’s the person who was stalking me. Craning my head, I look to see where he is. Can I escape quickly without him seeing me leave? He’s on his way back to the table with our coffees. I school my features as well as I can because the worst thing I can do right now is let him know that I know who he really is.

He sits down across from me and slides my latte over. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Jeff squints and leans closer. “Are you okay? You seem kind of pale.”

Ella, get yourself together. I cannot let on that anything has changed. If he takes one look at his phone the jig will be up. He’ll be able to tell from just looking at me that I saw the notification.

“Yeah, I just really need that coffee, I guess.” I grimace at him.

He taps his index finger against his cup. “The barista interrupted us earlier.”

Is it just because I know who he is now that everything he says seems to have a sinister bent? I am having trouble even meeting his eyes. I’m afraid he can see right through me. “Yep, I guess he did.”

“Are you going to tell me?” He arches his eyebrow with a hint of a smirk.

Tell him? What am I supposed to be telling him? I’m racing through my memories trying to figure out what he’s waiting for. My mind is blank now. It’s like everything that came before I found out his Elevate name is a blur. “I’m sorry, I think I got distracted by my latte. What did you want to know?”

“Are you involved with Jace Altman? That’s who my money’s on from the way he’s been looking at you all weekend.” The corners of his mouth turn down.

A frisson runs through me, I’m afraid he may be getting angry and that continuing this particular line of conversation is going to make it worse. How will he react if he does find out it’s Jace? Now that I know he’s been stalking me, I wish I hadn’t said anything earlier. Has he been following me this whole time, since June? Am I the only reason he even came on this retreat? I take a few yoga breaths to steady myself.

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