8. Scarlett
scarlett
. . .
I loved my job.
I worked from the privacy of my own home and didn’t have to deal with nosy or meddling coworkers or women with a mean girl complex. Every office I had worked in before had them. The cliques. Being the way I was, I was never a part of them. But with every good comes a bad.
The one drawback of my job was that one day a month, I had to go into the medical office, turn physical copies of things in, and pick up a new stack. Usually, it was in and out. Super easy. But today, because my boss loved the way I worked and the discrepancies I found, he invited me to the quarterly meeting.
When I was finally out of there, I decided I deserved a treat, so I left my car parked at the office and walked down the main street of town. The day was nice even if a little chilly. I felt myself smiling as I looked into the shop windows. Every window was decorated for Valentine’s Day, and even though I wasn’t usually one for the holiday, I found it pretty to look at. Maybe it’s because of your secret admirer? a voice perked up. I was no longer sure it was my sisters pranking me.
I stopped in front of the flower shop, Buds and More. They had a pretty display just outside. Each bouquet was beautiful with brightly colored blooms. But it was one bouquet that called to me more than the others.
I reached for it but stopped myself. I didn’t need any frivolous purchases. And as pretty as the pink roses with succulents around them looked, I didn’t need it. What I needed was coffee.
After talking myself out of the flowers, I headed down to my favorite coffee shop, Pine and Grind. When I walked into the place, I took a deep breath to let the scent of the elixir of life fill my lungs. I smiled. I loved this place. I was lucky I was able to work from home, because I was positive if I had to work at the clinic, I would be at the coffee shop every break and lunchtime.
My eyes drifted up to the menu. There were some new drinks up there, mostly themed for Valentine’s Day. The names of the drinks made me smile, and for some reason, I was tempted to try something new rather than my usual coffee with two sugars and almond milk.
Someone bumped into me, and when I turned, awareness of a familiar chest prickled in the back of my neck. A chest I dreamt of touching. It can’t be , the little voice in my head gasped as I looked up and up to meet the beautiful pale blue, almost gray eyes I thought about daily.
“Sorry,” he apologized, and when our gaze connected, butterflies fluttered in my belly. “It’s you.” His voice was deep and rich. “Hi.” He smiled almost shyly.
“Me?”
“You’re Onyx’ sister, right?” he asked, tilting his head a little bit, his hand holding my elbow.
“What?” My brows bunched, and I couldn’t seem to string two words together. It’s him!
“I’m sorry.” His beautiful lips tipped up and his hand rose, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve seen you at the brewery. Your brother and mine––“
“Right,” I blurted. “Umm, right! You’re Austin is brother!” I wasn’t making sense. I shook my head, ignoring how embarrassed I felt. “I’m sorry, I mean Austin is your brother.”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “I’m Merritt.”
“Merritt,” I repeated, probably sounding like a breathy parrot. Merritt. The name suited him perfectly. Masculine and strong. Classic.
“And yours?”
“Scar,” I blurted and winced. “I mean Scarlett. I’m Scarlett.” I shook my head, then laugh-snorted. His deep chuckle took the sting of embarrassment away, but it was more than that. The warmth in his eyes drew me closer.
“Excuse me,” someone said behind me, and he pulled me to the side, closer to his body.
“Scarlett.” I loved the way my name sounded when he said it. “That’s a beautiful name,” he complimented. I couldn’t look away from his eyes. They drew me in, making me sway towards him.
“Oh, umm…” I felt my face heat up, and I could only imagine what I looked like. I was making a complete fool of myself. “Thank you,” I squeaked. Squeaked and snorted! I needed a big hole to suck me up! Or I needed to get out of there. “Well,“—I glanced around—“it was nice to meet you.” I was about to turn, but he cleared his throat.
“Would you like to have coffee with me?” My eyes bugged out at his invitation. Our gazes connected, “Or are you in a hurry?”
“Oh, coffee? With you?” I pressed my lips together because I needed to stop talking. Try something new, that little voice in the back of my head perked up. Give him a chance. It’s him! We’ve been thinking about him since we bumped into him!
“With me,” he confirmed as his eyes dipped to my lips. “Please?”
“How can I say no to a please?” I said without thinking, and I liked the way his eyes softened. His hand slid down my elbow and took hold of my hand.
And for some reason, I let him.
He led the way to the line, and we stood side by side, holding hands as if we weren’t strangers when that was exactly what we were. But shockingly enough, he didn’t feel like it. He felt like someone I’d known for a lifetime.
I snuck a glance at him when there were two people still in front of us only to discover his eyes were already on me. “Do you know what you’re going to order?” he asked. I licked my lips.
“I usually do a coffee with two sugars and almond milk.” God, I sound boring .
“Sounds good.” He smiled, and I couldn’t help but match him.
“But I was thinking of trying something new,” I blurted, wanting him to find me interesting. God, you’re lame! Coffee drinks are not exciting!
“Maybe something a little out of your comfort zone?” He hit it the nail right on the head. Because aren’t I already doing that? Holding a somewhat stranger’s hand and agreeing to have coffee with him? In for a dollar, in for a pound.
“What sounds good to you?” he asked, his gaze moving towards the menu board.
And for a moment, I couldn’t look away. All I could see, all I could feel, was him. The way his hand wrapped around mine. Big and warm. Safe. Why do I feel so safe with him? Observing him, unable to take my eyes off his profile, made my knees feel oddly wobbly.
“I’m not sure,” I whispered, still staring at him. His eyes dropped and connected with mine. I could have sworn we moved just that much closer each other. His thumb stroked my hand, and I licked my lips. Why do I have the sudden urge to rest my head on his shoulder like he is mine?
We stepped forward, and I tried to come up with something to say. Some small talk that would make him smile at me and not regret asking me to coffee. But no matter what, nothing came to mind before suddenly, it was our turn.
“Hi!” The barista smiled. “What can we brew for you?”
“Scar?” he called, and I blinked up to look at him. “I mean, is it okay for me to call you that, or should I stick to Scarlett?” Does he seem nervous? If he was, that was kind of endearing.
“Oh, umm… anything you want works. Hey you works, too,” I rambled, and his lips twitched. Merritt was looking at me like he thought I was cute. Probably dorky cute, but cute nonetheless.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, pointing to the menu.
“The Secret Admirer,” I blurted. It felt fitting after receiving that fruit arrangement yesterday. His eyes dropped to mine, and they flashed for a moment before I turned my attention to the barista. “I’ll have the Secret Admirer.”
“Would you like whip?”
“Yes, please.” I nodded with a tight smile, forcing myself to keep looking forward because I was afraid I’d gawk at the hot older guy next to me to the point of making him regret asking me to coffee.
Wow! When I try something new, I really go all out!