Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Cooper
I woke up before my alarm, adrenaline already coursing through my veins.
Valentine’s Day. The culmination of weeks of planning, the event that would either put The Coffee Cove firmly back on the map as Seacliff Cove’s premier coffee shop or prove that Shaw had won.
I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. My mind ran through checklists, contingency plans, and potential disasters.
And it was the day I’d tell Jack I loved him and wanted to continue being his boyfriend past our deadline. Nerves twisted in my gut as I hoped desperately that he felt the same way.
Two hours later, I stood in the middle of The Coffee Cove and took one last look around before opening.
Red and pink decorations and fairy lights transformed the normally rustic space into a Valentine’s Day wonderland.
Flickering LED tea lights and red carnations graced each table.
I’d written the special Valentine’s Day drinks menu on the chalkboard, and stacks of our custom coffee sleeves sat in racks on the pickup counter.
“It looks amazing,” Jack said at my side, but his voice was dull.
I frowned. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.
He’d been like this since he arrived this morning, subdued and withdrawn, going through the motions of A Latte Love preparation with all the enthusiasm of someone attending a funeral.
There had been no kiss good morning when he walked through the door, no lingering glances across the counter, none of the gentle touches that had become second nature between us over the past few weeks.
His responses to my attempts at conversation had been monosyllabic at best, and he looked like he hadn’t slept at all—dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his usually neat hair was disheveled, like he’d been clutching at it.
“Jack,” I said finally, unable to ignore the knot of worry in my stomach any longer. “Are you okay? You seem…off today.”
He didn’t even look at me. “I’m fine,” he said, his voice flat and emotionless.
“Let’s just do this.” The words hit me like a slap, cold and dismissive in a way that was so unlike the Jack I knew.
Whatever was wrong, it was bigger than pre-event nerves or lack of sleep.
The man standing beside me felt like a stranger wearing Jack’s face, and I had no idea what had happened to change everything between yesterday and today.
But I had to put my concerns aside for now. It was time to open.
I checked in with Jessica. She gave me a smile and a double thumbs-up from behind the register. “Ready.”
I flipped the sign to Open, and almost immediately, the first customers arrived: a young couple holding hands, looking around with appreciative smiles.
“Welcome to A Latte Love,” I greeted them, and slipped easily into host mode.
The woman beamed. “We’ve been looking forward to this all week! Those coffee sleeves you’ve been teasing on Instagram sound so cute.”
As I prepared their drinks, Jack randomly selected a sleeve from the rack.
“We’re giving out ten different sayings today,” Jack explained to the delighted couple.
“Can we request specific ones?” the woman asked eagerly.
Jack grinned, coming alive as he interacted with them. “That would ruin the surprise. But feel free to come back and try your luck again.”
By eight-thirty, a steady stream of customers filled the shop, some with coupons in hand. By nine, there was a line out the door. Marco had arrived to help, but even with the four of us, we were constantly in motion.
Jack settled into a rhythm at the pickup counter, adding sleeves to cups with the efficiency of someone who’d been doing it for years, not someone who’d stepped in as a favor to a friend.
Now and then throughout the morning rush, my gaze would find Jack’s, searching for some hint of what was troubling him.
But every time our eyes met, his would immediately slide away, as if he couldn’t bear to hold the connection for more than a heartbeat.
The distraught expression on his face made my chest tighten with worry.
Something was very wrong, and every instinct I had was screaming I needed to get him alone and find out what.
But customers kept streaming through the door, orders kept coming, and the Valentine’s Day rush showed no signs of slowing down, leaving me trapped behind the espresso machine while Jack suffered in silence just a few feet away.
The bell chimed, drawing my thoughts away from Jack. Isabelle swept in with the seniors group from the community center. Jack immediately moved to help them find seating. He pulled tables together and charmed the older women with an ease that made several of them blush.
“Cooper!” Isabelle called and made her way to the counter. “This is even better than I imagined. The whole town is talking about it.”
Pride swelled in my chest. “We’ve had a great turnout so far.”
“And those coffee sleeves are brilliant. People are collecting them like trading cards. Kathy Johnson already has six different ones and is trying to convince her husband to come back later for more coffee just to complete her collection.”
I laughed. “Tell her we’ll be doing this all day. She’s got plenty of time to collect all ten.”
Isabelle’s eyes sparkled. “The sayings are so clever. Having Jack in your life sparked your creative side. You two are good for each other.”
The comment shouldn’t have affected me—I’d heard similar sentiments all week. But something about it resonated differently today as I watched Jack hold a chair for Mrs. Abernathy. He was good for me. That much was undeniable.
Was I good for him? Perhaps Jack was seeing that being with me meant being a target, meant dealing with problems that weren’t his to solve.
Was he rethinking our entire relationship, wanting to end our boyfriend bargain and retreat to the safety of friendship?
Or, worse, was he so tired of the complications I brought into his life that he wanted to end our friendship altogether?
The thought made me physically heartsick, a nauseating ache spreading through my gut as I imagined losing not just my boyfriend but my best friend—the person who knew me better than anyone, who’d been the smooth blend to my bitter brew through every crisis.
The question lingered as the morning progressed into the afternoon. Jack never flagged, never complained, and just kept working with a dedication that matched my own. Whenever customers complimented the event, he immediately directed the praise to me, despite how integral he’d been to its creation.
Around one o’clock, as I was restocking the coffee sleeves, the door chimed again. I looked up out of habit. Ryan had just walked in. Lily bounced excitedly beside him. But, unexpectedly, my mother trailed behind with a tight smile. I froze.
“Uncle Cooper!” Lily called and darted through the crowd toward me.
I scooped her up automatically, my eyes still on my mother. I hadn’t seen her since our confrontation two days before. That she was here on our busiest day yet sent a jolt of anxiety through me.
“Look at all the hearts!” Lily exclaimed, oblivious to my tension. “Is Uncle Jack here too?”
“He’s over there helping customers.” I pointed to where Jack explained the Valentine’s specials to a couple of tourists.
Ryan approached, an apology in the depths of his eyes and on his drawn forehead. “Mom insisted on seeing what all the fuss was about. The event is all over the local Facebook groups.”
“It’s fine,” I said, though we both knew it wasn’t. “Nice to see you, Mom.”
She nodded stiffly, and her critical gaze swept the packed shop. “It’s certainly busy.”
“Cooper!” Jack called and weaved through the crowd toward us. “We need more of the…” When he spotted my mother, his expression shifted instantly to cool politeness. “Mrs. McKay.”
“Jack,” she said, her tone equally reserved.
Lily squirmed in my arms and reached for Jack. “Uncle Jack! Do I get a special coffee cup, too?”
Jack’s demeanor gentled immediately for Lily. “Yep. How about hot chocolate with extra whipped cream because it’s Valentine’s Day?”
“Yes, please!” She wrapped her arms around his neck, and something in my mother’s expression changed as she watched them. A softening.
“I’ll get that started for her,” I told Jack. “Can you show Ryan and Mom to that open table by the window? I’ll bring their drinks over.”
Jack nodded, his posture relaxing slightly as he guided my family through the crowd. Lily chattered excitedly in his arms.
I prepared Lily’s hot chocolate with extra care, added a mountain of whipped cream and a squirt of chocolate syrup in the shape of a heart. When I brought it to their table, along with Valentine’s Day lattes for the adults, my mother was watching Jack explain the coffee sleeve designs to Lily.
“And people are collecting them?” my mother asked as I handed her a cup.
“They’ve been more popular than we expected,” I said. “Some customers have come back multiple times, trying to collect all ten designs.”
My mother looked between us, then around at the bustling shop. “It seems you’ve built quite a business here, Cooper.”
It wasn’t exactly praise, but coming from her, it was close. I felt Jack move closer to me, a silent show of support.
“I’ve tried to.” I shrugged. “It’s taken time, but days like today make it worth it.”
“Speaking of which.” Jack glanced at the line forming at the counter. “I should get back to helping. Nice seeing you, Lily. Ryan.” He nodded curtly to my mother. “Mrs. McKay.”
“He’s very devoted to you,” Mom said after Jack had gone.
Ryan shot me a look that said he was as surprised as I was by her tone, which wasn’t exactly warm but lacked its usual judgment.
“We look out for each other.” At least we had. I watched Jack seamlessly step in to help Jessica with a big order. “I couldn’t have done this without him.”
My mother sipped her coffee. Surprise flitted across her face. “This is actually quite good.”