Seven
R efilling the display case took a half hour. Thirty minutes of not thinking about Scott and how he would be leaving soon. Whether soon meant two days or three didn’t matter. The chime on the front door rang out and Lauren closed her eyes and counted to ten. She knew who came in without even looking.
By the time Lauren came out of the kitchen with the last tray full of desserts to add to the case, Olivia had pulled a chair over and was sitting at the table with Scott, Jake, and Elizabeth. Except she wasn’t fawning all over Scott, she was staring at him with her patented narrow-eyed gaze that caused most men to buckle and give in to whatever she wanted.
“If you’re going to sit with us, you can help me grade papers.”
“I need to look up grants.” Olivia didn’t drop her stare from Scott.
Lauren thought she was over Scott.
She told herself she over him.
Except all the butterflies in her stomach and the urges to giggle let her know that nothing had changed since high school.
Well, one thing had changed. Olivia wasn’t hanging off Scott and Scott wasn’t staring at Olivia. Scott was staring at Lauren.
Before she made a bigger fool of herself, she hurried into the safe harbor of her kitchen.
When she came back out to the front of the shop, Jake caught her attention and shared a look with her.
Of all her friends, he’d get it.
Maybe she wouldn’t make him watch a marathon of weepy chick flicks when Scott drove out of town.
After she cleaned up everything that didn’t need cleaning up, she returned to the counter and did her best to look busy.
Why was Scott grinning at her like that? Lauren hadn’t seen that smile since high school and even then, that smile wasn’t ever for her. He reserved that smile for the girls he liked in ways more than just being the kid of his parents’ friends.
Although, to be fair, the last time she saw him was back in high school, so maybe the meaning of the smile changed, and he gave it to everyone now.
And why was she analyzing Scott’s smiles?
She refocused her attention back on the display case and the number of each type of cookie. Lauren wished cakes were more popular, if only because she had more fun making them. But from the way the cookies and loaves of bread sold, the cupcakes and cakes fell so far down the bottom of the list of things to bake, they had almost reached the first circle of Hell.
As she crouched behind the case, taking inventory and noting which cookies she’d need to make tomorrow morning, a shadow appeared over the tray of cookies she was currently counting. Thinking it might have been an actual customer, although she hadn’t heard the door ring out its chime announcing a new arrival, Lauren stood with a broad smile.
Olivia leaned against the display case and gave Lauren a calculating grin. “Can you believe Scott came home?”
“Well, yeah, I can. His dad passed away. I would have a harder time believing he wouldn’t come home.” Lauren crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you want something?”
“A whipped coffee.”
Lauren closed her eyes and counted to five before taking a deep breath in through her nose and slowing exhaling. “Are we going to go through that routine?”
“I missed it this morning. Although, it’s more fun with Melody than you.”
“For the millionth time, Olivia, we don’t serve instant coffee here. We can’t make a whipped coffee without instant coffee.”
“Well, you should.” She tossed her blond hair over her shoulder and looked down at her phone. “Latte then.”
Melody was already on it. She handed Olivia her latte in a paper cup.
“This is for here,”
“The last few times you’ve used one of our cups, we’ve had to pull out the industrial strength cleanser to clean off your lipstick. Until you come in without lipstick, you’re getting paper cups.” Melody shrugged. She must have missed their routine too.
“Lauren?” Scott leaned back in his chair and pointed at his cup of coffee.
She’d hoped that maybe she could avoid talking to him, but the request for a refill dashed that particular wish. Taking a break, Lauren walked over to the table while ignoring the fluttering butterflies growing stronger.
“Same as before?” She picked up his empty cup and turned to give him a refill before he answered, but Scott grabbed her wrist.
The heat of his hand sent a shock through her system and a trail of warmth followed along the tingles.
Nothing had changed since he left Iron Creek.
Scott Brandonson could still set off all her bells and whistles with an innocent look or a friendly touch.
She had thought maybe he’d been gone long enough for her to get over her addiction to him, but just as her hopes of avoiding him after he came into the shop had been dashed, so was her want to be over him.
“I’d like to see you before I leave. Can we get dinner or lunch, maybe?”
His voice was still the same rich tone she had remembered, but it had aged nicely. Her fantasies ventured into a realm she didn’t want to get close to but couldn’t seem to stay away from.
She was doomed.
“Sure. My number’s the same. Hasn’t changed.” She regretted the words even as she spoke them. And she didn’t bother to hide her regret either, so he saw it written all over her face. Or maybe he didn’t even notice, since he didn’t say anything. If anything, his grin shifted into the self-satisfied smirk of the cat who finally got the bird.
Lauren didn’t want to be the bird.
Not this time.
His thumb brushed over her pulse on the inside of her wrist and a charge shot through her body.
Nope. Wasn’t happening. She wasn’t going to be the bird. She told herself again, but her inner voice wasn’t too convincing.
Lauren stared at his face. Cataloging the shape and bright blue of his eyes, the fullness of his lips, the way a small dimple appeared when his grin turned into a smile.
Reality couldn’t compete with her memories.
Scott still had all his boyish charm that he used to get out of trouble when caught, but like his voice, the charm had matured. The boy who’d left town all those years ago had been replaced by a man.
She pulled her hand away, but he didn’t release her. Instead, he let his fingers brush over her palm and trail along her fingers, tickling her. Lauren was sure he didn’t mean anything by it. He never did. All the touches and looks never crossed over the line of demarcation that separated friendship from something more.
The counter didn’t need cleaning for the third time, but Lauren couldn’t hear the conversation at the table if she was in the kitchen. And she wasn’t going to resort to asking Melody or Jake what Scott said. Her friends would want to know the reason for Lauren’s curiosity and Lauren wasn’t ready to answer those questions. Not even to herself.
“Where are you staying?” Jake asked.
“The Lakes.”
“Not your dad’s?”
“Nope.” Scott popped the ‘p’ with the finality of a man who couldn’t be swayed from his decision.
“Are you going to give the eulogy?”
“I’m leaving on Sunday.”
“Wait. You aren’t even staying for the funeral?” Jake asked.
“I haven’t seen him in fifteen years, and our last phone conversation wasn’t the greatest. I think that was maybe ten years ago, and we haven’t, well hadn’t talked since.”
“Seriously? You finally come back after all this time and you’re leaving in two days?”
He wasn’t staying.
Not that she thought his appearance meant Scott would move back to Iron Creek for good, but he wasn’t even sticking around long enough to go to the funeral.
He wasn’t staying.
Lauren tossed the rag she’d been using into the plastic bin behind the counter and returned to the sanctuary of the kitchen.
Recipes needed to be scanned, and she had to decide what cookies to make tomorrow.