Chapter Three
Henry
I really wanted the coffee to be bad. I wanted to hate every single sip, just to make up for being so savagely put down.
Unfortunately, it was the best fucking cup of coffee I’d had in years and that made everything worse.
Kane and Tamsin had taken the piss out of me all afternoon over what happened, and even Gemma had teasingly asked what I’d expected. Cas hadn’t said anything but I’d seen the look of amusement on his face when they’d been talking about it.
I knew the line hadn’t been my best, but I’d been completely overwhelmed by how gorgeous the guy was.
He’d looked like a rock star with artfully styled dirty-blond hair that reminded me of the pop punk and emo bands I’d been obsessed with as a teenager.
His eyes had been lined but not super heavily, and I was sure they’d been grey. They’d been striking, at any rate.
He’d also had intricate tattoo sleeves flowing out from underneath the sleeves of the tight black T-shirt he’d been wearing. And fuck me, did I have a weakness for nice ink.
He’d been the most enchanting man I’d seen in a long time. And I hadn’t even gotten his name because he hadn’t been wearing a fucking name badge.
I’d have to go back again, if only to find out that vital piece of missing information.
I’d only ever been turned down once in my life before, and that was by a friend of my brother at an after-party in LA, who apparently hadn’t realised he was head over heels in love with the man who’d become his partner.
I couldn’t really begrudge Izzy that because he and Edward were perfect together. I wondered if he’d be pleased to know he was now one of two people who’d said no, or if he’d be annoyed someone was sharing his crown.
Actually, he’d probably find the whole thing highly amusing. As would Jason.
I could practically hear my brother’s voice in my head, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to ring him and complain about it all.
I didn’t want to use the whole “doesn’t he know who I am” thing but seriously, who the hell turned down me?
“Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about the guy at the coffee shop?
” Kane asked, jolting me from my sulking.
We were getting settled at the cottage we’d been assigned to for the next few months, having finished on set for the day.
It was cute and cosy with classical country cottage vibes, but I’d barely registered more than that because my brain was still stuck elsewhere.
“Definitely not,” I said, holding up the pages I had in my hand.
I’d sat myself on one of the heavy wooden chairs around the small dining table that was wedged against one wall under the pretence of working, but I hadn’t done anything except gaze out the nearest window while clutching tomorrow’s call sheet and my latest line changes.
“I’m looking over the scenes for tomorrow. ”
“Yeah, sure you are. That’s why you’ve been staring into space for the past twenty minutes and muttering to yourself.”
“I’m rehearsing.”
Kane raised an eyebrow. “What’re you starting with tomorrow?”
“Er… the garden scene?”
“No, that’s Friday afternoon.”
“Fuck!” I looked down at the top page, which was the call sheet, and actually read it for the first time. “Oh, the library. We’re starting in the library.”
“There we go,” he said.
“Don’t show off. It’s not cute.”
“Don’t get mad at me just because you got absolutely roasted by coffee guy earlier.”
“I wouldn’t say roasted,” I said indignantly.
“I would,” said Cas, who was sitting in a plush floral armchair on the opposite side of the room reading something on his iPad.
“Yes, thank you,” I said, turning to glare at him. “Nobody asked you.”
“I didn’t realise I wasn’t allowed to comment.”
“Neither of you are. I didn’t get roasted. He was just pointing out that it wasn’t my best line, which it probably wasn’t.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Kane said.
“I will,” I said. “Thank you, Mr. Pendleberry.”
Kane’s real name was Kanan Pendleberry, something he’d told me when we’d gone out for dinner after our chemistry read.
The record label who’d picked him up and made him a teenage boy band success had quickly decided his name wouldn’t sell, so without any input from Kane, he’d been quickly renamed.
Apparently Jude Kane was a marketable name, and with his fake ID and focus group-approved personality, he’d been launched into teen stardom.
And while Kane had said he was grateful for his pop star career, he’d come to loathe being Jude Kane. So now everyone who knew him called him Kane, which he considered an acceptable compromise.
The only person I’d met who called him Kanan was his boyfriend, Austin.
Kane laughed as I looked back at my papers. “You’re very welcome, Mr. Lu. And if you’d like someone to be witness to your next roasting, I’ll gladly come and get coffee with you tomorrow morning.”
“Who said I’m going back?”
“You did,” Cas said and I pretended not to hear him. Unfortunately, he continued. “You’ve been muttering about it non-stop all afternoon.”
“I have not,” I said.
But even I didn’t believe that.
Bright and early the next morning, Cas, Kane, and I found ourselves walking into Novel Tea to find some decent coffee before we had to head to hair and makeup. Luckily, Gemma and Tamsin were first on the bill this morning, which gave us a tiny bit of extra time.
I’d told myself I wasn’t that fussed about going back and that the beautiful, snarky coffee shop man hadn’t gotten under my skin as much as he had. But I’d given in when I’d found myself lying in bed looking up Novel Tea’s opening times and scrolling back through their Instagram feed.
It turned out the man’s name was Alex.
I’d lain in bed turning it over on my tongue like a prayer.
It suited him.
The bell above the door jingled as I pushed it open.
It was still early enough that there weren’t many people around and there was only one other person in the coffee shop—a handsome silver fox sitting in a corner behind a laptop.
He was sipping a coffee and had a croissant on a plate next to a well-thumbed notebook.
The shop had a warm, cosy feel to it, and if I hadn’t needed to get back to set, I’d have been tempted to grab one of the plush-looking armchairs in the far corner, take a book from the floor-to-ceiling shelves that spanned one wall, and hole up for the morning with coffee and cake.
Alex was stood behind the counter again, this time talking to a tall muscular man whose blond hair was pulled back into a loose bun. There was a similarity to some of their features and I wondered if they were related. They both turned as the bell rang, and the taller of the two beamed at us.
“Welcome to Novel Tea,” he said. “Alex’ll be with you in just a second.” He glanced back at the other man and I could’ve sworn he winked. “I’m going to make a caramel cake.”
“We don’t need another— Spencer!” Alex looked like he wanted to curse or throttle the other man but then seemed to remember he had customers to serve. “Back again,” he said with a cool look that sent a shiver across my skin. “Got better lines today?”
“Hello to you too,” I said, giving him my very best smile. The one that never failed to charm people. “I’ll admit I wasn’t at my best yesterday. I’d had a long drive and I was rather distracted.”
“At least you admitted it.” His lips curled into a half smile and it made my stomach flip. “What can I get for you today?”
“I’d ask for your name, but I’ve already been given that.” Alex rolled his eyes but his lip twitched, so I’d take that as a win. “So can I just have another large latte to go, please?”
“Sure, did you want an extra shot again?”
I was surprised he’d remembered but it had only been yesterday. “That would be great, thanks.”
“What about you guys? Are you all together again?” Alex asked as he looked at Kane and Cas, who were trying to act inconspicuous.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll get these.”
Cas ordered another large black coffee and Kane asked for an Americano and a croissant, pointing out that the food on set wasn’t likely to be much better than yesterday.
I had to agree. “Can I have a croissant too, please? In fact, do you think you can put four or five in a box? I think if I go back with better food just for me, Tamsin will never forgive me.”
“I can do that,” Alex said with a nod as he pulled out some takeaway cups. “Just let me see if we’ve got any boxes in the kitchen.”
“We do,” Spencer called. “I’ll fold a couple up.”
“I thought you were making cake?” Alex asked, obviously annoyed at Spencer’s eavesdropping.
“I am.”
“I don’t hear the bloody mixer.”
“I’m just measuring everything. And now I’m folding boxes.” He appeared in the kitchen door with two brown boxes in hand and turned to us. “Is the food at the castle really that bad? I’d heard it was pretty good. I mean, they cater weddings.”
“The castle?” Kane asked.
“Oh, yeah, you’re not local. It’s what we all call Hareford House since it looks like a castle and all.”
Kane nodded. “The food isn’t bad. I mean the lunch yesterday was alright, as was dinner. The coffee wasn’t great, though, and I’m pretty sure their pastries aren’t freshly made.”
Spencer puffed up proudly. “Thanks. The croissants are a bit of a pain to make, but they’re worth it.” He grinned at Alex. “Told you we should’ve asked the castle if they wanted us to do their coffee.”
“It’s not like we roast it,” Alex said as he snapped lids onto the now full takeaway cups. “Anyone can make decent coffee if they get good beans and actually put some effort in.”
“Well, I appreciate your efforts,” I said. “It’s made my morning a hell of a lot better.”
“It’s just coffee,” he said.
“Good coffee. And that’s what counts.” I wanted to say something about the fact that he’d made it being part of the reason, but I had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn’t be well received. If I was going to charm Alex, I was going to have to be calm and reserved. “What do I owe you?”
Alex rang everything up and packed the croissants neatly in the box while I pulled my wallet out and tapped my card on the reader. He sealed the box with a little Novel Tea sticker, which had a funky, classic tattoo styling to the design.
“Will you be here again tomorrow?” I asked as I picked up my coffee.
“I usually am,” he said dryly.
“He’s here virtually every day,” Spencer said. “But he doesn’t open on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays, except for yesterday because we were short a pair of hands.”
“Spencer, I swear to all that is holy,” Alex hissed.
“What? Henry was just asking,” Spencer said with a shrug and a smile. “Sorry, you are Henry Lu, right?”
“Yes, I am. And this is Jude Kane and my assistant, Cas.”
“Awesome! I thought you were. Forgive my brother, he can be kind of an arse sometimes.”
“Spencer. Stop talking,” Alex said, looking like he was two seconds away from strangling him. It reminded me of the looks Jason sometimes gave me and I wondered if Alex was the older or younger of the two. I was going with younger.
“What? You can be.”
“You don’t say that to people,” Alex said.
“I think Henry already guessed given what you said yesterday.”
I chuckled. “That was kind of my fault. I didn’t exactly present myself in the most winning manner.”
“That’s a very long way of saying you tried to use one of the worst lines I’ve ever heard,” Alex said.
His eyes met mine and I saw a fiery spark of amusement burning brightly within them.
My stomach flipped again and my mouth suddenly felt dry, like I’d walked for miles in the desert under the baking midday sun.
“I wouldn’t have said it was that bad.”
“I would.”
“Can I try again then?” I asked.
“No.” He handed me the box of croissants and smirked. “Have a nice day.”