Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
M ack’s arm tightened around Lorna. The air in the coffee shop seemed to cool ten degrees as the door closed behind Lyle, and her shoulders released a hard shudder.
The four remaining patrons were all staring at Lorna, and he turned his body to block their view as he pulled her to him. “You okay?”
Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. “He’s gonna try to take my shop.”
Mack was thinking the same thing.
Greedy bastard.
“He’s an asshole.”
“Agreed.” She pulled away, sucking in a long breath then pushing back her shoulders. She pulled a set of keys from her pocket and handed it to him. “Will you lock up after everyone leaves? I’m going to take the trash out and clear my head for a minute.”
“Yeah, you got it. Take all the time you need.”
The woman with the book offered a small wave as dumped her empty cup and plate and slipped out the door, but Judy, Dylan, and the young guy with the golden retriever, who Lorna had told him was named Nick, all came up to the counter after Lorna left.
“Is she all right?” Judy asked, worry etched on her face.
“That guy was a douche,” Nick said. “Even my dog thought so, and she likes everyone.”
“She will be,” Mack told them, appreciating their concern.
“I didn’t realize you two were dating,” Judy said, reaching out to pat his hand. “But I’m glad she has you.”
Nick nodded. “Me too. Take care of her, dude. She’s a great person.”
“I will,” he told them, and meant it with every fiber of his being.
He locked up after them and finished wiping down the tables, then started to worry that Lorna hadn’t come back. Pushing through the back door, he was surprised to see a small patio area in the alleyway behind the shop. A seating area with a wrought-iron table, an umbrella, and two matching chairs was to the left as he walked out, and a stack of wooden pallets were lined up behind the door.
But instead of sitting in one of the chairs, Lorna was crouched on the ground by the pallets holding a dog biscuit out to a small scruffy brown and black dog. The dog gingerly took the biscuit then inched back into what Mack now saw was a small crate with a gray blanket tucked into it and a water dish in front of it.
“I didn’t know you had a dog,” Mack said, crouching down next to her.
“I don’t,” she said. “She’s just a stray. I found her behind the shop a few weeks ago, but she wouldn’t let me get close enough to pet her or take her to the shelter. I’ve been setting out food and water and trying to get her to trust me, but so far, no luck.”
“She’s a cute little bugger,” Mack said, tilting his head and holding his hand out toward the dog. But the animal only pulled further back into the crate. “What’s her name?”
“I told you, she’s not mine.”
“You put a blanket in a crate and you’re feeding her on a regular basis. In dog terms, she’s yours.”
She let out a huff. “I’ve been calling her Mocha. Because I found her behind the shop, I thought she needed a coffee-inspired name, and her coloring makes me think of creamed coffee and chocolate.”
“I like it.” He stood and gestured to the door. “I locked up and finished wiping down the tables. Anything else I can do to help?”
She shook her head as she stood too. Then she let out a heavy sigh and slumped down into one of the chairs. “I don’t know how, but he’s gonna get this place from me. I can feel it in my gut.”
He pulled the other chair around and sat down so he was facing her, their knees almost touching. “He might try, but he has no legal right to it. From what I remember you telling me, your grandmother left you this place after Lyle was gone. Was it included in the divorce settlement?”
She shook her head. “No. My grandma was smart. Smarter than me. She saw through Lyle’s bullshit, and she made sure that the building would only come to me. And all the legal transfer of ownership happened after the divorce had been finalized.”
“Damn. I’m amazed you got this place up and running while you were pregnant.”
“Me too. But I wanted it so bad. And I’ve never been afraid of hard work.” A sad smile played around the edges of her lips. “My grandma used to want to have tea parties with me, and I’d always turn it around, so I was the shop owner, and she had to come and order and buy the tea from me before we could sit down and drink it. It was all with pretend money, but I’ve just always loved the idea of running a little shop that sold coffee and tea and croissants and tiny cakes.”
“And now you’re doing it.”
Her eyes got a far away look in them. “I built this place all by myself. And I’ve run it successfully for over a year now. It’s something that’s all mine. That he isn’t a part of and hasn’t tainted with insults about the shop or about how stupid I am or how I have no idea how to run a business. Sure, I’ve made some dumb mistakes, like not knowing how much milk to order when we first opened and getting the wrong kind of syrup, but I figured out how to fix them on my own and learn from them.”
“You don’t have to convince me. I’m in awe of what you’ve done here. You’ve built something that’s more than just a coffee shop, it’s a community.”
Her gaze swung back to him, and she stared at him for a moment, studying his face as if gauging the sincerity of his words, then she pushed out of her chair and landed in his lap, wrapping her hands around his head and pulling his face toward her as she pressed a hard kiss to his lips.
Surprise and shock gave way to need and passion as his arms wrapped around her back, pulling her closer as he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. She moaned against his mouth, a small kitten whimper that had him instantly rock hard, and one of his hands slid down to cup her perfectly round ass.
She shifted in his lap, pressing her center against the length of him, and his palm tightened the hold he had on her butt as his tongue slipped between her lips. She tasted like coffee and chocolate—and desire—and he couldn’t get enough of her.
One of her hands clutched his back while the other dug through his hair, gripping handfuls of it as she kissed him harder, deeper, with more intensity.
Everything else fell away. He was completely lost in her.
He wanted more, needed more. He had to touch her, feel her skin.
His hand slid under her shirt, skimming over her waist. He caught her quick inhale of breath as his fingers stretched across her lower back and pulled her closer still.
The beep-beep of a horn from a car driving by in the alley had them pulling apart and Lorna pushed off his lap as if it had suddenly caught fire. Which, there was a strong chance that it had.
She offered the car a little embarrassed wave then smoothed down her apron as she turned to go back into the coffee shop. “I’ve got to pick Max up from school.”
Ooh-kay.
Apparently, they were going to act like that hadn’t just happened. Like she didn’t just rock his frickin’ world by landing in his lap and kissing him senseless.
Adjusting himself as he stood, he tried to catch his breath as he followed her into the shop. “You want me to walk down to the school with you?”
She wasn’t wasting any time. She’d already taken off her apron and gotten her purse from the back office, and she busied herself with putting the last few things away on the counter then heading for the front door, all while seemingly trying to avoid his eye. “No, I’m good. Thank you though. I’ve taken up so much of your day already.”
He passed her the keys for the door that she’d given him earlier. “It’s been fun. I like hanging out with you.”
And kissing you .
He really liked that. But he truly enjoyed just being in her company. She made him laugh, and he felt at ease around her.
She unlocked the door, waited for them both to exit then locked it again, all still without looking at him. After dropping the keys in her purse, she finally raised her eyes to meet his, although he could swear she hesitated just for a second on his lips before she met his gaze. “Do you still want to come over for tacos tonight? I know Max is bugging you to help with the pirate ship, but I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
He stepped closer to her, sensing that like he would treat a skittish colt, he needed to move slowly, as he gently raised his hand to her shoulder. “Yes, I would love to still come over for tacos. And Max is not bugging me. Not at all. I’m looking forward to it.” He slid his hand closer so that his palm cupped her neck as he eased her chin up with his thumb and searched her eyes for answers to what was upsetting her. “You okay?”
“Yes. No.” She reached up to clutch the hand holding her neck. “I’m not sure. I told you I’m a hot mess, and I don’t want to give you mixed signals, I just…you’re being so nice to me…and I’m used to doing everything on my own…and you’ve really stepped up…and you were saying all the right things…and my god, you’re so damn hot…and oh, hell, I don’t know…”
“Hey, it’s all right,” he said softly, trying not to get hung up on the part where she thought he was so damn hot . “We’re okay. I mean, that was one hell of a kiss, and I think I’m still recovering from you knocking me a little senseless, but I’m still here. For as long as you want me to be. And for whatever you need.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, as she leaned her cheek onto his hand and closed her eyes for just a moment before pulling away from him and fussing with the strap of her purse. “I’ll see you later. For tacos. Around five?”
“I’ll be there.”
Wild horses couldn’t keep him away.