Chapter 7
Cole
O ver the next week, I woo Miranda like it's my job. After the first gift, she sends me a text that simply reads:
Thank you, Mr. Rose. I hope Jeremy's classmates' parents and guardians enjoy their new foot baths.
I text her back.
Just you, sexy. Everyone else got pencils.
When she doesn't respond right away, I write her again.
How did you get my number?
The three little dots start and stop for the next half hour. She doesn't know if she should continue to engage me, I realize, chuckling. Eventually, Miranda writes back one word.
Levi.
Ah, my new best friend is my new best friend.
I stop by her shop on my way to work the next day and hand her a package containing chalk markers for her drink signs. I let my fingers linger, feeling a spark between us like an electric charge. All I want to do is kiss the soft part of her neck, right down from her ear, and claim her in front of everyone at the shop. Miranda pulls her hand away quickly, her breathing picking up until I back away. Is the glint in her eye from her dirty thoughts?
"What is this?" She eyes the package warily.
I wink and head out with my coffee. Miranda watches me suspiciously along the length of the front window until she thinks I'm out of sight, but I peek around the corner to watch her open the gift. A smile lights up her face and makes me want to bring her a bouquet of chalk markers every single day...for as long as we both shall live.
Two days later, I visit the local grocery store after school gets out and pick up one of the pre-made dinner options. When I get to The Reading Grounds , Jeremy is sitting in a booth working on his homework.
"Hey, Mr. Rose." He looks up as I stop near his seat.
"Hi, Jeremy. Do you think you could run this up to your refrigerator? You can help your sister make it for dinner tonight." I looked up their address in the student directory and found out they lived above the coffee shop.
Jeremy grins. "Sure. Thanks, Mr. Rose!"
Miranda comes out of the kitchen as Jeremy runs by yelling, "Mr. Rose brought us dinner!"
I hold up my hands as she glares at me. "Just making sure my student gets nourishment tonight. It's important for brain development." I rub the back of my neck. "I also know it helps my sister to have pre-made dinners a few times a week."
Miranda's eyes soften, and tears threaten to spill out. I realize the pressure she’s under trying to raise a kid at her age. If she lets me, I’ll be in charge of dinner for the rest of our lives.
I reach for her, but she sets her jaw and steps back, busying herself cleaning the already spotless counter.
"Thank you, Mr. Rose. You are quite...thoughtful."
I simply nod and head for the door.
Before I leave, I turn and whisper, "Later, sexy."
Miranda's cheeks turn pink, and she rolls her eyes, but the smile fighting at the corners of her mouth tells me not to back off yet.
Three days after I bring dinner, I walk through the front door of the coffee shop with a pile of cleaning supplies. Miranda has been suspiciously absent the last few times I've stopped in for my morning stalking, er, coffee, but I've become good friends with Ellen. She thinks I'm a "doll" and told me she’s rooting for me with Miranda.
I noticed "wash windows" on the to-do list by the register when I picked up coffee this morning, and I can't imagine anything more I'd like to do on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
Grinning at Miranda's wary expression as I walk through the door, I give my hips a little wiggle when I walk by her with my supplies. A smile tugs at her lips despite her best efforts to keep a neutral face. When she notices my work coveralls, she chuckles and shakes her head before continuing to take an order at the register. Setting up at the window farthest away from customers, I get to work.
About twenty minutes in, Jeremy heads over with an iced tea. "Mir says you shouldn't take my job away from me, or she won't give me my allowance."
I eye him hesitantly, unsure whether I've crossed a line.
He grins and backs up with his hands in his pockets. "I'm cool, Mr. Rose. I can let you know what else she put on my list once you're done with this."
"Hey, Jer." I call him back to me. "What's her favorite ice cream?"
He looks back at Miranda, who has her eyes narrowed at us from across the shop, and leans in conspiratorially. "She has terrible taste in ice cream, Mr. Rose. Like bad. The only thing she ever orders is the green tea ice cream they sell at Antonio's Deli down the block." He makes a face like he's genuinely sorry to have to give me such disappointing information.
I laugh. "Thanks, bud."
"Hey, Mr. Rose. I'm not sure what you did 'cause she seems mad at you, but she made you iced tea, so I think she'll get over it." He grins at me. "Uh, and my favorite is cookies and cream, which they also happen to sell at Antonio's ." Jeremy throws me a quick wave and heads back to Miranda.
I hear him remind her about child labor laws while she eyes me over his head. Her dress makes her look like a 1950s rock and roll housewife, and the neckline reveals enough of her soft skin that I’m both thrilled and possessive of the view.
Wash and dry. Wash and dry. Don't think about bending Miranda over there. Or there. Or there .
I finish all the windows within an hour. After loading the supplies back into my car, I head over to Antonio's and order a pint of Green Tea and a pint of the Creamy Cookie Delight. When they find out I've never had green tea ice cream, Antonio offers me a sample spoon while they pack it up.
Yuck. She was bound to have a tragic flaw. Jeremy is going to have to learn to share his favorite flavor with me.
As I walk back into Miranda's shop with a paper bag under my arm, she eyes me with a frown. I suppress a moan. How long does it take to develop a Pavlovian response? Every time she glares at me, my dick hardens uncomfortably in my pants. This woman has ruined me for anyone else.
I sit at the counter. "Something sweet for someone sweet," I say, doing my best impression of a southern gentleman as I present her with the ice cream.
The older woman sitting at the end of the counter chuckles. I flash her a grin as Miranda peeks in the bag. Her shoulders sag. "I love this ice cream. Damn it, Cole!"
"Go ahead and take it upstairs, and I'll watch the register for you." The older woman heads behind the counter and shoos Miranda away.
Miranda hesitates, looking between me and the older woman before sighing. "I suppose you need to meet Betty if you plan to stick around, Cole."
"Oh, I will stick around, Miranda." I wiggle my eyebrows at her, pleased she seems to accept that I'm not running.
"I mean in Duhring Park, not my shop," she clarifies, turning on her heel and heading behind the curtain.
I look at Miranda's friend. "Betty, I presume?"
"What are your intentions, Cole?" Betty raises an eyebrow.
"Straight to the point, Betty. I'm in." I crack my knuckles. "Miranda is my favorite person in this entire world, and I’ll keep coming back until she decides marrying me is easier than getting rid of me."
Betty cocks her head. "Damn. I was hoping you wanted a hot fuck." She shakes her head in mock disappointment.
I choke on what I'm pretty sure is a half laugh, half scream from the shock. "Uh, well, I also want to do that."
Betty visibly brightens. "Excellent. Here's the deal, Cole. Miranda is incredibly strong, but she’s also a young woman who lost her parents at the tender age of twenty. You’ll have to be patient with her, and she has reason to be wary. She calls herself a guardian, but she became a parent eight years ago, and nobody in this town has time for anyone who wants to come into her life and fuck shit up. Nobody. If you break her heart, you’ll be a social pariah in Duhring Park for the rest of your days. Understood?"
"Understood." I look Betty directly in the eye, needing her to see my sincerity. "And, if anybody's heart gets broken, it’ll be mine. I love her, Betty."
Betty beams. "I hope so, Cole. Because the whole town is rooting for you, and I'd hate to see anything bad happen to your handsome face."