Chapter 7
Molly woke up to her blaring alarm and turned it off before staring at the ceiling.
Her eyes were heavy, but she needed to get up.
She was opening the cafe this morning. She had only been in Storyville for a few weeks, but she had the routine down.
Katie hadn’t gotten a morning off in a very long time, so Molly offered to open.
She half expected Katie to show up anyway, but hoped she would get some much-needed rest. She deserved it.
Molly pulled herself out of bed and took a quick shower before French-braiding her hair.
After putting on her makeup, she left her apartment and drove the short distance to the cafe.
The bookstore didn’t get many customers first thing in the morning.
It was primarily only people getting coffee and pastries, but the bookstore portion was open in case someone wanted to browse.
Molly hadn’t expected Eli to be there, but he was already inside when she arrived.
She walked through the door and smiled shyly at him.
She had gone into the bar last night to grab dinner.
As soon as she saw Lauren with her hand on Eli’s shoulder, a wave of jealousy washed over her.
She had no right to be jealous, but something about Lauren’s hand on him didn’t sit right with her.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she marched over there and slid right into his lap. His arms around her felt great, and she loved knocking Lauren down a peg. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision that she hadn’t realized would last for an hour while Lauren watched.
But Molly didn’t mind. Jameson and Eli had been fun to chat with. It was the first time she felt like she had a group of friends outside of Katie at work. She hadn’t gotten to know many people in town yet, but that felt like a great way to start.
“Hi,” she said. “I thought I was opening this morning.”
Eli smiled warmly at her and shrugged. “I thought I might help on your first morning, in case anyone wants to buy books.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.”
They stood in silence for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes until she broke the contact and turned toward the cafe. “That’s kind of you. Thank you.”
She stowed her purse and flipped on the different machines before restocking a few items that were low. Eli stood off to the side, watching.
“There is one thing I would like to ask of you, if you don’t mind,” he said.
Her heart flip-flopped and her mind ran wild. Was he going to bring up last night and ask her out on a date? Did he enjoy it as much as she did? She stared at him with what she pictured as a goofy smile.
“And what’s that?”
“Would you mind making me a vanilla latte?” Her smile fell, and disappointment immediately coursed through her. But she knew it shouldn’t. “I haven’t learned how to use the espresso machine yet.”
She cleared her throat. “Yeah. I can do that.”
She went through the motions of making the drink and then slid it across the counter. He smiled gratefully at her and took a sip.
“So good,” he murmured.
The door opened and a delivery person from a local bakery came in. She dropped off pastries for the morning rush and said she would be back later with the deli sandwiches. Molly thanked her and then worked at refilling their display cases. Just as she finished, a steady stream of customers came in.
Molly worked quickly to get the customers out the door as fast as she could, but she looked forward to seeing each of them. They were all regulars she had come to know, and the morning conversations with them made the time pass quickly.
Everyone had made her feel so welcome in Storyville that it made the mornings enjoyable.
Eli wandered around the store, but he always came back to see if she needed help.
The morning went by quickly without incident.
Once the bookstore got busy, Molly saw Eli less often.
Or at least further away. He was at a register across the store ringing up customers, but they both caught each other’s eye occasionally.
When the morning rush was still in full swing, Katie showed up for her shift. “Hey, how’d it go?”
“Good. Just stayed busy, but nothing I couldn’t handle.” Molly poured milk into an iced drink before glancing at Katie. “Did you actually sleep in, or were you stressed all morning?”
Katie laughed. “I actually slept. Believe me, I’m just as shocked as you. I thought for sure I’d wake up like clockwork and come in. But I must have needed that.”
“Good.”
Katie grabbed her apron and tied it around her waist. “Thank you for holding down the fort.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Katie tipped her head toward an empty table. “Why don’t you grab a pastry and take a break? I’ve got this.”
Molly smiled gratefully. “Okay.” She finished the order she was working on, and then made herself a coffee and grabbed a pastry out of the display case.
The cream cheese danish was calling her name.
It was easily one of the best things she had ever tasted.
Despite it being a small town, they had some delicious food.
She carried them over to a table in the corner and took a seat. Then she pulled out her phone.
Molly: Oh boy. Do I have a story to tell you!
She smiled to herself as she waited for a reply and took a bite out of the Danish. She closed her eyes and relished the taste.
Becca: You went to Hotty McHot’s house and did dirty things to him. Then he called you a good girl.
Molly snorted.
Molly: Close. I pretended to be his girlfriend at a bar last night and had to sit on his lap for an hour.
Becca: Close enough! Did he get hard?
Molly: Not that I could tell.
Becca: That means he has a small dick.
Molly: I like small dicks.
Becca: Bullshit.
Molly: Big ones aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.
Becca: That’s true. I’ll give you that.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Molly dropped her phone on the table, where it clattered loudly and immediately flushed. Eli stood in front of her with an amused smile on his face.
He can’t see your texts. Chill out.
“Very much.”
“May I?” He gestured at the chair opposite her.
“Of course. It’s your store.”
“Yet, I won’t force my presence on you like Lauren.”
She choked on her Danish. After forcing the bite down, she took a sip of her coffee and cleared her throat. “How’s your morning going?”
“Good. I won’t lie. It feels good to sit for a few minutes.”
“I agree. I didn’t realize how sore my feet were getting.”
“You were running around like a machine back there.” He tipped his head toward the cafe counter. “It was impressive.”
She smiled. It made her feel good to be recognized for being a hard worker. Something that didn’t happen in her corporate job in the past. “Thank you.”
He looked around them before putting his elbows on the table and leaning closer. There were people at a nearby table who were engrossed in conversation, but that was it. He lowered his voice.
“I’ve been thinking about last night, and I think it might be good for us to go on dates with each other.”
Her face immediately flamed, and her heart rate picked up speed. “Dates?”
“Yeah. You know, for show. So she’ll see us together around town and maybe get the point faster.”
She schooled her expression from the disappointment. Foolish to think he was asking her out on an actual date. “Oh, yeah. We could do that.”
“Yeah?”
She gave him the best smile she could muster and nodded.
“Awesome.” He placed his hands on his knees and pushed himself up. “I believe we already have each other’s phone numbers for work purposes.”
“I believe so.”
“I’ll shoot you a text later, and we can figure something out.”
“Sounds good.”
She watched him walk away, and a sinking sadness overwhelmed her. Knowing they couldn’t be together and not wanting to were two different things.
And she hadn’t expected the latter to be so devastating.