Chapter 1 #2
The sign for a coffee shop called the Roast Shack came into view, and she crossed the street.
The rich aroma of roasted coffee beans saturated her senses when she walked in.
Her eyes roved around the shop as she saw tables of customers enjoying their brew, some chatting with a friend, some pecking away at their laptops.
One wall featured a mural of the beach at sunrise, while the opposite wall featured the water at dusk.
Her fingers itched to pull her camera from her bag and snap a photo.
She could almost see the image sitting atop a story she’d write about this enchanting little town.
But if her plans worked out, her car would be fixed soon and she wouldn’t be here long enough to write a story about it.
At the counter, Kaiah spotted a woman with silver roots and bright hazel eyes serving a tall man with closely cropped dark
hair and broad shoulders. There was a gap between the woman’s two front teeth, but it didn’t mar her beauty. The imperfection
added to her charm and made her grin even more endearing. The man seemed to think so too, judging by the way he was laughing
along with her. He rolled his head back slightly as he laughed, the sound casting a glow around him. Then he turned around.
And he was . . . drop-dead gorgeous.
Kaiah’s cheeks flooded with warmth as she watched the man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, make his way to
the end of the counter to wait for his order. Only when he lifted his eyes to meet hers did Kaiah realize she’d rested her
gaze on him a beat too long. She looked away quickly, chiding herself.
Good job, Ky. Creeping on a stranger in a coffee shop—classy. Oh well, at least he doesn’t know your name. Even if you didn’t
just make a fool of yourself, it’s not like you want to race back into a relationship anyway.
Pulling her attention away from the hot guy, Kaiah pulled her phone from the pocket of her jeans and scrolled through her
social accounts until she moved to the front of the line.
“What can I get ya?” the woman with the silver roots asked.
“A vanilla latte, please.”
“Sure thing, sugar.” The woman grabbed an empty paper cup and pulled out a marker. “What’s your name?”
“Kaiah.”
The woman’s eyes rounded, and Kaiah almost laughed. She was used to people not knowing how to spell her name.
“It’s K-a-i-a-h.”
“Uh . . .” The woman blinked. “Sure thing, honey.”
The woman wrote on a cup, and Kaiah moved to the side of the counter and leaned against the wall.
Her eyes darted back to the hot guy, who was now talking on his phone.
Judging by his T-shirt and gym shorts, he’d just come from a workout.
She noticed the way his dark blue shirt hugged his biceps, and clearly he didn’t skip leg day at the gym.
Good grief, were those things carved from granite?
Stop it, Ky!
She didn’t have time to obsess over this guy. Instead, she had to worry about how much these car repairs were going to set
her back and how on earth she was going to pay for them. She’d sublet her apartment to a former coworker for a couple of months
while she was on the road, but this year her income as a freelancer hadn’t been stellar. The assignments seemed to be drying
up, thanks to a rise in social media travel accounts that people could access for free instead of paying for an online magazine.
And now this reporting trip could end up costing Kaiah money? A dull ache began to throb behind her eyes.
She knew if she ever got a staff writer job at a world-renowned magazine like Travel and Culture, one of the most respected lifestyle and travel media companies, then she could finally count on a real salary and maybe
even some benefits. But that seemed like a pipe dream.
“Reid,” a young woman called from behind the counter, jolting Kaiah out of her low-grade misery. “Jamie, Laura, Mark, and . . .
um, Cayenne?”
Kaiah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn’t the first time she’d been referred to as the spice. If only her parents
weren’t obsessed with names beginning with K, then she could’ve been named something more normal, like Olivia or Madison. Those were names people could spell without
an explanation.
Kaiah swiped the cup off the counter and started toward the cluster of tables. She took a whiff of the brew the way she always did, so she could enjoy the rich scent of vanilla before devouring the drink. But she only smelled regular black coffee. The vanilla was missing.
“Excuse me, miss?”
She spun and found herself face-to-face with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
Oh, hello!
“I think I took your coffee by mistake. And judging by your cup, I think you have my Americano.” His voice was warm, deep,
and smooth. “Did you order a vanilla latte?”
“Y-yeah,” she managed to say.
“Here you go.” He held out his cup, and they made the exchange. “Sorry about that.” And when his very symmetrical face broke
out in a sheepish grin, she thought she might melt right into the Roast Shack’s floor. “I promise I didn’t take a sip.”
“I didn’t either.”
“Great.” He nodded as she silently admired his chiseled jaw lined with a hint of dark scruff.
“Thanks,” she said before he gave her another friendly nod and then sat at a table with a woman and a couple of men who seemed
to be around his age.
She found an empty table and pulled out her laptop before connecting to the internet and checking her email. A message from
her editor was waiting, asking how her trip was going and how soon she could expect the South Carolina story. Kaiah also read
messages from both the Airbnb host and her tour guide in South Carolina, confirming her stay and her plans to check out Edisto
Beach.
Kaiah took a sip of her vanilla latte and tried to allow the warm drink to calm her frayed nerves.
The auto shop was busy, but maybe she could ask Bill if the mechanic could fix her car first thing on Monday.
And since she was only five hours away from Edisto Beach, she could get there in the evening and not have to rearrange her schedule too much.
But she couldn’t modify her Airbnb reservation until she knew for sure . . .
Her phone began to ring, and she found her favorite sister’s name on the display. “Hey, Kam,” she began, “you’ll never guess
where I am.”
“Hmm,” Kamryn said. “Well, I hear voices, so not in the car.”
“Nope. I’m in a coffee shop in Nowheresville.”
“Well, that sounds cute. How’d you end up there?”
Kaiah told her sister how she limped Daisy to the mechanic’s garage before retreating to the coffee shop.
“Coral Cove, huh? It sounds pretty.”
“From what I’ve seen, it is. Reminds me of those trips we used to take to Maine when we were kids.”
“Oh . . . oh wow.” Kam sighed, her voice thick with emotion. “That feels like a million years ago, huh?”
A vision of their mother, young and healthy and beautiful, floated in Kaiah’s mind. She felt a tug in her chest and was sure
her sister was remembering her too.
Pushing the memories away, Kaiah pulled up her map app and looked at the route from Coral Cove to the Airbnb. Yup, almost
five hours.
“You know, Ky,” Kamryn began, “I’m not going to say I told you so, but . . . you have entirely too much faith in ol’ Daisy.
She’s pretty, but she’s also high maintenance. Devon said the same thing.”
Kaiah sighed. “I know, I know. I hate to say it, but you and my brilliant brother-in-law may be right.” Her gaze wandered from her laptop, and she paused when she found Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome watching her.
He smiled, and she returned the greeting before his eyes shifted to the woman beside him.
Um, woooow, okay.
“Hey, sis, did you hear a word I just said?” Kam asked.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “Just got distracted by some superhot guy looking at me!”
“Oooh,” Kam sang. “Do tell!”
Kaiah tried her best to keep her voice down while she shared how she and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome had wound up with each
other’s drinks.
“It’s fate,” Kam insisted. “You were meant to meet him. That’s why Daisy chose to break down right outside of Nowheresville.
It was all a grand plan for you to meet your future husband.”
Kaiah laughed. “Yeah right.”
“Did you introduce yourself to him?”
“No. Since ‘Cayenne’ was written on my coffee cup, he probably thinks Mom and Dad were hippies who named me after a spice.”
Kam chuckled. “It wouldn’t be the first time. But seriously, you should go introduce yourself! Tell him your real name and
that you’re a super successful journalist on her way to cover the next big story.”
“Uh-huh. Which is why my car is broken down and I’m worried about how I’m going to pay for the repairs.”
“Oh shoot,” Kam said, her teasing tone evaporating. “Do you need money?”
Kaiah’s smile faltered. “No, but thanks.” She decided to shift the conversation back to the pressing topic at hand. “I’m not
going to meet this guy. Besides, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome is probably married.”
“Is he wearing a ring?”
“I don’t think so. But let’s get real: I’m twenty-six. All of the good ones are taken by now.” Though she was glad her younger sister had managed to find a good one. She and Devon had been married almost three years.
“C’mon, Kaiah. No, they aren’t. It’s time for you to get back out there. Once you do, you’ll find someone too. And maybe Mr.
TDH is one of the good ones.”
“He might be, but I’m not going to be here long enough to find out. I’m putting this town in the rearview in the next couple
of hours. So what’s up with you? How’s work?”
“Ugh, tax season,” Kam said with a sigh. “It’s been crazy. Talking to you is always a nice break, though.”
Kaiah spent the next hour catching up with her sister and answering a few emails. Then she finished her drink and walked outside
to Main Street, where people moved up and down the sidewalk and in and out of the shops. The afternoon air smelled like seawater