Chapter Seven
Seven
That in and of itself wasn’t unusual. They had plenty of new people and one-offs coming through their doors after Theo’s altercation with Patricia went viral on TikTok, even though the fervor had died down in recent weeks.
But still: gone were the days of being frequented mostly by regulars with their laptops.
A lot more people had found out about Déjà Brew, and Audrey missed those slower, more familiar times, despite the increase in tips.
But it was the way this new customer was so twitchy that caught her attention. He fidgeted the entire time he waited in line to step up to the register, like he had so much pent-up energy, he was about to burst out of his own skin.
That, and the way he kept staring at Audrey.
It was as though he were trying to put her under a microscope.
She watched him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye.
He was ruggedly attractive, maybe around his midthirties, with dark, curly hair, dark eyes, and olive skin.
His artfully stubbled jawline was sharp, and so was his gaze; it was piercing and intense, like a hawk tracking its prey.
She had the uncanny sense that he wanted to grip her in razor-sharp talons.
It wasn’t often they had someone come into the coffeehouse with this much restlessness—and even less often did she find it seemingly directed at her.
When it was his turn to order, he sauntered over to the counter, leaning his palms on it and looking her up and down with a slight furrow in his brow.
She plastered a smile across her face and tried to make sure Josh was paying attention, just in case the man tried to rob them or something, even though he didn’t look at all the type.
Bracing herself for a fight wasn’t pleasant; it had been two months since Patricia had received her lifetime ban, and Audrey couldn’t say she missed having to deal with her daily combativeness.
And now there was this guy. Luckily, he wasn’t much taller than her.
Hopefully, they’d be able to handle it if he tried anything.
Maybe he’d be a one-off customer.
“Hi! Welcome to Déjà Brew! What would you—”
“You’re Audrey? Audrey Adams?”
“Uh…yes?” A creeping sense of foreboding prickled at the back of her neck, though she had no earthly idea what she could have done wrong. But the way he was looking at her gave her that impression.
He hummed and rolled his jaw while he considered her. “Okay, fine. You’re real cute. I get it.” He pointed at her. “You normally take your break around eight thirty, right?”
“Yes.” The prickling sensation increased. Was he stalking her?
“Can you take one now too?”
“Uh…” Audrey caught Josh’s eye and motioned to him with a microscopic tilt of her head. He got the message, and he wiped his hands on his apron and stalked over from behind the espresso machine, massaging his knuckles and eyeing the newcomer suspiciously. “I don’t know. Why?”
“Because you and me? We need to have a chat. And we need to have it before your boyfriend gets here.”
“Boyfriend?!” That was news to her, but her mind immediately leapt to Theo, and she couldn’t help the flutter of warmth she felt in the pit of her stomach at the title.
It was immediately followed by a wave of fear.
Wait. Was this guy stalking her if he knew about Theo?
The man waved dismissively at Josh. “You can calm down, I’m not going to do anything.
” He turned to Audrey again and opened his mouth before seeming to think better of whatever he was going to say.
Instead, he turned back to Josh and gave him an appraising look up and down.
Her friend raised an eyebrow, and they both waited for whatever was coming next. “What’s your name? Are you Josh?”
“Yeah?” He frowned. “I’m Josh. Who are you?”
“Ah. I see.” He didn’t answer the question. “You make a good cappuccino here?”
“Sure, I guess so.”
“Then I’ll take one of those.” He turned back to Audrey and pulled out his wallet. “Large cappuccino to go for Diego.”
“Diego,” Audrey repeated. And then it dawned on her. “OH. Diego,” she gasped.
“So you do know who I am, then?” Diego drawled as he handed her his card. “If you know that, then you know why I’m here.”
She swiped it, noting his full name (Diego Vargas—why did his last name sound so familiar?), and turned the terminal around so he could sign and tip. “I’m going to assume it has to do with Theo?”
“Bingo, kiddo. We need to have a chat, you and I.”
She shook her head. “Look, I would’ve liked to meet you some other time in some other context, but I’m on the clock right now. I only get one break per shift and I’m saving it for Theo, not using it on you. No offense.”
“Then how about you two switch, and I talk to you while you make the coffee? I didn’t know when else I could catch you without lover boy around.”
Audrey and Josh exchanged a look. “Fine. That’ll work.” She stepped away from the register and took her place behind the machine while Diego sidled up to the counter and leaned around the Marzocco.
Learning that Theo’s best friend had sought her out did nothing to calm Audrey’s nerves, and a heavy sense of dread churned in her stomach while she wiped down the milk frother and grabbed a large paper cup printed with their café’s logo.
Diego struck her as extremely New York, even without the accent and the brusqueness and the fast-talking, all snapping fire, fury, and frenzy.
She had no idea what was going to come out of his mouth.
“What are your intentions with my buddy Theo?”
That definitely wasn’t a question she could’ve anticipated.
“Excuse me?”
“I asked what your intentions are with him.” Diego clasped his hands together and leaned forward on the polished counters.
“What is it about him, huh? Is it just that he’s tall?
He’s cute, right?” He pursed his lips together.
“Is it that mysterious artist thing he has going on? I mean, that definitely works for him, generally and historically. He’s extremely broody.
Or maybe you’re one of those women who like to chase after broken men. Are you just interested in his mo—”
She drowned him out by angrily flicking on the coffee grinder, gritting her teeth while the grounds tumbled into the portafilter. She tamped it harder than she strictly needed to before shoving it in the group head to pull the espresso shot and bending to grab the milk.
“Do you want me to make you a shit coffee?” she growled at Diego when she straightened. “Because you’re being rude as all hell and I have half a mind to scald this milk into oblivion before I give it to you.”
He snorted. “Fair enough. You’re right: I’m being a dick.”
“I’ll say.”
Audrey steamed the milk and genuinely thought about giving him the worst cappuccino she’d ever made. But her pride got in the way.
She wanted him to taste how damn good her coffee was purely out of spite.
He watched her pour the milk artfully into his cup, detailing a quick, complicated design in the foam before she shoved it and a plastic lid angrily at him. Only some of the coffee sloshed over the sides, and Diego huffed while he inspected her handiwork.
“Regular iced chai with oat milk,” Josh shot over his shoulder while handing her the plastic cup, and Audrey sighed in relief as she grabbed the concentrate from the fridge. Iced chai people were godsends.
“It’s none of your business what my intentions are with Theo.
That’s between us. He’s a big boy, don’t you think?
He can do what he wants and date who he wants.
” She stirred oat milk into the iced black tea concentrate and capped off the drink before sliding it to the pickup side of the counter.
“Not only that, but he spoke highly of you to me, and now I’m wondering what the hell he was thinking. ”
That earned her a fresh glare. “None of my business? Oh, it is my business, believe me.” He eyed the coffee she’d made him and took a sip.
His eyebrows shot up, but he shook his head and huffed.
“Look, my intention isn’t to pry too far into Theo’s personal affairs, and God knows I’m not going to stand here and rehash all of his trauma for you behind his back.
But I will say that man has been through absolute hell.
” He punctuated the words by tapping his finger firmly on the wooden counter.
“The worst shit you can imagine. It broke him. That’s obvious enough, especially now that he’s shown you his face—which is huge, by the way.
Monumental. I hope you appreciate that.”
“I do. I do appreciate how big that was for him.”
He quirked a skeptical eyebrow as though he didn’t quite believe her and drew in a deep breath.
“Whether he’s talked about it or not is his business, and his story isn’t for me to tell.
But here’s the thing: I’m also not going to sit back and watch him get heartbroken by some little girl who has no idea what she’s getting herself into, especially not after his last girlfriend.
I’ve spent months—years, really—trying to help patch him back together and I won’t see him torn to shreds again. He’s too good for that.”
“ ‘Little girl’?!” Her face burned. “I’m not some little girl. You have no idea what I’ve been through. You certainly don’t know anything about me, and even less about how I feel about Theo.”
“I know enough.” Diego leaned forward and tilted his head at Audrey.
“I know enough to see that he’s head over heels for you, and you barely know each other.
And don’t get me wrong: while I will continue to encourage him when it comes to getting out of the goddamn house and actually socializing in any way he can, I draw the line at him rearranging his entire life after only a handful of dates. ”
“What are you talking about?” It was Audrey’s turn to scowl.