Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Kate stretched. The blackout curtains in her room kept the room dark, but she knew it was time to get up.
One of her goals as a small business owner was to organize her work life so that she almost never needed to set an alarm.
Pupcakes and Clawssaints opened at ten on Saturdays.
Her phone said it was seven forty-five. She didn’t know whether Hannah had to work and, if so, what time she worked.
She was facing away from Kate, and the blanket had fallen down, revealing her creamy shoulder sprinkled with freckles.
Kate wanted to kiss every one of Hannah’s freckles, so she spooned Hannah and began placing kisses on her shoulder.
Kate could quickly tell Hannah was awake, but she was allowing Kate to keep kissing her way down her back.
Without words, Kate lavished Hannah’s entire body with affection, and soon Hannah was crying out Kate’s name and begging for sweet release.
When they were both well satisfied, Kate rolled over and sat at the side of the bed.
Unable to be without Hannah’s touch, she held out her hand.
“Are you working today?” she asked, hoping she could convince Hannah to stay here, in her bed naked and waiting for her.
Hannah nodded. “Ten to seven today. How about you?”
“The same.”
“What time is it?” Hannah asked. Kate leaned over to look at her phone on the nightstand.
“Eight-thirty.”
“I better get going then,” Hannah said and let go of Kate’s hand.
Kate closed her empty hand. Of course, Hannah needed to go.
She had to get ready for work, and as was usually the case, Kate didn’t have much on hand for breakfast. Heaviness kept her rooted to her spot.
A big part of her wanted to invite Hannah into her shower.
But the small part that said this was a slippery slope on the road to a serious relationship that would inevitably implode shot that idea down.
Hannah was bent over, picking up her sweater off the ground.
“Coffee for the road!” Kate blurted out suddenly.
Hannah stood up and put the sweater on. She gathered her red hair at the back of her neck and pulled it out from under her sweater.
I could watch her do nothing all day, Kate thought.
Hannah pursed her lips. Kate wanted to kiss a smile onto them.
“Do you have cream and sugar?” she asked. “I like my coffee with more cream than actual coffee.”
Kate wet her lips with her tongue and nodded. “Yep.” Then she jumped up. “I’ll go start the pot. I hope basic coffee machine coffee works. I don’t have one of those single-serving cup things or a fancy French press.”
Hannah was sliding her skirt up over her hips. “I don’t even think I’ve ever had French press coffee.”
Kate got a long shirt out of her dresser and put it on. They walked to the kitchen. “Sit down. Sorry, I don’t have breakfast. And, ah, give me a minute to find an insulated cup.”
Hannah sat down at the small kitchen table.
“I think this is the most time I’ve spent here outside your bedroom,” Hannah said and pushed her hair behind her ears.
Kate bustled around the kitchen looking for and finding an insulated cup that still had a lid.
She quickly measured the coffee and water to get the coffee brewing.
Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach; she knew she was falling for Hannah.
She felt it in her gut and in her heart, but that was too scary to focus on, especially now when she had to think about raising the money to buy the building.
“You know, it’s really cool how you have an apartment above your shop. Zaina used to live above New Age Stones and Witch Crafts, but now that she’s married, the building owner has it as a short-term rental.”
“That’s one of the reasons why I jumped on the storefront the moment I saw it.” Kate placed a bottle of French vanilla creamer on the table. “This is my favorite creamer; I just use that and no sugar. Will that work?”
“For sure, I love vanilla.”
Kate poured a cup of coffee for herself and filled the insulated cup for Hannah three-quarters full.
As she was pouring, she realized that giving Hannah one of her thermal cups meant she expected to see Hannah again soon.
Her hand wobbled, and a small amount of coffee spilled on the counter.
She put the coffeepot back on the warmer and wiped up the spill with a paper towel.
This was fine, of course, she would see Hannah again.
Maybe she would invite her to Friendsgiving.
“How did you wind up in Markley Creek to begin with?”
Kate blew out a breath. “It’s more like an over-a-bottle-of-wine story than over coffee, but I’ll share; do you have time?” She carried the coffee cups to the table and placed a cup in front of Hannah and sat down across from her with her coffee.
Hannah checked her phone to see the time. “I need to leave in like fifteen minutes. I’ve got a few stories that need to be told over drinks too. But tell me about how you got here. I want to know more about you.”
Warmth spread in Kate’s chest. She’d almost forgotten about that feeling. Did she want to continue on this slide? It was almost too late to push herself back up to the top. “Okay, so a few years ago, my ex and I were doing this thing where we would go on little weekend trips to cute downtowns.”
“Oh, Marley Creek is a Hallmark movie-level town. They really should start filming some of their Christmas movies here.”
“I know, right? So, my ex was an influencer. Well, I mean, she still is one. The trips were all business expenses, and we filmed lots of content. Sometimes I wonder if the reason we ever got together in the first place was that she needed a camera person to help film her. Then, when I’m really feeling bitter, I start wondering if I was just her great queer experiment, and when she got tired of that, she ran back to her ex-boyfriend. ”
The back of Kate’s eyes stung. She took a drink of her coffee and enjoyed the slight burn of the hot liquid.
Hannah grabbed her hand. “That’s some bullshit. She was an idiot, and there is no way you were an experiment.”
Hannah put a kiss on Kate’s hand. “You’re gorgeous, smart, and in bed you are, like, there aren’t even words to describe your skills.”
Kate frowned slightly, “That’s so sweet of you to say.” If Kate weren’t the first woman Hannah had had sex with, it would be easier for her to believe Hannah’s words.
“I can see you don’t believe me, but one day maybe you’ll change your mind.”
Kate sighed. “I’m sorry I’m digging up all this insecurity and past trauma, and all you wanted to know was what brought me to Marley Creek.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m here for all of it.”
Kate gave a half smile. “We saw the for lease sign when we were walking down the street,” she said, “and I’d been working for years managing a Pet, Inc.
store. I understood the pet supply part of the business, and I’d been selling my pet cookies and treats at a couple of farmer’s markets for years in the summer.
I used that money plus severance from my old corporate job to put down the deposit and the first three months’ rent. ”
Hannah fanned her face. “Do you have any idea how hot your financial competence is?”
“Business talk turns you on? Noted.” Kate mimed writing in a notebook. Then she looked back at Hannah’s face. The sweetest rosy blush covered her cheeks. She squirmed in her seat. Too bad there wasn’t time to take Hannah back to bed. But they both needed to go to work.
Hannah took a long drink of her coffee.
“Let me top you off before you go.”
Hannah handed Kate her coffee cup.
“Since business talk turns you on, remember how I told you I might buy the building?”
“What’s up? Is everything okay?”
Kate poured fresh coffee into Hannah’s cup and brought it back to the table.
She wasn’t sure if it was just the energy from the caffeine or if talking with Hannah about the building was causing her heart to speed up.
Kate nodded, “I’m working on it. I need to come up with a twenty-five percent down payment by the end of December.
On the plus side, I’ve got someone who is going to rent the other storefront once they review the legal paperwork.
Business has been good, and I’ve got some savings.
But I’ve got to figure out how to make a killing at the Mistletoe Market to close the gap. ”
“I know you are going to make it happen.” Hannah put the top on her coffee and stood up. She walked the few steps to the door where her shoes lie on the welcome mat. Kate followed her. Once Hannah had her shoes on, she turned to Kate.
Kate pushed Hannah’s hair off her shoulders.
She ran her thumb along Hannah’s bottom lip that was still a little swollen from the night before.
“Send me good vibes. I don’t have much time before the market is here.
” She dropped her hand from Hannah’s face but wasn’t ready to stop physical contact, so she locked her pinky with Hannah’s.
She loved Hannah’s elegant hands, the long fingers that ended with short nails painted sparkly black.
Those fingers knew exactly how to touch her. She swallowed hard.
“I should have brought my cards,” Hannah said. “We could have done a reading. Although…”
“What’s up?”
“It’s not a big deal really; I mean, I hope it’s not a big deal. I did a reading and I’m afraid I upset the person.”
“What makes you think that? Maybe you just misinterpreted their feelings.”
Hannah averted her eyes. “I don’t think so. She cried and then she left quickly.”
Kate wrapped her arms around Hannah and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry that happened. I still think there was probably more going on, and you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I hope not.”
“You know what, to prove it, I’ll come to Zaina’s, and you can do a reading for me. But I can’t do it until tomorrow after closing.”
“Are you sure?” Hannah asked hopefully.
Kate put her hands on Hannah’s face and looked into her eyes. Once again, she wished they could spend the day in bed. “A hundred percent.”
“Amazing! You’re the best. And while I’m at work, I’ll try to think of a way you can make loads of money at the Mistletoe Market.”
Hannah kissed Kate and opened the door. “Maybe the cards will show a path to securing the building!”
“See you tomorrow, Ba-Hannah!” Shoot, she’d almost called Hannah baby again.