Chapter 7
AVERY
“Who was that?” Sarah asks, gesturing her head toward the door.
“You mean Earl?” I ask, frowning at her. He just left after our practice session, looking more confident than he did before. Hopefully he can make it work with Laura Lynn.
Sarah raises an eyebrow. “No, the other guy. The hot one with hair I could run my hands through. And that smile.” She grins, and I feel a twinge of irritation at her description.
“His name is Max.”
“Max? Max, what?”
With a quick shrug, I grab the washcloth and wipe off the counter below the coffee maker.
Sarah gets that gossipy look in her eye and grins at me. “I’ve never seen him before, but he’s dreamy. Did he already come into the shop when I wasn’t working?”
“No. I sort of helped him on the way back from dropping Cora off at the airport the other day.”
She grabs my arm and turns me toward her. “You didn’t think this was pertinent information to tell me?”
I frown, not sure what to say.
I met Sarah near the beginning of my time in Penrose Beach. She was working to put up a balloon arch along the boardwalk, and I helped her stabilize it. She’s five years younger than me, but she’s been fun to get to know so far, and she adds an element of adventure to the shop.
“No. I didn’t think about that at all. Why would you need to know anyway?”
“To see if he’s single. I wouldn’t mind cuddling up to a guy like that.”
Now I’ve got a mental picture of Max with his arms around Sarah, and my frustration only grows. I barely know the guy, or if he’s even single. I should not be reacting like this just because he’s attractive and considerate.
“How did you ‘sort of’ help him?” Sarah asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“He ran out of gas, so I drove him to the nearest gas station. It wasn’t that exciting.” I shrug my shoulders, trying to figure out how to change the subject.
She claps her hands together and laughs. “Of course it was. This is the first time I’ve seen you blush over a guy.”
“I’m not blushing. He’s traveling through. That’s like a big X for anything to happen.”
Sarah waves a hand in the air and says, “Please. There’s nothing better than a long-distance romance. The reunions are the best.”
Long distance would be difficult and not worth it. Worrying whether they were getting into trouble or being unfaithful. There’s less stress if I can see the person on a regular basis. I’m much better at reading situations in real time than trying to dissect texts.
That’s how I knew it was over between Curt and me. How he avoided my eyes any time we talked.
“Don’t you think he cute?” Sarah says.
“Sure. Is everything ready to close?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
She blinks twice. “No, sorry. I got distracted by our recent visitor.”
Why am I not surprised?
“We need the busy season to start just so you can have more options for dating partners,” I say, rolling my eyes. Oh no, I’ve been spending too much time with Lila.
“It’s a good time for a summer romance.”
I point to the espresso machine. “You start on that one, and I’ll start over here,” I say, pulling out everything and cleaning it thoroughly so we’re ready for the next day.
Not that they’re super dirty right now with the low sales we’ve had, but we might as well stay in the habit of keeping things orderly.
“What are you doing tonight?” Sarah asks, wiping out a container.
“I need to figure out what’s wrong with my sink. It’s been clogging more lately, and there’s a leak,” I say, laughing at Sarah.
She’s staring off into space as she wipes out the bin with the washcloth. Then she pretends to fall asleep before turning to look at me with a bright smile. “That sounds lame. There’s this big party me and a few friends are going to up in Cressida. You should come,” she says.
I laugh at the idea of me going to a party. I’ve never been one for large crowds, and right now I feel ancient compared to her. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but that’s not really my forte, especially on a Wednesday night.”
“You could use a night out every once in a while,” she says with a chuckle.
“I’m still working through Lila’s suspension, one chore at a time.” Yes, I just used my niece as an excuse to get out of partying, but I never felt I was missing out. “So maybe another night.”
“Any time,” she says with a grin.
I’m not sure that will ever happen, but I focus on what I can do to get things cleaned up quickly so I can head back to the apartment. I’ve got laundry to fold and dinner to make, along with a sink to fix.
Sarah heads out a few minutes later, and I walk over to wipe off all the tables. Lila comes down the stairs and says, “Bathrooms are done.”
“Great. We need to sweep up the floor here.”
She frowns. “Why? It looks so clean.”
“Because that’s part of the clean-up process. Let’s go so we can get going on your homework.”
“I have one more day of suspension,” Lila says with a whine.
“Well, then you’ll have time to hang out tomorrow.”
Lila mutters something under her breath that I can’t quite catch, but I have a feeling it’s about wanting my sister to be home. Lila can get away with a lot around her mother these days.
While I finish up, my brain keeps looping the conversation I had with Sarah. The chat I had with Max even before he ordered his coffee was easy and fun. Comfortable.
But it means nothing. He’s a tourist, and I’ve got a lot on my plate.
I finish wiping the tables and wait to help Lila pick up the pile of dust and other foreign materials. We finish up and turn off the lights on our way upstairs.
It’s not much, but it means a lot to have this place running. Now I just need to bring in the customers.