To Love the Stars too Fondly (Steaming Hearts #1)

Chapter One

Friday

I could try all I wanted to smile with my eyes. It wouldn’t erase the bags I hadn’t had time to cover with concealer. Still, my tips demanded I at least try, so when Liam handed me a freshly brewed cup, I forced that smile anyway. “Oatmilk latte for Julia!”

Julia had an appearance that matched her order—a pretty college-aged girl with hair dyed purple and a purse with a plastic screen to showcase an array of enamel pins.

College girls and oatmilk lattes fell hand-in-hand, and Julia didn’t have to fake smiling with her eyes as she accepted the drink. “Thanks.”

Normally, this was the time to throw in a wink, given the bi-flag pin on her bag, but my stomach churned from upended bile and too much espresso. “Just let me know if I can get you anything else.”

The woman stuffed a dollar into the tip cup. I kept my smile until she returned to her table. The real question was whether I could sneak off to the bathroom and cry for a third time.

“What gives, Terra?”

With the customers to my back, I sent my best scowl to Liam. “What?”

Liam was the owner’s son, an absolute puppy-dog of a man. With his tousled hair and elven-prince aura, he could pull tips from girls with crusty mascara, but he was much too wholesome to ever take off his wedding ring. “Late night?” he asked.

“Yeah, you could say that.” I paused, lowering my voice as I steeled my sensitive emotions. “Didn’t really sleep.”

“What’s up?”

I shook my head, frustration at my own damn self leading me to scowl at the counter. “Just…Cliff.”

Liam paused at the espresso machine. “You didn’t see him again, did you?”

I was silent a moment too long. “No, but—”

“Terra, are you kidding me? You don’t even like him.”

“We just talked. He thinks I’m leading him on, and he was upset—”

“Maybe he wouldn’t think you were leading him on if you’d stop fucking him.”

My brain was too tired to formulate an excuse. Truthfully, I didn’t have one anyway.

Liam was suddenly leaning on the counter beside him, glowering in his Liam-way. “Look, I’ve never met the guy, but I guarantee he doesn’t have a skincare routine, he doesn’t know what a 401k is, and if a gust of wind blew a meatball off his plate, he’d eat it off the floor. Stop replying to him.”

To soothe the burn, Liam offered a shot glass of espresso, and I couldn’t bring myself to admit it would’ve been my sixth of the morning. I drank it down, grateful my scalded throat made me feel something.

Cliff scared the shit out of me. But Liam couldn’t understand that’s why I couldn’t say no.

I looked up to see a familiar silhouette in the glass door. Apparently, the universe decided my day needed a bit of extra spice. I plastered on my best customer service grin. “It’s go-time, Liam.”

With the door’s opening chimed a little bell, alerting all present to the powerful presence entering the premises: Alexandria Winthrop, though she always went by Alex, resident heiress with her stupid tattooed forearms, her stupid sports bra underneath her stupid translucent shirt that managed to be both slutty and powerful all at once.

Probably because I could’ve cut my teeth on her displayed abs.

Alex was almost the dark mirror of Liam, princely in her butch-aura but somehow managing natural siren eyes instead of ‘sad kitten.’ Stupidest of all was that terrible fuckboy grin and her wink—her fucking wink—she shot right at me, before stopping and leaning slightly against the counter.

“Hey,” Alex said, because of course she had to sound so husky when I had the worst case of raccoon eyes. “The usual, please.”

The usual. As though it weren’t a complete sacrilege to coffee itself. I looked back at Liam, his gaze as dead as I felt saying, “One triple shot black coffee.”

Black coffee with…espresso. No matter how many times Liam heard it, he always gave a small look of offense before grinding the beans.

“You know what,” Alex said, “make it four, Princess.”

Princess. Could Alex please walk into the path of the next semi?

Liam nodded. I looked back, content to pretend I hadn’t heard the nickname. “I assume you made peace with your cardiologist before placing that order?”

Dammit, Alex had the most mesmerizing blue eyes, unreasonably sultry compared to her otherwise indomitable aura. The black hair and blue eyes combo was simply unfair. “It can’t be the worst order you’ve gotten,” Alex said, her smirk testing my patience.

“Here, yes.” A pause. “Back when I worked for a shop with a drive-thru, this would be tame, yeah.”

Alex’s biceps flexed as she offered her Amex black card—just one of many little signs that she could pay off my student loans with a hand wave.

I didn’t actually know how rich she was, nor did I know anything about her apparent socialite status, but her mom was a senator, and the last name held some prestige.

So why did she always come here?

I pretended not to notice the 100% tip she left on the machine. “I’ll call your order when it’s ready.”

At that, Alex again gave me that stupid fuckboy grin of hers, the sort that most certainly cajoled lesser women into her bed. “I look forward to hearing you yell my name, Princess.”

Again, I replayed the image of her walking into oncoming traffic as she sauntered away, exasperated to notice how well her stupid joggers showed off her bubble butt.

Goddammit, my cheeks burned. I whirled around, awake for the first time all morning. “What a whore,” I muttered.

Liam merely hummed. “You say that every time she comes in, but she has yet to display any whorish traits.”

“Her outfit?”

“Normal for the gym but slutty for the club, I’ll give you that. But I think you like it.”

My whole body clenched. “I beg your finest pardon?”

When he glanced back, I followed his gaze—to Alex, legs splayed like an emperor as she waited on her aluminum throne for her nasty drink.

“Because that was blatant sexual harassment,” he whispered, “and you flirted back instead of fawning.”

My face flushed hotter than before, throat clamped as Liam handed me the abominable drink. I didn’t actually know what ‘fawning’ meant, but Liam was clearly mocking me. I wasn’t flirting. I wouldn’t flirt with someone like her.

Even if, deep down, I knew it was the most invigorating part of my day.

I turned around, hoping she’d catch my eye so I didn’t have to say her damn name, but she had her attention to her phone. “Black sludge for Alex?”

Damn that little twist in her lip. When Alex rose, she seemed to command the whole room with her cool aura, every eye on her.

I set her drink on the counter, sliding it forward before there was any chance our fingers could touch.

“Have a nice day,” I said, as habitual as an animatronic come to life.

“You too, Princess,” Alex said.

Damn her stupid husky voice. I hadn’t slept enough for this shit. She turned to leave, and I grabbed a washcloth from under the counter and wiped so I didn’t have to look at her bubble butt again.

“Nice.”

Liam was sounding much too smug. I glowered in return. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing. Just don’t let Barbs catch you looking so stupid.”

Our manager mostly worked in the back, though she’d make an appearance for the upcoming brunch rush. “What are you suggesting?”

Liam shrugged.

“Liam, I swear to God—”

But a new customer entered. I began the customer service dance anew.