Chapter 17
Cleo
Cleo left the coffee shop with Lana and turned to say bye to her before crossing the road toward the stationary shop, when she saw the look on Lana’s face. Notably, her raised eyebrow with a smirk desperately fighting to get out.
“What’s that look for?” Cleo asked, nerves fluttering inside her. That was new.
“What was that all about with Ivy?!” Lana was just short of grinning.
Cleo knew that she’d gone just shy of scarlet as the blush grew on her skin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She lifted her chin in defiance, avoided eye contact, and took a sip of her coffee.
“Oh c’mon, Cleo. You can’t possibly stand there and try to deny the sparks flying between the two of you just now.
” Lana tried to move into Cleo’s eyeline but noticed Cleo looking over her shoulder and back into the coffee shop.
Lana moved to stand beside her friend to talk softly to her.
“If you’re looking into the shop in the hope that you can still see her, doesn’t that tell you all you need to know? ”
Cleo let out a sigh and spoke in barely more than a whisper, “I don’t know what it is about her.
I haven’t even looked at another woman since.
..” she trailed off. Cleo knew she didn’t need to finish what she was going to say.
Lana knew about her past. She had opened up after Lana had let Cleo know of her own past only a few months after starting the job.
“I know you’ve kept yourself safe from being hurt after, well, after.
But you can’t go through your life hiding your heart out of fear that you’ll get hurt again.
And you know,” Lana waited for Cleo to turn and face her before she continued, “you know that I know what I’m talking about.
” Lana paused and looked down at the pair of coffee cups in her hands.
“If I had gone on as I was—like you are—I wouldn’t have met Connor.
” She smiled, and once more that familiar smile blossomed across Lana’s face.
Cleo took another drink of her coffee, “I’ve only seen her a few times, and every time I feel like a gawky teenager again. I can barely talk to her; it’s not going to end well.”
Lana expertly moved the coffee cup holder she was carrying into one hand and reached out to gently rub her other hand up and down the top of Cleo’s arm. “Cleo, you weren’t the only one struggling over the ability to communicate in there. I think you’re more suited than you know.”
Cleo made her way to her parents’ house for dinner, a gift bag in one hand with a rich plum colored fountain pen for her mom inside, and the remains of her coffee in the cup in her other hand.
She opened the door and was glad for the warmth that met her face when she made her way inside.
She knew it was cold out but hadn’t realized quite how numb her cheeks were until the heat started to thaw them, causing tingles to dance across her face.
She swiftly closed the door behind her to keep the heat in and stepped out of her shoes and into the slippers left out for her by her mom.
She sat the gift bag and coffee cup on the table by the door and removed her bag and coat. Hanging them up on the wall hook which was “hers,” she picked up the bag and coffee cup before making her way through to the kitchen at the back of the house when she heard her family’s voices.
“Hi love!” Fiona walked toward her with a smile and held her arms open to pull Cleo into an embrace.
“Hi Mom,” Cleo said, as she hugged her Mom back. “Hi Dad, Sis,” she added, smiling over Fiona’s shoulder. When she stood back, Cleo offered her mom the small gift bag. “I saw this in a shop today and thought you’d like it.”
“But it’s not my birthday for another two months,” Fiona said, confused at the impromptu gift.
“And?” Cleo gave a small shrug and lifted her coffee cup to her lips to drain the last of the tepid chocolate-flavored coffee from the cup before sitting it on the counter.
She saw her dad roll his eyes, then Cleo turned her gaze to watch her mom peer inside the small bag.
She removed the rectangular box with a clear window, letting her see the contents without opening the box itself.
“Oh Cleo, it’s lovely! Thank you.” She enveloped Cleo in another hug and then turned to face her husband.
“Why is our daughter more romantic than you? When was the last time you bought me flowers?” She watched Rob squirm as Fiona stood with an eyebrow raised, waiting on a response. She nearly felt bad for him. Nearly.
“I make you breakfast every morning, and a cup of tea whenever I get in from work. Isn’t that romantic enough?” Rob turned to pass comment at Cleo, when she noticed his eyes drop to her discarded coffee cup.
“Sorry Dad, I’ll rinse it out and put it in the recycling,” Cleo said as she reached out for the cup. Rob caught her hand in one of his and picked up the cup with his other.
“Perhaps you were just in a feel-good mood today, and that’s why you bought your mom the gift?” Rob said slowly, while being extremely fascinated with her empty coffee cup.
“Not really, I just saw the pen in a shop I’d not been in before and knew she’d like it, that’s all.” Cleo couldn’t read the look on his face, but it was somewhat akin to being smug.
That’s when Jade moved off the counter she’d been leaning against beside Rob and leaned over his shoulder to see what he’d been looking at.
“So, it had nothing to do with, say, a certain barista fixing your drink today?” her sister asked, laughter in her voice.
“A certain ba... what are you talking about?” How could they possibly know about Ivy when she hadn’t mentioned her to any of them? She could feel the blush start at her neck as she reached for the coffee cup out of Rob’s hands. Her sister got there first. Dammit.
“So, Ivy wasn’t the one who made your drink this afternoon?” Jade asked through her grin while moving the cup out of Cleo’s reach.
“What do you mean, Ivy made my drink, how did you know?” Cleo attempted again to get the cup out of her sister’s hand, but Jade moved to the far side of the island like a cat.
“Well, why else would her name and number be on your coffee cup?” Jade announced, turning the cup in her hand to let Cleo see, yet still keeping it out of her reach.
“Jade, that’s enough, give your sister back the cup so that she can tell us why there’s a woman’s name and number on it.” Fiona said, sternly, but with far too much of a smile dancing on her lips for Cleo’s liking.
Cleo grabbed the cup out of Jade’s hand as Evan and Sophie arrived at the kitchen.
“Wait, Cleo got some barista’s number?” her brother joined in. Cleo wanted the ground to swallow her whole, regardless of how happy she suddenly felt finally laying eyes on her brother for the first time in weeks.
“What’s a barista?” her niece asked the room.
“It’s someone who makes coffee in a coffee shop,” Cleo answered without thinking.
“Oh, like Ivy?” Sophie asked innocently, causing all eyes in the room to swivel to Cleo’s face. Almost instantaneously, she could feel her skin match her hair. Fiery.
“Yeah, Soph, just like Ivy. And Toni, too.” Cleo refused to look at anyone else in the room except her niece.
“She was nice. I liked her. She gave me extra marshmallows with my hot chocolate,” Sophie said.
“Oh, did she now?” Jade took a step toward Cleo, baiting her sister to look at her.
“Yeah, that was because Aunt Cleo and Ivy toppled into each other at the door when we were going into the shop. Then they started talking funny to each other, like they didn’t know how to talk—”
“She was really kind to you Soph. Right, what’s for dinner?” Cleo hoped with all her might that her less than subtle attempt at changing the subject would work.
“Oh no, you’re not getting out of it that easy,” Evan said as he walked over and slung his arm around his twin’s shoulder, knocking the wind out of Cleo’s lungs in the process, “let’s discuss this more in the sitting room while we order pizza.
It’s not every day my daughter is such a fountain of knowledge about my sister’s love life.
” With that, he dragged Cleo through with his arm clamped around her shoulder, while he turned to his daughter.
“Well then Soph, tell me more about this trip to the coffee shop with Aunt Cleo?”