Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
She answered right away. “Hey, how did your second day go?”
“Great. I had almost as many customers as yesterday, and lots of people stopped back in to tell me how much they’d loved what I’d made for them on opening day.”
“That sounds amazing. You’re killing it. So why are you sad?”
“I’m not.”
“Caleb, I know you. I can tell by your voice. You’re saying things are good, but you’re not feeling it.”
Damn know-it-all older sisters. He might as well tell her. She’d pester him until he did or somehow suss it out with what he was sure were psychic abilities. “Remember I told you about the town meeting.”
“And the drink contest for the Harvest Festival. Yes.”
“I asked Rhys, the guy who owns Frost + Foam—”
“I know who he is. You’ve talked about him enough.”
No more than anyone else in town. “I haven’t.”
She gave a little snort of a laugh. “Yeah, you have.”
Caleb chose not to argue with her on that point. “I asked him if he wanted to work together because that way the town would have a better chance of winning, but he said no.”
“Uh-huh. And you hated that.”
He didn’t want to admit how true that was. “I was disappointed.”
“What did he say exactly?”
“That it would be better for my brand to do my own entry. And that he wasn’t easy to work with.”
Kate didn’t speak for a moment, and then she said, “What exactly is the problem? Do you think he’s just saying that to not hurt your feelings?”
Caleb scooted down so he was lying with his head on the armrest. “No. I mean, he’s really shy and very particular about things, especially coffee. He’s gotten embarrassed in front of me a few times.”
“Like how?” she asked.
Caleb explained the steam wand incident and the way Rhys had tripped over his chair at the business association meeting.
Kate laughed. “That does sound embarrassing. I wish I’d been there to see your reaction.”
“I was fine. He meant well.”
Another long pause. “You like him.”
That wasn’t an option. “I want us to be friends.”
“Is that all you want?”
“I didn’t come to Frostwick Harbor to jump into anything with a man. I came here to run my shop, and Rhys isn’t hookup material.”
She sighed, and he started to contemplate how to end the call. “I know how badly Adrian hurt you, but don’t let that keep you from putting yourself out there again.”
“I’m focused on my shop, making friends, and settling in here.”
“I know, but I’m just saying don’t throw away an opportunity.”
I couldn’t let myself think like that. “This isn’t an opportunity. I don’t think he even likes me.”
“All right then, forget about him.” She sounded exasperated. “Focus on your business. What are you making for your festival entry?”
Caleb laid his arm over his face, glad she couldn’t see him. “I haven’t really made a plan yet.”
“That doesn’t sound like you. You’re telling me you don’t have any ideas.”
“I did have some, but if I’m going up against Rhys, then I’ve got to be perfect.”
“Don’t tell me this guy is better than you.”
Was he? “He’s different. His coffee is so precise, so nuanced.”
“You’re so creative and good with flavor, but I guess I can see how you two working together would make the best of the best. Maybe you could still convince him.”
He remembered the panicked look on Rhys’s face as he’d told him he needed to work on his own. “No, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Well, you’re going to come up with something amazing.”
Kate was trying so hard to help him feel better. “I hope so, and honestly, I just hope at least one of the two of us wins because the head of the small-business association, Agnes, is really pushing hard for us to have big wins this year.”
“Remind me again why this matters so much.”
That made him smile. Kate was more than a little skeptical about him enjoying small-town life. “It’s like a town pride thing in the region. They take their festivals very seriously here.”
“Yeah, no shit.”
So maybe he was starting to feel a little better. “Thanks.”
“For what? Encouraging you?”
“Yes, and just listening and making me realize I need to get behind the counter and experiment and stop worrying about the damn festival.”
“Exactly. Come up with some drink ideas, then call me back, and we’ll talk through them. Or you could make some samples for your new friends there.”
Caleb considered that. “I could probably do that, ask for testers. I don’t feel like I know anyone enough yet to really talk like this, though I’m really glad I have you.”
“I’m glad I have you too. Even if you did always bust into the kitchen to make some crazy concoction while I was trying to have a quiet discussion with my friends.”
Caleb huffed. “You and your friends couldn’t have been quiet if your lives depended on it. And it’s not like you were easy to live with.”