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)
But maybe other people did see him like that?
Rhys sighed. Who was he kidding? You’d have to be an idiot not to see how amazing Caleb was, physically and otherwise. But not everyone wanted drinks overflowing with whipped cream and made sickly sweet with syrup. Some people wanted Rhys’s not-at-all-boring coffee, so he needed to take the sign off the door and get back to making it, including a cup for himself of his favorite Peruvian roast.
Rhys had enough of a lunchtime rush to take his mind off the way he’d embarrassed himself at Cloud Nine, and no one said anything to him about it, though he was sure many of his customers knew about the incident. Once things slowed down again, he got his lunch from the back. Every day, he packed a sandwich—usually peanut butter and strawberry jam, but occasionally chicken salad—chips, and an apple. When he worked alone, he quickly ate behind the counter, hoping no one would come in and see him looking so unprofessional.
Today, he got halfway through his sandwich before Tessa walked in.
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, but are you coming to the meeting tonight?”
He sat his sandwich down, no longer feeling hungry. He’d completely forgotten about the “emergency” meeting for the business owners’ association. “Will Caleb be there?”
Tessa gave him a soft smile. “I would assume so.”
“Then no, I’m not going.”
She laid a hand over his. “Yes, you are. You can’t hide from him forever.”
“That’s what you said this morning, and look what happened.”
“He wished you’d stayed. He wasn’t upset at all.”
Rhys huffed. “He just said that to be nice.”
“Have you considered that maybe he is nice?” Tessa asked as she stole one of Rhys’s chips.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not nice.” He turned the chip bag toward her, offering her more.
She grabbed another chip as she said, “You are nice. You just need time to adjust to new things.”
“I don’t know what to say to him.”
“Would it help you to practice?”
Tessa was such a good friend, but he didn’t want to have to practice what he was going to say. He wanted to just know. He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long breath. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Tessa glanced over her shoulder toward the door. I don’t see anyone coming, so go ahead.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now. I’m on my lunch break, and the meeting is right after we close.”
Rhys checked the door too before rolling his eyes, then saying, “Hi. I’m Rhys.”
“Good start.”
He glared at her. “That’s not what he would say back.”
“Oh, right. Let me get into my role.” She cleared her throat, then said, “I’m Caleb. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Um… yeah. It’s, um… nice.” Rhys shook his head. “This isn’t going to work.”
“Yes, it is. Maybe next you could ask him about his opening day or about moving here.”
Right. Why hadn’t he thought of that? “How was your first day?”
“Great. I’m so excited to actually have my own store.”
“Um… I like having a store.” Tessa did a rolling motion with her hand, telling him he could keep going. “Do you like Frostwick Harbor so far?”
Rhys looked pointedly at Tessa when she didn’t answer.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” She nodded and said, “It seems like a great place to live, and everyone is so friendly.”
Rhys wasn’t sure what else to say. “Do I apologize again?”
“You could if you wanted to,” Tessa said.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not sure I can do this.”
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “You can. I believe in you.”
“Will you be there, or is Finn going?”
“We’re both going. Agnes essentially told us we had to.”
Rhys rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if I can handle dealing with Agnes and meeting Caleb. Or meeting him again. Oh my God, I was such an idiot this morning.”
“No, you weren’t,” Tessa insisted. “You were right about the machine. He appreciated you pointing it out.”
“He just said that to be nice in the moment. What if he won’t even talk to me? He probably hopes I’ll never come back to his store.”
Tessa grinned. “You’re so wrong about that.”
Rhys didn’t like the look in her eyes. It was one that said she was scheming. “How do you know that? What do you mean?”
“Nothing, just that he’s not like that. He’s very sincere, and he said he wanted a chance to talk to you.”
If that were true, Rhys appreciated it. He despised when people said things they didn’t mean. It was way too confusing.
“Jonah will be there too,” Tessa said. “We’ll all support you.”
“Fine. I’ll see you then.” If he didn’t go, Agnes would likely hunt him down anyway.
Rhys had to force himself to leave his house later than he normally would so he wouldn’t be early to the meeting. He hated the idea of being late, but he didn’t want to get there before at least one of his friends. Thankfully, Jonah was usually early, just like Rhys.