Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
They both stood, and finally she had to look at Nate. She had a feeling he could read every emotion track across her face, and she felt like a deer caught in headlights as they stared into each other’s eyes.
“Furface is here,” Nate said. “He’s waiting by the back door for you.”
“Furface?”
It took a moment to get her brain back on track. She’d been expecting him to say something about their kiss, or ask why she had run away from him on Friday night, or about the fact that she’d ignored his texts and phone calls over the weekend. But no. Nate was
pointing to the back door of the café where the small dog who had been coming by lately was looking in at them.
Thrilled for the chance to move away from the one person on earth she didn’t know how to talk to, Tamara grabbed the bowl of dog biscuits she kept under the counter and another bowl for water. She put both bowls on the back step and then scratched the dog’s ears while he made short work of his breakfast.
By the time she came back inside, Nate was carefully wrapping the fragments of the broken mug in a paper towel. He threw them away, then gave her a serious look.
She swallowed, knowing what was about to happen.
“Tamara,” he said, “we need to talk about Friday night.”
She took a breath and wondered if he’d had to work up his courage to come over and begin the post-kiss conversation. Was there any chance that he was a little nervous like her?
“I know we do,” Tamara said quietly.
It was strange, having this sudden awkwardness between them. From the moment they’d first met, Nate was someone she could talk to easily. She looked forward to their conversations and would find herself saving up the events of the day so that she could tell him about them. If they hadn’t kissed, things wouldn’t feel so weird now. And suddenly, she knew what she needed to say.
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls or texts over the weekend.”
Nate nodded.
She continued, “If I had, I would have told you I had a great time on Friday night, and our kiss was really lovely…” She paused. “But I can’t do it again.”
For a split second, she thought disappointment crossed Nate’s face. But just as quickly, he said, “You’re right. We’re such good friends, and it would be a shame to mess that up. I respect your decision, and I agree with you.”
Tamara was surprised by the wave of regret that flooded through her. Although she believed her words, it was as though a part of her had been hoping that Nate would declare himself and say he couldn’t live without her, and he wasn’t going to give up on her.
She blushed at the thought. She’d worked so hard at being level-headed, at getting her business off the ground, at not letting her feelings get the better of her. But somewhere along the line, her brain had clearly turned to romantic mush. Forever love might work out for the Married in Malibu crew and their glamorous clients, but she knew better for herself. Which meant she needed to be practical about all this, however hard it was.
“Our kiss doesn’t have to change anything,” Nate added. “We can just act like it never happened.”
Act like it never happened?
Could Nate really just switch his feelings on and off like that? How could she act as though their kiss never happened when it had been all she had been able to think about since Friday night? It didn’t help that he looked so darned attractive in his black T-shirt and jeans. Tamara was struck by the urge to kiss him again. She had to remind herself what a bad idea it would be to act on that instinct. With effort, she pushed away romantic thoughts about Nate. Especially the ones that involved him kissing her again. It wasn’t going to happen. She had to strengthen her resolve.
She put a smile on her face that she most certainly didn’t feel. “Super! So now that everything’s back to normal, what can I get you to drink? Do you want the usual?”
Tamara did her best to sound breezy, even though she didn’t feel breezy at all. She was a bundle of nerves.
“Sure,” Nate replied, and she was pretty certain his voice sounded a bit tight.
Tamara was grateful when the teens returned from their break—she’d momentarily forgotten about them. As they promptly got to work getting the café ready for the lunch rush, she noticed the girls sneaking glances at Nate. She knew what they were thinking, and she agreed with them: Nate was one seriously good-looking guy.
Tamara began making Nate’s double espresso, his coffee of choice for its big dose of caffeine crammed into a small space. It was something she did almost every morning, and it should have felt reassuringly normal. But it didn’t feel anywhere close to normal.