Page 15 of This Life of Mine
I glance over and laugh. “Named who? A guy? Of course they have.”
“Mr. M,“ Val says proudly. “ForMr. Mysterious,or maybeMr. My…My…The jury’s out.”
“That sounds about right for those two,” I mutter.
“He comes in a few times a week,” she continues. “Black coffee in the morning and something a little stronger in the evenings. Polite. Tips well. Doesn’t cling to his phone like it’s an emotional support device.”
“Wow,” I deadpan. “The bar is truly subterranean these days.”
Val laughs. “Listen, in this economy? We celebrate effort.”
“And let me guess,” I say lightly. “Tall.”
“Very,” she confirms. “Donna says he looks like he walked straight out of one of the romance books we sell. Kay claims he looks like the type of guy who helps old ladies carry groceries and rescues stray dogs on weekends.”
I snort. “These girls need to get out more.”
“They live in a bakery, bookstore folklore. Give them a break.”
I nod my head. “And…lots of people drink black coffee. It’s not a personality.”
Val is propped against the counter. “True. But not everyone settles into our shop like they’ve got nowhere they’d rather be.”
I pause mid-spread. “Meaning?”
She nods toward him. “Meaning he’s comfortable. No phone glued to his hand. No pretending to be important. Just sitting there like this is where he wants to be.”
“So?”
She smirks. “So that’s apparently enough to have half the women in here stealing glances every five minutes.”
I roll my eyes. “Thrilling.”
Val grins. “Donna did say he straightens up when you leave the kitchen.”
I laugh. “No, she didn’t.”
“She did,” Val insists. “But to be fair, Donna also thinks everyone is in love with you.”
“Donna is delusional.”
Despite myself I laugh.
“I’m not looking for anything right now.”
“Good,” Val says easily. “Maybe he isn’t either. That’s when people are at their least annoying, anyway.”
I sigh. “If thisMr. Mturns out to be another hot guy handing out compliments…”
“Then you enjoy the coffee, accept the compliment, and continue being unbothered,” Val finishes. “You’re very good at that now.”
I snort. “So.”
“You can’t pretend you aren’t curious.”
I pretend to think. “Okay. Hypothetically. How tall are we talking?”
She beams.
