Page 48 of Back To Our Beginning

“I was just filling them in,” the girl grumbled.

“Beau, she’s right. Everything is great here,” I said.

The girl grinned at me, and I winked at her.

We were finally near the front of the line. We just had to wait for a cute high school couple to place their order. They were both staring at the pastry case like it held the answers to their next biology test.

“If they stare much longer, Ruby can file for a restraining order,” Beau whispered in my ear.

I covered my mouth to hold back a laugh. Beau was right.

Ruby was at the cash register, and I could see she was getting perturbed and heading toward pissed. I looked behind us. There were at least ten more people.

“Do you like chocolate?” Ruby asked the couple.

“Shea does,” the young man answered.

“You’re in luck. You’re my two-hundredth customer this morning. You get a free muffin. The one caveat is that it has to be chocolate. Sorry I can’t let you choose. With the chocolate muffin, I recommend the honey vanilla cappuccino and the vanilla chai. How does that sound?”

The couple grinned at one another. “I’ll have the cappuccino,” the young man said.

“I’ll have the vanilla chai,” the girl named Shea said.

“Great. I’ll get the muffin warmed up and your drinks ready for you in a jiffy. Just wait at the end of the counter.”

They walked away, holding hands. It made me even more aware of Beau’s hand at my waist and how much I liked it.

As we stepped up to the register, Ruby took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Well, well, well,” she drawled. “If it isn’t Little Miss I-Don’t-Date and the new town heartthrob, all snuggled up together. In public.” She gave me a piercing look. “Care to explain, Missy?”

I felt my face go crimson. Beau? He just grinned.

“Morning, Ruby. Damn shame we weren’t the two-hundredth customer. Since we weren’t, you got anything special you might recommend?” Beau asked smoothly.

“Not anything as special as Miss Maddie’s love life.”

She was talking loud enough that I was sure everybody in the coffee shop could hear.

“Ruby! Dial it back.” It was both a plea and an order.

She winked at me. “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the…” Her eyes got wide. “Now, where were you last night?”

“I swear to God⁠—”

“Relax, babe,” Ruby laughed. “You’re glowing. It’s adorable. I hate it. I’m jealous as hell. Now, I know you’re having a chai tea with whipped cream and either a blueberry muffin or an orange and cranberry scone. So, which is it?”

“The scone,” I sighed.

“What about you, big guy?”

“I’ll take a coffee black. Large. And a bacon-cheddar scone.”

“Your order will be up in no time. There’s a seat in the back corner. I’ll have T.J. bus it. Go grab it before it’s gone. T.J. will bring your food.”

“Fancy service today.” I smiled. “I’m liking it.”

Ruby leaned over the counter and motioned with her finger for me to come closer. “I figure he wore you out last night, so you might need to sit down.”