Page 407 of Safe With You

Mila sat at one of the café tables doing homework while Ellis brought in the sign from outside. I counted the register, printed what I needed for tomorrow, and straightened the counter while he locked the front door behind him.

“Almost done?” he asked.

“Almost.”

“You said that ten minutes ago.”

“I was less almost then.”

“That makes no sense.”

By the time I came around the counter, Mila had packed her backpack and was waiting near the door.

“Can we eat now?”

Ellis looked at me. “Apparently she’s starving.”

“I am.”

“You had a snack an hour ago.”

“That was a snack.”

I grabbed my bag. “She has a point.”

Mila smiled.

Ellis shook his head. “Both of y’all.”

I laughed and reached for the magazine I tucked away earlier.

“You taking that home?” Ellis asked.

“Yeah.”

“Thought framing it was obnoxious.”

“I’m not framing it.”

“Yet.”

“Ever.”

He smiled like he didn’t believe me.

I slid it carefully into my bag.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Give me a second.”

I made one last walk through the store, something I did every night. I checked the café and the back, made sure nothing was left somewhere it shouldn’t be, and turned off the lights as I went.

By the time I reached the front again, most of Chapter & Charm was dark. The light above the register was the last one.

I stopped beneath it.

The store was quiet now, but evidence of the day was everywhere. A chair near the café wasn’t pushed all the way in. There was a book on the return cart that I’d shelve tomorrow. The stack of magazines beside the register was smaller than it was that morning.