Page 17 of The Cupcake Standard

My brain did what it always did before coffee in the morning, sending my thoughts out of my mouth with no filter. “Why French vanilla?”

He frowned. “That’s what Gina said you liked.”

I waved at him. “No, not why’d you buy it.” Then it was my turn to frown. “Which, thank you again for that. What else did you buy?”

“Um. I don’t know what to answer first.” He blinked at me.

My lips curled into a smile, and pretty soon I was laughing. “Sorry. I’m sorry. My morning train of thought is kind of a wreck.”

He eyed me, perching on the barstool next to mine. “What were you saying about French vanilla?”

“Oh, right.” I gestured to the creamer. “Why don’t they have plain vanilla coffee creamer? Why does it have to be French? What makes French vanilla so much better than the others?”

He raised his mug to his lips, taking a thoughtful sip. “Hmm. I don’t know. I guess that’s why I take mine black, then I don’t have to worry about it.”

We shared a silly grin, comfortable silence resting between us like an old friend.

“What’s on the agenda today?” He leaned a scruffy chin on one hand, focusing on me way too intently.

How does one being hold so much intensity? His megawatt smile that had me reaching for my sunglasses. A simple glance that made every thought in my brain melt into a gooey puddle. Wonderful. “Um.”

“Homework?”

A lifeline, perfect. Maybe he’ll give me CPR if I hold my breath? I thought about that first kiss and the brief one last night. He cleared his throat, bringing my daydream to an end. I scrambled to answer his question. “Yeah, I should at least crack open the old laptop.” I noticed he was frowning once more. “What?”

“Hmm?”

I gave a little half-laugh at our incoherent conversation. “You were frowning. You do that when you have a question, but don’t want to ask. So what’s up?”

“I do?”

My nod was succinct. “Yes, and don’t avoid the question.”

He smirked. “I was trying to remember if you told me your major.”

“Oh.” I ran through our conversations. “I don’t think I did. It’s business with a communications minor.”

“How does psychology fit into that?” he asked, brow furrowed.

I gave him a sheepish smile. “It doesn’t. But I kept hearing really good things about that class and I couldn’t resist.”

His nod was thoughtful. “Any plans for what to do with your degree?”

“Nothing concrete.” I shrugged. “Not work at a coffee shop forever.”

He chuckled. “Solid.”

I swirled my spoon in my mug. “Gina’s always wanted to own a bar, turn it into a hot spot. Me, I’m still looking for my dream.”

“That’s okay, too.” Silence hung between us once more.

I pushed away from the counter. “I’m going to go check my laptop.” Derek stood up at the same time, and I ran smack into his bare chest. I nearly toppled over, trying to back up only to trip on the chair behind me, but his hands on my arms steadied me. My palms rested on his smooth pecs. I couldn’t look away. My heart raced, and my thumb brushed over his warm skin of its own accord.

Goose bumps appeared on his torso, and he shivered. “I’ll just go get dressed.”

We awkwardly stepped away from each other. Unable to look at him, I waited until he disappeared before I took my cup of coffee to my room. Thankfully my breathing had returned to normal. Now if I can focus on my work and not that beautiful, smooth chest, I’ll be all set. After flopping onto my bed, I opened the laptop and managed to scan through my emails.

There was some reading homework with a couple of online quizzes but that was it. Nice.

---