Page 53 of Blame It On the Lattes

We got ready and went on our second official date, which still felt weird to say. It was pointless to deny how much I loved him, especially after I accidentally confessed it to him. If anything, it just made things harder and more complicated as I struggled to figure out my next steps. Just because we had said we loved each other and were officially dating didn’t mean that I expected things to continue how they were. He invited me and Kennedy to stay with him until we got on our feet, but that didn’t mean he was necessarily ready for us to live with him forever and become an instant family.

The waitress came by to refill our glasses of water while we waited for our food. Sam and I were seated in one of the booths in the back of the small café, but I could still feel people’s eyes on us.

“They’re still talking about us,” I said quietly, trying to look away from the two older women who made no effort to hide the fact that they were indeed talking about us.

Sam looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

“People in small towns like to gossip. Give it a little time, and it’ll blow over.”

“How can you blow it off so easily?”

He shrugged and gave me a soft smile.

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just used to it.”

“You’re used to being the center of the town’s gossip?” I questioned, lifting my glass and taking a drink.

“No, I’m just used to the town constantly gossiping.”

I must’ve made a weird face because his face fell and he started fidgeting with his silverware on the table.

“You’re going to have people who gossip anywhere you go, Avery. Whether it’s in a small town or a big city, that’s just the nature of people. But you’ll find here that while some people love to gossip, the majority of the town ignores it and moves on with their day. Those two live for gossip, and everyone knows that. That’s why they gossip to each other; no one wants to hear it anymore.”

I sighed heavily, letting my shoulders fall.

“I feel like everyone thinks that I started sleeping with you to get something at work,” I admitted, twisting my napkin on my lap beneath the table.

“They can think what they want.”

“It’s not that easy for me, Sam. I don’t want everyone thinking I’m some adulterous whore,” I whispered, leaning forward so he could hear me without drawing the attention of those around us.

“No one thinks that,” he said, reaching across the table for my hand.

I brought it up to the table and held his, still not believing him.

“They do,” I replied, nodding to the old women who were blatantly pointing at me.

Sam got up, scooted in beside me in the booth, and stared right back at them as he talked.

“Margaret slept with her daughter’s husband while her daughter was seven months pregnant with his child. She also slept with her sister’s husband, leading to their divorce. Ellen, the one with the ugly beanie, got kicked out of the retirement community center because she wouldn’t stop sleeping with the men there.”

“Isn’t that their fault, too, though?”

“Technically, yes. But she had gonorrhea and spread it like a wildfire. Sugarplum Falls had their first official outbreak of a disease that year.”

“Oh my gosh!” I whispered, laughing behind my hands.

Sam turned and faced me with pure adoration in his eyes.

“You’re not an adulterous whore, Avery. You’re a beautiful, single woman who fell in love with the town’s most eligible bachelor—who happens to make thebestlattes, if I do say so myself. You can’t blame people for being upset that you took this stud off the market.”

“You’re so humble,” I teased, nudging him with my elbow.

I knew he was being silly just to get me to laugh, and it worked.

“You know you like it.”

“Correction,” I said, pausing for our waitress to deliver our food before thanking her and continuing. “I love it.”

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