Page 16 of Without You

“Not at all. Go ahead.”

He slides his thumb across the screen and answers, “Yeah?” He listens quietly for a few seconds then says, “Got it. Be there in ten. Hang tight.”

Brody shoves his phone back in his pocket.

“Gotta go?”

“Yup. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re a big deal now, right?”

“Nah. Never that. But, I’d really like to have coffee, or something, again.”

“Yeah?”

“Of course. We barely had time to scratch the surface,” he says, standing up.

I stand up also and we grab our trash, bringing it to the trash can by the door of the coffee shop. He holds the door open for me and I brush past him, discreetly inhaling. He smells of soap and spice and oh my gosh, it’s not even that strong or anything overly sexy but it is delicious.

“Did you just sniff me?” he asks, humor heavy in his tone.

I stop in my tracks.

Okay. So apparently I wasn’t discreet.

How embarrassing.

I shake my head fast.

No.

Nope, I didn’t.

Side to side.

Side to side.

If I say it didn’t happen, it didn’t happen, right?

“No?”

“Right.”

“Okay,” he says, trying not to laugh.

I sigh, relenting. “Fine. I did. But you sniffed me first!” I exclaim, even though I’m lying through my teeth.

“So, it was a mutual sniffing?” He surprises me by replying.

I point at him and narrow my eyes. “You know, a gentleman would have just let it slide.”

He grins.

“All right. I’ll let you off the hook. Because I am a gentleman. Sometimes,” he adds with a chuckle.

I roll my eyes. “Anyway,” I murmur. “Thanks, again, for the coffee and scone.”

“My pleasure,” he says. “Maybe I’ll bump into you again soon?”

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