Page 2 of The Coffee Bar on Camellia Court

Liz chortled. "Summer sizzler. That's good."

"Thank you," Juno preened. "That one just rolled off the tongue."

"Alex and his summer sizzlers." Liz nodded. "It's got a nice ring to it."

Juno chuckled and turned to the sink to rinse out the rag again. She almost felt sorry for Payton. It wasn't her fault that she'd fallen for Alex. The guy was irresistible with his Viking good looks and easy charm. He had a way of looking at a woman—any woman, Juno conceded—that made her feel singled out. Acknowledged. Special.

"He's doing it on purpose, you know."

"Doing what?" Juno asked over her shoulder, forcing her eyes not to wander toward the window.

Liz gave her a single-eyebrow-lift look and Juno mirrored the sardonic expression back at her. "Oh, you know. The whole shirtless thing. To get your attention."

Of its own accord, her gaze moved to the window just in time to see Alex ball up the shirt he'd just removed, toss it into the open window of his truck, then roll out his shoulders. At her table, Payton let out a dreamy sigh, loud enough to cover Juno's slight inhalation, thank goodness. Juno made a small sound of disgust at the back of her throat, but shrugged. "It's July in Indiana. We're a lake town. Every guy is shirtless today."

"Pastor Darren isn't shirtless."

Juno snorted and shot a look at the fully-dressed man who'd commandeered one of the comfortable reading chairs on the other side of the coffee shop and was engrossed in the day's Courier newspaper. "Yeah, well, Pastor Darren is seventy-two years old and has the good sense to stay indoors where there's air conditioning."

"You know, he could be Thor's younger brother." Liz's tone sounded a little gushy.

"Pastor Darren?" Juno couldn't resist asking.

"Yikes. No." Liz made a face just as Claire Maitland, the proprietress from The Cracked Spine, sank onto a stool beside her. Her long blonde hair was held back from her face by a black velvet ribbon, and she wore a white pinafore apron over a blue dress with a wide checkered border around the bottom of the full skirt. Juno was pretty sure there was some kind of petticoat under it to keep it so poofy.

Claire was always dressing like book characters. Her willowy silhouette and porcelain features were perfectly suited to the costumer's rack that was her closet. If she could figure out how to make it happen, Claire would step into her books and disappear forever.

"Wowzer!" Claire swiveled on her stool so she could openly watch Alex. "Not gonna complain about this morning's entertainment."

"Stop objectifying him, ladies," Juno said, fighting back a grin.

"I'd never objectify Pastor Darren." Liz pressed a palm to her chest in mock offense.

Juno ignored her, and to Claire, said, "And don't you have a bookstore to run?"

"I do," Claire shot back, still ogling Alex while she rifled blindly through her patchwork hobo bag for her wallet. "But I also have a couple of really great employees I pay to hold down the fort while I make a java run for them from my favorite coffee bar. I need three of your lavender honey lattes—two iced, one hot—a salted caramel blended latte, and a breve Americano for me. All mediums, please." She finally turned and grinned at Liz, then Juno. She leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Did you notice the WOOT in the window giving me the evil eye? What's up with that?"

"That's Dolly Payton," Liz said.

"No way." Claire's expression was priceless, her eyes wide, her face lit up with hope. "Dolly Payton? That's awesome!"

"Just Payton," Juno corrected, glaring long-sufferingly at Liz. "Alex's latest summer sizzler. That's what I'm officially calling them from now on, by the way."

Claire clapped delightedly. "Works for me."

"They came in together around this same time last Saturday and he made her introduce herself to me," Juno went on.

"Probably couldn't remember her name," Liz quipped.

"She's been camped out there for more than an hour," Juno continued, a note of genuine pity in her voice now. "I think she's waiting for him, maybe hoping he'll notice her sitting pretty in the window."

"Another summer sizzler," Claire said solemnly. "They burn out so quickly."

The conversation, to outside ears, might have sounded catty, but Alex regularly made light of his short term dalliances. "I'm a summer sunshine guy. Local color. No one expects more from me than that."

Claire cleared her throat and leaned forward over the counter. "Incoming," she muttered out of the side of her mouth.

Sure enough, Payton was making her way to the counter, designer purse swinging. "Could I get an extra large lavender honey latte to go? Extra hot and extra sweet, like me." She glanced over her shoulder at Alex and subconsciously pressed her fingertips to her mouth. "And extra whipped cream on top, too," she added, turning her bold gaze toward the three women at the counter. "I thought my guy out there might need a little pick-me-up."

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