Page 14 of Game Changer

“Are you Opal?” A woman dressed in a navy blue pantsuit taps my forearm. “He’s staring right at you.”

“I’m her,” I whisper. “I’m Opal.”

“I’m jealous.” She adds a wink to that, so I suppose it’s a compliment.

I accept it with a smile. “Thanks, I guess.”

She tosses me a knowing nod, although it doesn’t hit the spot because I’m not in the know. I spilled smelly green dip on the man yesterday. There’s a good chance he went to the dry cleaner to price out the cost of cleaning the jacket and was told it wasn’t salvageable, so he’s expecting me to replace it.

I can swing it, but it means I’ll need to cut back on the party favors for the soft launch of my bar next week.

William summons me toward him with a curl of his finger, and I go straight to him like a fish on a hook. I’m snared. How could I not be? His smile and those soulful brown eyes are irresistible.

“Coffee or tea, Opal?” he asks when I’m close enough to touch him.

I do my racing heart a favor and order what I know is best for me. “Tea, please. The organic orange tea here is great.”

“I’ll have the same.” He looks toward the barista, who is staring right at him. “Did you get that?”

She doesn’t glance my way but instead nods enthusiastically. “Two organic orange teas. Anything else, William?”

He perks an eyebrow in silent query, but I shake my head because tea is all I need.

“Just the teas, Chelsie.” He pulls a credit card out of his wallet.

I move in quickly. I agreed to this early morning café meeting because I soiled his suit jacket, and the deal was I’d pay for our beverages. I slide a twenty dollar bill out of the front pocket of my jeans and shove it at her. “The drinks are on me.”

“They’re on me,” William insists.

I look up and into his face. “After what happened yesterday, I want to pay.”

He acquiesces, smiling softly as he puts his credit card back into his wallet.

I turn my attention back to Chelsie. “Keep the change.”

“Thank you,” she says, dropping the change in a jar marked for tips. “I love that jacket. It looks great on you.”

I take the compliment as it’s meant and smile at her. “Thank you.”

“I was just telling Chelsie about your plans for Turquoise Crown.” William looks at her before his gaze settles on my face.

I’ll take all the pre-launch publicity I can get, so I tell her more, “If you like playing board games, it’s the place to be… or will be the place to be once we open.”

“My sister and I love them, so we’ll be there.” She glances over her shoulder to where another barista is dropping tea bags into two ceramic mugs. “Your order is almost ready. Grab a table, and I’ll bring it out to you.”

I expect every table to be occupied, but to my surprise, I spot two vacant ones when we turn back around. William gestures to the one closest to us. He tugs on the back of one of the chairs in anticipation of me sitting down. “How much time can you spare this morning to talk board games with me?”

I let out a laugh. “I think around half an hour. The contractor took off to grab something from his shop as I was leaving to come here. I’ll need to head out once he’s back at my bar. As I told you yesterday, I don’t trust him with the keys.”

If he’s disappointed in our limited time together, he’s not giving anything away with his expression. The man is stoic and super nice to look at.

I wonder what he would look like with a five o’clock shadow covering his smooth jaw.

Chelsie interrupts my thoughts when she places a mug of fragrant tea in front of me. She does the same to William. “Tell Scout I said hi, okay?”

“I will,” he says before she starts back toward the barista counter. His attention smoothly shifts back to me. “Scout is my sister. She’s been friends with Chelsie for as long as I can remember.”

Surprised that he told me that, I smile before I take a sip of the scorching hot tea. If I expect to finish this entire thing in the next thirty minutes, I’ll sustain third-degree lip burns because it’s that hot.

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