Page 10 of Love You A Latte

“Addison,” I say, gentling my voice and moving to the seat next to her. “Wait, hang on a sec.”

She pauses her frantic movements to look up at me again, and I try to offer a reassuring smile. I’m used to Everly’s anxiety, so I use some of the things she finds helpful in the hopes it’ll settle whatever is going on with Addison. I reach out slowly, giving her plenty of time to move if she doesn’t want to be touched, then settle my hand on her forearm. I squeeze once and then nudge her hand away from her laptop.

She releases it and slouches in her seat, then glances around. Her shoulders hunch up and her cheeks turn evenmore red. I don’t like her feeling self-conscious.

“Ignore them. A bunch of gossip-hungry vultures,” I say, raising my voice enough for those around us to hear. There’s a collective rasp of fabric against wood as people shift in their seats, pretending to go back to their own business. She takes a breath and meets my gaze again, so I continue, lowering my voice for her ears only. “What did you mean? When did you want me to kiss you?”

Addison splutters. “I didn’t—I mean, when we—”

I try not to grin, I really do, but it breaks through despite biting my lip to try to hide it. Her cheeks turn even more pink than they already were.

“Right, we can pretend you don’t want me to kiss you, if that helps,” I say. “And we can also pretend that I don’t want to kiss you, either.” I make a fist and bump it to my chest over my heart.

She looks shocked for all of two seconds before she grins and shakes her head.

“Fine,” she says.

“Great, so you were saying?”

“After that drinking game when I was here a few months ago. I thought… I don’t know.”

“You thought there was something there. That we had chemistry,” I say.

She neither confirms nor denies it, which I find slightly irritating because I want her to admit it. I want to hear that she felt—and feels—the same way I do.

“I thought we were flirting, and I guess I thought it might lead to more,” she says instead. Her eyes are downcast again and I hate it.

“And you’re wondering why it didn’t.”

“I’m wondering why you rejected me.”

Oh.

That hurts. I hurt her, and that hurts me, and I don’t want any of that.

“You thought I was rejecting you… No, no, sweet Addison.” I shake my head and take a deep breath, trying to settle the emotions that are now roiling through me.

“I wasn’t rejecting you, and everything you thought about us flirting, me wanting more, that’s true. But we hadboth been drinking, and I didn’t know exactly how much either of us had. I didn’t want to take advantage, and I didn’t want you to wake up the next morning with any regrets.”

“I did, though,” Addison whispers, then her sorrowful eyes rise from the table to meet mine. “I did have regrets.”

My eyebrows draw in, the hurt spreading. Hurt for myself this time.

“You did?”

She nods, averting her eyes again. “I regretted not kissing you. I regret that I didn’t put myself out there. I regret that I didn’t make a move, and simply waited, hoping that you would.”

This woman.

She might be the death of me.

“Addison,” I whisper, and her eyes flick back to mine. “Can we start over?”

She blinks rapidly once, twice. A third time. Then a tiny, hopeful smile cracks through her vacant facade, and she nods.

“Yeah?” I say.

“Yeah,” she whispers.

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