Page 25 of Love You A Latte

Addison holds up her phone, the phone that is currently recording a video, presses the red stop button, then hands it to the sheriff.

“You can see and listen to it all right there. I think we’d all appreciate you removing this man before he causes any more harm to your local patrons,” she says.

Addison finally lets me step out from behind her and I blink at her in surprise, seeing the sheriff doing the same before he puts a hand on Derek’s arm to lead him away.

“You’re a badass,” I say, not even trying to hide the awe in my voice.

She smirks. “I learned from the best.”

Her shoulders are rigid though, and I can see the clench in her jaw as she takes in the other patrons who are all still watching. Addison isn’t confrontational. She couldn’t even block her abusive ex without support, so the fact that she stood up for me like that in front of a room of people, to an aggressive man twice her size, has me wanting to kneel at her feet and worship her.

I would have handled it fine on my own. Certainly not as well as she did, but I would have figured it out. I didn’t need her help, but she stepped in anyway. My sweet, bubbly, sometimes sassy Addison put herself in the most uncomfortable position she could have, forme. I’m desperate to sweep her into my arms. To kiss her until the tension drains from her body. To show her…

My thoughts sputter out.

I think I might love this woman.

~~~

The sheriff takes a report from each of us, and a few other patrons step up to offer witness statements as well. I’m so grateful for this supportive community. It’s too bad Derek is a part of it, but I guess there are bound to be a few bad seeds.

I watch Addison as she finishes up with the sheriff. Her hands gesture as she speaks, her face animated. Scorn drips from her gaze every time she glances at the squad car where Derek waits.

I want to kiss her so badly. I wanted to kiss her that whole time. My lips tingle and I bite at them, knowing we’re still drawing attention and not wanting to make Addison any more uncomfortable.

She finally walks toward me with a heavy sigh, her shoulders relaxing as she drops the weight she’s been carrying. I glance at Tori behind the counter, raising my eyebrows to check if she’s okay, and she nods. I pull Addison into the back room with me and sweep her into a hug.

Her arms tighten around me and her face nuzzles into my neck.

“Thank you for standing up for me,” I say, rubbing soft circles on her back. “I know that wasn’t easy for you.”

“Itwaseasy, though. I didn’t even have to think about it,” Addison says, pulling back to look me in the eye. “It was the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

A slow smile crosses my face as my eyes search her beautiful blues. They’re brimming with sincerity and compassion, perhaps a hint of uncertainty.

“I wanted to kiss you senseless that entire time,” I say, and her eyes flare.

She lets out a bark of laughter, then sees that I’m serious and her smile turns coy.

“Well,” she glances around, “there’s nothing stopping you now.”

I grin. The cheek of this girl. I really,reallylike it. I cup her face between my palms and tug her lips down to mine, devouring her as I’ve been wanting to for the last hour.

Addison sticks around the coffee shop the rest of the day, and I offer to let her upstairs to use my apartment if she needs to make any phone calls. I get the sense she doesn’t want to be alone, or perhaps she doesn’t want to leave me, even though I’m fine. We both appreciate the connection and support right now, and I busy myself with work, though I can’t stop the nagging feeling that there’s something I’m missing.

That annoying sense of having forgotten something important lingers, but every time I try to focus on it, it disappears. Perhaps a specter has moved in and I didn’t notice yet.

As soon as the last customer leaves, I quickly wipe everything down and practically sprint up the stairs. Addison went up with Moose about thirty minutes ago for a phone call and never came back down, and I’m eager to see her.

Ridiculous, considering I’ve been in her presence literally the entire day.

When I open the door, I see her sitting at my small wooden desk across the room with one of Everly’s fuzzy pillows in her lap, and I smile at the ease with which she embodies my space. She’s still on the phone, so I slip into the bathroom to quickly wash up and change.

When I come back out, she’s done with her call and rummaging through my desk. I grin and shake my head. I don’t mind if she’s nosy, in fact I kind of like that she didn’t ask before making herself at home.

But my smile drops when she says, “What’s this?”

Addison holds up a stack of envelopes, and that thing I couldn’t remember… it snaps into place in my brain.

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