Page 1 of Sweet
Chapter 1
Daisy sawhim through the dusty window of Metlin Books as soon as she turned the corner. She froze for a second, trying to figure out what Spider Villalobos was doing there; then she remembered that the tattoo artist was an old friend of Betsy Elliot, the owner of Metlin Books.
Shit! This was not part of her plan. This was one hundred percent not at all in the plan.
Daisy was usually the one who dropped off the café’s rent check at the bookstore, but Spider had never been behind the counter before. It was usually just Betsy or sometimes her granddaughter Emmie, a chatty fourteen-year-old with a quietly wicked sense of humor.
Spider was… Spider. Medium height and build with a closely cropped head of nearly black hair, dark eyes, and a jaw as sharp as a knife. He had high, arched cheekbones, and black-and-grey tattoos spread from his neck, disappeared into his shirt, and reappeared down both arms to the wrist. He even had tattoos on the back of his hands and a few on his knuckles.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.
This could not be happening. Daisy looked okay that afternoon, but she hadn’t planned on seeingSpider. She was wearing the jeans she’d worn for gardening the weekend before and a T-shirt she’d planned on changing when she got to the café.
She was not supposed to be seeing Spider.
The only direct interaction Daisy had with Spider was when he stopped by her family’s bakery, Café Maya, to grab his regular coffee—black, three sugars—before he headed over to Misspent Youth, the tattoo shop across from the bookshop.
Those short interactions had a set order. He offered her a muttered “What’s up?” She smiled and poured his coffee into a mug he brought from home that was meticulously washed. He paid in cash. She said, “Thanks for coming to Café Maya; have a good morning.”
And that was that.
She had to go into the bookshop. Lingering outside the plate glass windows wasn’t an option. Turning around wasn’t either; she was pretty sure he’d already seen her.
Daisy pushed open the door to the bookshop, the jingle of the bell over the door barely audible over her pounding heart. Spider glanced up, then looked intently at something on the counter. Then he looked up again as she approached the counter and didn’t take his eyes off her for a second.
He lifted his chin in a small nod. “What’s up?”
Daisy swallowed hard. “Uh…” Oh my God, she was an idiot. Who started talking to someone as hot as Spider with an uh? “I just… I have the rent check for Betsy.” She pulled the envelope from her back pocket. “For the café. It’s the first.”
“Okay.” He stared at her but didn’t elaborate.
Daisy frowned a little. “Is she here?”
“Appointment.”
Apparently her object of fascination for eight months only spoke in single words.
“Okay…” Daisy wasn’t sure what to say. Would Betsy want her to leave the check with Spider? She obviously trusted him to watch the shop, so dropping off a check—
“Spider!” There was a thundering set of footsteps from the hallway to the left of the counter, and a young teenager with reddish-brown hair poked her head in the doorway. “Oh hey, Daisy. Are you looking for a book? I can help you find one.”
It was Emmie, Betsy’s granddaughter. Daisy immediately smiled; Emmie was five years younger than her, but she always made Daisy laugh.
“Hey, Em. I wish I was here to get a new read, but I’m just dropping off the rent check for your grandma.”
“Oh.” Emmie stalked forward with her hand out. “I can take it. I know where she puts them in her office.”
“Cool.” Daisy glanced at Spider for a second before she handed over the envelope. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Emmie grabbed the check and walked behind the counter, leaning into Spider a little bit. She smiled a little. “What were you and Spider talking about?”
Daisy blinked. “I… We weren’t actually—”
“Mimi, mind your business,” Spider said quietly. “Homework, remember?”
So he didn’t only speak in single words. That was a relief.
“Ugh.” Emmie rolled her eyes to the heavens. “It’s a report on the Roman Empire; like… the most boring thing ever.”
