Page 28 of Just Desserts in Pelican Point
Especiallybecause I want to be.
Chapter10
Julie
The espresso machine hisses behind me like it knows I’m spiraling. I pour a shot with more aggression than necessary, watching the rich stream fill the tiny glass like it’s going to give me answers.
Spoiler: It doesn’t.
Marcus didn’t stop by this morning.
No tall, brooding cop with his usual raspberry danish and black coffee. No quiet, lingering looks. No sarcastic one-liner about my muffins being too cheerful. Just… nothing.
This morning, I woke up tangled in sheets that still smelled like him, with sunlight slanting across the pillow where his head had been, but he was gone.
Not a note. Not a text. Just nothing.
I replay the night over and over in my head, trying to find where it went wrong. But all I remember is how he looked at me like I was something fragile and precious. The way he touched me like he couldn’t get close enough. The way I felt… seen.
And now… I certainly don’t feel seen. I feel used.
The bell above the door jingles, and I look up to see Emma, Sophie, Candace, and Joselyn stroll in like a caffeine-seeking girl gang on a mission. Emma’s already waving four fingers in the air.
"Four lattes. Heavy on the attitude," she says, then pauses when she gets a good look at my face. "Okay, who do I need to kill?"
Joselyn leans across the counter, squinting at me. "You look like someone ran over your favorite spatula."
I slide their drinks across the counter. "Marcus didn’t come in this morning."
Sophie pauses mid-sip. "Like… for coffee?”
Candace raises a brow. "She means something’s up with Marcus."
"Yes." I groan.
Emma’s voice goes soft. "Jules… did something happen?"
I pour another shot just for the distraction and then exhale. "We slept together last night. After game night."
"WHAT?!" they all say in unison, startling a couple customers near the pastry case.
I gesture for them to keep it down, but it’s no use. Sophie’s eyes are bugging out, Joselyn is fanning herself with a napkin, and Candace is wearing her death plotting face.
"He was sweet," I say quietly. "Really sweet. Vulnerable. He walked me home. We talked. Then we… yeah. Anyways, when I woke up this morning—he was gone. No text. No note. Just… gone. And now… he didn’t even come in for his usual breakfast." I can feel tears welling up, “I feel so stupid.”
Sophie reaches over the counter and squeezes my hand. "Okay, first of all, you are not stupid. I told you he likes you. Give it some time. Maybe he’s had a busy morning or he’s on a call or something."
Emma points with her coffee like she’s conducting a courtroom cross-examination. "You said he was like a brick wall of brooding hotness, but that’s no excuse. I will kill him the next time I see him."
Candace snorts. "How was it? Did he go… All. Night. Long."
"Guys." I glare at them, cheeks burning. "I’m not in the mood. This is serious to me."
Emma tilts her head. "Do you think he’s ghosting you? Because he doesn’t seem like the type. Did you try calling him?"
"No, I didn’t," I admit. "Maybe he panicked? Or maybe last night meant more to me than it did to him. I don’t know."
"Okay, pause," Joselyn says. "The man built you a table, he saved you from a knife-wielding manic, put in your security system, and he shows updailyfor coffee and quiet eye flirting. He came to game night. You don’t do all that if you’re not emotionally invested. Something’s got to be up."
