Page 78 of My Return to the Walter Boys
If this surprised Cole, he didn’t let it show.
I slid out of the car and onto the sidewalk without giving him a chance to respond, hoping he would follow. The driver’s side door slammed behind me, and I allowed myself a small smile as I headed toward the entrance. Thankfully, when I peered through the window, I spotted Garrett just as he stepped out of the kitchen carrying a box. He noticed me straightaway, set down his load, and came over to open the door.
“Jackie, it’s good to see you!” he said, ushering us inside. We’dbuilt a rapport in the past month and a half, nothing like I had with his cousin, but Garrett went out of his way to talk to me whenever I came in.
Cole’s eyebrows rose as he gave Garrett a once-over, but he didn’t say anything.
“Guess who I spoke to last week?” Garrett continued, but he was too excited to wait for my answer. “Jenny! She was thrilled to hear you found me and said it was fate, although she also insisted that I had to tell you her Caramel Kerplunk making skills are better than mine.”
I laughed. “Next time the two of you talk, let her know she’s still my favorite barista and that I’ll make sure to visit when I’m back in New York.” I should have stopped by when I was home for the summer, but it was hard enough living in my family apartment. I hadn’t been brave enough to visit another place swimming in memories, but after discovering this café and experiencing nostalgia, I knew that was a mistake.
“I can do that,” Garrett replied with a smile. He glanced at the clock, then back to me. “Did you want to order something? I had to close early, but if it means dethroning Jenny as your favorite barista, I’m willing to whip up your usual.”
“Oh, no! You don’t have to do that. I was going to show my—I mean, this is Cole,” I said, gesturing awkwardly to him. “I wanted him to see your place, but you look busy. We can come back another time.”
Garrett appeared to be in the middle of setting up for some kind of event. A buffet had been assembled opposite the café counter, its silver chafing dishes waiting to be filled with food, and two of the oversizegaming tables were missing. In their place stood several covered high-tops. On the one closest to us was an assortment of tea lights, glass candle holders, and a utility lighter.
“We’re rented out for an engagement party, but it doesn’t start for another hour,” Garrett explained. “I don’t mind if you hang around for a bit. In fact, why don’t you grab a table at the back? I’ve got a surplus of apps. You can taste test them to make sure they’re worthy of serving.”
Cole watched him disappear into the kitchen, then turned to me, his lips pinched tight with displeasure. “You two seem close.”
“Really, Cole?” I grinned at him. “I’ll admit the man’s handsome, but he’s older than your father. What are you implying?”
“Nothing! I didn’t—that’snotwhat I meant,” he spluttered. “It’s strange, that’s all. How do you two even know each other?”
“He’s related to a friend of mine, but we only met last month. I stopped in here because it had the same name as a café in New York where Lucy and I spent a lot of time as kids,” I said, watching Cole turn in a slow circle as he checked things out. “Turns out this place is modeled after the one back home. Here, I can show you.” I walked over to the register and pointed to the photograph of the original Caffeinated Pursuit that hung behind it on the wall.
“What’s with the picture of Stuart Calhoun Junior?” he asked.
I had no clue who that was, but Cole was studying an image of Garrett next to a man in a racing suit holding the checkered flag, and I assumed he was a famous driver. “Garrett used to be the head engineer for a NASCAR team,” I said, and the frown Cole was wearing faded asI spoke. “You should talk to him about it sometime. I think you two might have some things in common.”
The kitchen door swung open, and Garrett reappeared holding a plate piled high with food. He placed it on a table tucked into the corner at the back of the room, then wiped his hands on the server apron tied around his waist. “Let me know what you think,” he told us, then returned to setting up.
The last trace of Cole’s disapproval vanished the moment he spotted the fried mac and cheese balls, stuffed mushrooms, and gyoza. “This looks amazing,” he whispered as we sat down, “but who has an engagement party at a board game café?”
A smile tugged on my lips as I glanced over at the colorful wall of games. “Probably someone like your brother and Kim.”
He snickered. “Alex wishes he could be this classy.”
“He doesn’t need to,” I replied. Under the pretense of scooting up to the table, I shuffled my chair closer to Cole. He’d surprised me by taking the spot to my left instead of across from me, but it gave us both a view of the room. “Kim has enough sophistication for the both of them combined.”
“Not sure if that’s true since she’s dating him,” Cole muttered as he split a gyoza down the middle. Steam poured out from inside.
Lifting a single eyebrow, I almost pointed out thatIhad dated Alex but caught myself at the last second. Reminding Cole of his brother’s and my relationship wouldn’t go over well on a good day, let alone now.
When he offered me half of the dumpling, I shook my head, tooanxious to eat. He must have come to a similar conclusion, because he stared at the food for a moment before setting down his fork.
“Right,” he said, pushing the plate away. “Why did you bring me here, Jackie?”
My stomach fluttered with nerves, but I forced myself to take a steadying breath and plow on. “When I first moved here and you gave me a tour of the ranch, you took me to all your favorite spots—the loft, the stables, the waterfall. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about going horseback riding, but we watched the sunset together, and it was amazing,” I said. “You’re always doing things like that for me, and I wanted to reciprocate.”
Cole was quiet for a second. Then he said, “What things?”
“Pulling me along on adventures and pushing me out of my comfort zone.”
“Such as?”
“Well, last semester, you convinced me to cut school,” I told him. “You took me to that kinda cool but also creepy warehouse with your friends to take my mind off something terrible Mary said, remember? That was the first time I’d ever ditched class, got drunk, or played spin the bottle.”
