Page 24 of OMG Christmas Tree
I glared at him. Or, at least, tried. Maintaining a good glare while eating a delicious bear claw with sugar-coated pop music overhead proved challenging.
He sat back, taking another drink. I preferred to let mine cool off. I brought the flat white to my lips. Not bad.
“Good?”
“It’s good.”
“So, the City Girl is impressed by something the country made.”
“Hey, I said the mayor’s mansion was beautiful.”
“I’ll give you that.”
“I couldn’t ever live here, but it’s nice to visit.” I let my gaze wander to the window and the street buzzing with shoppers. This was the type of town you escaped to for the weekend, if you had the kind of job or money offering a chance to escape. For me, I worked weekends. I served the regulars looking to relax from their own jobs.
“Do you like it? Living in the city?”
“I love it,” I answered immediately.
“What do you love so much?”
I ran my finger over the smooth, warm cup. “Everything I could want is nearby. All the good bands come through Chicago. Theater shows, art galleries.”
“Us cow-hards don’t know nothin’ about no art.”
I snorted. “Cow-hard? What is that?”
“I guess it’s a cross between a Fail Hard and...a cow.”
Call me a sucker but his dopey comment and genuine grin gave him an infectious charisma I couldn’t ignore.
“So, you go to a lot of gallery shows?” he asked. “Concerts?”
I loved both, but I hadn’t done much beyond work the past year. I’d been focused on getting my own apartment. No more roommates, a personal goal of mine. Working up to store manager was my next goal, which required taking on extra shifts and responsibilities. Work that would eventually pay off. “Sometimes. I work a lot.”
“And you like your job?”
A question with an easy answer. “I do. I love it.”
“What do you love about the cafe? What’s it called?”
“It’s called Drip.”
“Drip. That is socity.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I suppose so. But look, we’re at Main Street Sweets. On Main Street. That’s about as on-brand small town as it gets.”
“Sometimes simple is best.”
He had me there. “I’m good at making the drinks and it feels different a lot of days, depending what we have going on. We rent out our space for parties and book live music on weekends.”
“That sounds fun. Stuff shuts down pretty early out here, except for Checkers and that’s outside of Crystal Cove proper. You can’t buy alcohol here after six p.m.”
“No.” I slammed my hand against the table, causing an older man with glasses on a chain to frown my way. “Oops. Sorry, that was...I mean, I’m not much of a drinker to care.” I was embarrassing myself.
Nick was looking at me with this weirdly rosy glow in his cheeks.
“What?”
