Page 93 of The Tattered Gloves
How did you know?
How did anyone know?
These questions bounced around in my head for the rest of the day as we ushered in and out new customers and rang up sales. I watched Sam tirelessly greet people outside. More than once, someone had tried to relieve him, insisting he go inside to warm up, but he’d refused. This was his business, and in a way, I thought that was how he felt he was making the most impact.
Once the customers became steady and the money started rolling in, I encouraged Addy and Allison to return to their normal lives. Both protested, but in reality, we’d already stolen too much of their time.
“I don’t have a life,” Allison argued. “Really, I don’t. I just sit at home and do nothing.”
“Have you considered getting a job?” Addy asked. “I might need an assistant in the salon.”
Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Are you serious?” she asked as they both walked out.
I could hear Allison’s high-pitched voice as they traveled down the street.
Allison working for my aunt?
It was a good match, honestly. They both had high energy and were sociable, and it would be nice to have Allison so close by.
No doubt we’d need to double our supply of coffee though.
After helping Sophie, who’d come in for the afternoon with the line that had developed, I found a familiar face standing in front of me.
“Your nose is red,” I said, looking into Sam’s green eyes.
“Want to join me for a cup of coffee?” he asked.
I looked at the clock, surprised to see we had less than an hour to go before closing. Nodding, I picked out a flavored coffee while he went for something black and boring.
“We’ll need to figure out a better setup,” he said as we waited for everything to brew. “It’s nice to have it all up here, so we can keep tabs on it, but maybe we should look into one of those cold carafes for creamer, so we don’t have to use that powdered crap. Going back and forth to the stockroom refrigerator every time someone wants a cup of coffee seems stupid.”
“I agree,” I said, grabbing my coffee from the machine. “We might as well not bother if powdered cream is all we can do. That stuff is nasty. Even I know that, and I rarely drink coffee.”
The nook, which had turned out to be a big hit during the day, especially among the younger crowd, had thinned out as nighttime settled. People were getting ready for New Year’s festivities, and we’d anticipated a sharp decline in attendance once it got dark. But it had been a good day, and we still had a little bit longer until the store closed.
I wanted to enjoy it…no matter how many customers we had.
“You were amazing today,” he finally said after taking a sip of his coffee.
“Me? You stood out in the cold all day. Did you even eat?”
“Do doughnuts count? Because I’m pretty sure I ate about a dozen of those chocolate ones your aunt brought over.”
“No wonder you lasted all day outside. You were probably high on sugar.”
He laughed. “I could use some real food though. Want to grab dinner after we close?”
“Sure.”
“And afterward… will you let me kiss you at midnight?”
I stopped breathing.
“I’m sorry,” he backpedaled. “That was too much, wasn’t it?”
“No,” I answered. “It just took me by surprise.”
His expression turned hopeful. “Does that mean yes?”
I smiled. “It means yes… eventually. Just maybe not yet.”
His smile grew as our hands found each other once more. “I look forward to eventually.”
So do I, Sam. So do I.
