Page 16 of Colliding with the Coffee Shop Owner
The portafilter feels suddenly heavier in my hand. Heat crawls up my neck, pooling low, my pulse tapping out a quick, traitorous rhythm. I duck my head, pretending to fuss with the tamp, but my hands aren’t steady, and Ruth’s sharp eyes don’t miss a thing.
"True, true, but they can't circle as effectively through our mountain passes." Ruth winks. "We protect our own here."
I deliver Ruth's espresso, hoping to rescue Max from her interrogation. Not out of kindness—purely to prevent Ruth from extracting information about my past along with his.
“Lily, have you formally met Max? He’s the founder of Nexus Systems. That security app that everyone’s talking about?”
The name clicks into place, and my stomach drops. Nexus Systems. The rising star of cybersecurity, with a revolutionary approach to personal data protection. I’d gone out of my way not to read about them after leaving the tech world, but even I couldn’t escape hearing the name.
“We’ve met.” My tone is deliberately neutral. “We had a coffee collision yesterday.”
“Literal collision,” Max adds, mouth curving into a half-smile that feels personal. “My laptop was a casualty.”
Ruth’s eyes gleam. “Sparks flew, did they?”
“Only from short-circuiting electronics,” I mutter, avoiding the fact that the air between us is sparking plenty right now.
His gaze holds mine for a beat too long, like he’s imagining a different kind of collision entirely.
“Well, consider this your proper introduction then.” Ruth gestures between us like a matchmaker from a Victorian novel. “Lily Brock, coffee sorceress, meet Max Lawson, tech wizard. You two have more in common than you might think.”
If only she knew how wrong she was. Or how dangerous it would be if she were right.
“Ruth, don’t you have inventory waiting?” I prompt, my voice lighter than I feel.
“Always trying to get rid of me.” Ruth rises, taking her espresso. “Max, you should stop by The PickAxe sometime. First drink’s on the house for newcomers.”
“I might take you up on that,” Max says, but his attention is on me, not Ruth. His eyes skim over my face as though he’s searching for something beneath the surface—and finding more than I’m ready to admit.
Before leaving, Ruth catches my eye, tilting her head subtly toward Max with a questioning look. I respond with a nearly imperceptible shake of my head. Ruth's matchmaking tendencies are legendary in Angel's Peak, second only to Eleanor Morgan’s, and the last thing I need is her deciding Max and I are somehow destined for each other.
The bell over the door swings shut behind Ruth, leaving the shop in a hush broken only by the faint hiss of the espresso machine. I busy myself wiping down already-clean equipment.
Max doesn’t go back to his laptop. He leans back in the booth instead, one arm stretched across the bench, eyes fixed onme like I’m far more interesting than whatever meeting or code might be waiting for him.
The weight of that gaze pins me in place. My fingers tighten on the tamper, pressing harder than necessary into the coffee grounds.
“What?” I ask, too quickly.
“Just wondering,” he says, voice low, unhurried, “how many layers I’d have to peel back before I figured you out.”
Heat flares under my skin. I turn toward the espresso machine, pretending it demands my full attention, but my pulse is a drumbeat in my ears.
“I’d hate for you to waste your time,” I say over my shoulder, forcing my tone light. “There’s nothing to figure out. Nothing special here.”
“Hmm.” The sound is thoughtful, not dismissive. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
I glance back despite myself. He’s watching me like a man who’s just spotted a locked door and decided opening it is now his favorite problem to solve.
“So,” Max says after a moment, his gaze still fixed on me. “Coffee sorceress?”
“Local hyperbole.”
“And me, apparently a tech wizard.” He types something on his laptop without looking away for long. “Though wizards generally don’t lose their wands to caffeine damage.”
Despite myself, I smile. “Technology is more fragile than magic.”
“Depends on the technology.” His eyes lift, catching mine, heat flickering there. “And the magic.”
