Page 37 of Colliding with the Coffee Shop Owner
Working together, we transform Mountain Brew from a coffee shop to a storm shelter. Max tends to the generator whileI inventory supplies and secure anything that might be damaged if the temperature drops significantly overnight.
When there's nothing left to prepare, we find ourselves standing in the center of the shop. The kiss, his whispered desires, the way I pressed against him—all of it hangs in the air between us, electric and undeniable.
"Lily." His voice stops me as I wipe down a counter that's already clean. "We should talk about what happened."
I keep my eyes on the rag in my hand, suddenly unable to meet his gaze. "It's been... a long day." My voice emerges softer than intended, betraying my uncertainty.
"Look at me." He doesn't move closer, giving me space I both appreciate and resent. When I finally raise my eyes to his, the intensity I find there steals my breath. "I meant everything I said earlier."
A flush creeps up my neck. "That's... a lot to process."
"I know." His voice gentles. "And I shouldn't have overwhelmed you like that."
"No, it's not that." I struggle to find words for the storm of emotions inside me. "I just didn't expect... any of this. You've been coming here for days, and I never knew..."
"That I wanted you?" His directness makes me shiver. "I've wanted you since the first day when I literally ran into you, but there's a difference between wanting and acting."
"Thanks." I swallow hard. "Ummm….the back office has a decent couch. There are extra blankets and some emergency supplies. We'll manage for one night."
"One couch?" His question carries weight.
"One couch." I meet his gaze briefly before looking away again. "But it's better than the floor."
"I'll take the floor." His tone brooks no argument.
"Don't be ridiculous. The couch is big enough for both of us." Even as I say it, I know it's not true—not with the current running between us.
"No." The word is soft but final. "It's not about space. It's about the fact that if I lie next to you all night, feeling your body heat, smelling your skin..." He inhales sharply. "I'm only human. And after what happened earlier, after telling you exactly what I want to do to you, and seeing how your body responded—" He cuts himself off, jaw tight with restraint. "The floor is the only place I can guarantee your safety tonight."
My heart stutters at his admission. I want to tell him I don't need guarantees, that maybe I want what he's offering, but the words stick in my throat. Everything is happening too fast, desires I didn't know I had surfacing under his steady gaze.
"I..." I trail off, uncertain what I'm trying to say.
His expression softens with understanding. "You don't have to decide anything tonight." He takes a small step closer, still maintaining distance. "Just know that when I said I'm patient, I meant it."
The sincerity in his voice touches something deep inside me. "I should check the generator again," I whisper, needing space to think clearly. "Make yourself comfortable. There's food in the mini-fridge if you're hungry."
"I'm not hungry for food." His gaze follows me, intense and knowing.
I retreat to the back office, my fingers trembling as I press them against my lips. They still tingle from his kiss, a sensation that lingers like a brand. My body feels foreign to me—hypersensitive, aware of itself in ways I've forgotten or never known.
This attraction is inconvenient at best, dangerous at worst. Max represents everything I fled from—the tech world, powerful men with secrets, complications I can't afford. A man whospeaks of control as essential, who admits to darker desires without shame. A man whose mere presence makes me forget every carefully constructed boundary.
Yet, as I listen to him moving around in the front of the shop, I can't deny the pull between us, stronger than professional boundaries or common sense. His words echo in my mind—desires that would make me blush, appetites that would leave marks—and a small, hidden part of me wonders what it would be like to surrender to those desires, to let him take control in the ways he'd hinted at.
One kiss. That's all it was. But something fundamental has shifted between us, something neither the approaching blizzard nor my better judgment can stop.
We’re an inevitability.
And now we have an entire night ahead of us, alone in the dark with nothing but a couch, a floor, and the dawning realization that I might want exactly what he's offering—if only I’m brave enough to take it.
Chapter 13
"You're surprisingly well-prepared for emergencies."Max helps me drape a heavy wool blanket over the worn leather couch, knuckles grazing mine—unintentional, but each contact still sizzles beneath my skin.
"Angel's Peak lesson number one: winter storms don't care about your plans." I retrieve emergency candles from a cabinet and arrange them on the desk. "I've been caught unprepared exactly once. Never again."
"What happened?"
