Page 27 of An Overdue Match
“Always do, sir,” Tai said to the man’s retreating back before striding into the coffee shop.
He had even less time now to get a strawberry banana smoothie before the game. Thankfully, the line to the register wasn’t long. He took his place and waited, looking over the room. His internal system received a jolt when he noticed Evangeline over by the table of straws, napkins, and add-ins such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Just seeing her brought a smile to his lips. He was about to step out of line and head over to talk to her, willing to forfeit his smoothie to have a few minutes in her company, when she peeked over her shoulder and quickly looked around.
Nothing necessarily out of the ordinary about her actions, but a radar went off inside Tai just the same. Call it a sixth sense where Evangeline Kelly was concerned. His gut told him the woman was up to something, and he planned to stay put and watch it pan out.
Evangeline furtively glanced over her other shoulder. She was clearly on the lookout to see if anyone was paying any attention to what she was doing so she wouldn’t be caught in her mischief. Not unlike a burglar right before they picked a lock.
She slipped her hand into her pocket as she looked back over her shoulder yet again. Amusement ignited a warm glow inside Tai’s chest. He’d thought her stalker abilities subpar after her attempt to tail him at the library, but now he knew she was equally bad at any endeavor that required even the most minimal level of covertness. Whipping her head around every two seconds to make sure no one was watching was like a neon sign drawing everyone’s attention.
She pulled out an envelope, reached forward, and placed the white rectangle between the napkin and straw dispensers.
She was hiding a letter as if the coffee shop were some kind of drop-off location? Why? Who was the letter for? Why not just mail it? A dozen questions zipped through Tai’s mind.
“Iced chai latte for Morgan,” Stacey called out from the other end of the counter.
Evangeline startled, her hand darting out to reclaim the letter she’d only set down a second earlier.
“Oh, Stacey.” Her voice was half an octave higher than normal.
Yeah, no one would be recruiting her to work for a government agency anytime soon.
“This has your name on it.” She handed the envelope to a confused Stacey.
“What is it?” Stacey’s brow wrinkled.
Evangeline shrugged. She tried to hide her excitement behind a faux innocent expression, but the way she slightly bounced on her toes gave her away. “I don’t know. I found it on the table over there.” She waved behind her.
Found it, hmm? More like planted it.Tai dug his hands into his pockets and forced his body to remain relaxed. Evangeline was oblivious to anyone in the coffee shop except for Stacey and that envelope, and he didn’t want to do anything to draw her attention to himself. Not yet, anyway. Thankfullythe person in front of him ordered a drip coffee instead of an espresso or he might not have been able to eavesdrop on the conversation.
Stacey opened the envelope and withdrew a folded piece of paper. Tai swung his gaze back to Evangeline as the barista silently read. Evangeline had let a smile slip onto her lips. She knew exactly what the letter said.
“You found this?” Stacey looked up, a mixture of bewilderment and badly suppressed wonder on her face.
Evangeline quickly dampened her telling grin. She widened her eyes the same way Tai remembered Hayley doing to convince her parents of her guiltless status after she’d managed to dye their cat blue with Kool-Aid. “Yes. It was wedged between the napkins and straws.”
Stacey peered around Evangeline to study the spot. She chewed on her bottom lip. “You didn’t happen to see who left it there, did you?”
Evangelina tugged her own lips down into a frown. The little minx. “No, I’m sorry. Why? It’s not bad news, is it?”
“No, it’s...” Stacey let out a breathy little laugh. “It’s a love letter from a secret admirer.”
A secret ... Tai buried his mouth in his shoulder just in time to stifle the sound of his cough-covered laughter. Looked like some poor sop had talked Evangeline into being his messenger à la middle school. The guy probably should have picked someone who wasn’t so obvious if he wanted to keep the whole thing a mystery.
“What can I get for you today?” The other barista behind the counter drew Tai’s attention, taking his order and money, then measuring out fruit and ice and dumping them into the Vitamix beside the espresso machine. The blender drowned out any other conversation, and Tai missed what Evangeline said to Stacey before she turned on her heel and almost skipped out the door.
Stacey pivoted and noticed him there, her steps faltering. She hesitated but then seemed to come to some sort of decision. Her mouth firmed as she approached him. “Hey, Tai.”
“Stacey.”
“I have a weird favor to ask you.”
“Go for it.”
She fiddled with the paper in her hand, then held it out to him. “Does this handwriting look familiar to you?”
He studied the script as he quickly read the letter. Wow. Someone had bared his soul and laid it on thick.
Then again...
