Page 23 of Heat & Deceit
I’m still clutching the vanilla pump to my body, and I use it as an excuse to ignore Javier, moving to the back wall of cabinets and pulling out a brand new bottle. I unscrew the pump from the old one and wash it before securing it to the full container.
Leaning his hip against the counter, Javier says, “I haven’t made coffee in a long time.” Those emerald eyes burn into me.
As much as I want to, I can’t ignore him.
I lift my gaze to meet his, immediately searching for the yellow starbursts. I’ve never had iris envy before, but his eyes are unfairly gorgeous. “I can work the machine.”
“That’s probably for the best. You’ll have to show me how to work the register.”
“You don’t know how to use it?”
He chuckles. “Don’t make that face. I own the place, but I’ve never actually worked here.”
“I’m not making a face.”
Am I making a face?
Don’t argue. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Just be a moderately good employee. A forgettable employee.
“Sorry.” I laugh it off. “I was only surprised. Let me put the vanilla back, and I’ll show you how to work the register.”
I walk him through the basics, and when a customer comes in, I let him take the order while I stand back and watch. Watching someone else fumble through the screens is validating. It’s not as easy as it seems, especially under pressure. Once you figure it out and memorize where the buttons are, it’s not bad, but I felt so incompetent my first week on the job.
“We’ll have that at the end of the bar for you in a bit.” Javier turns to me with a grin. “Nailed it.”
With a hum, I grab the ticket and quickly make the hazelnut latte. As I hand it off to the customer, two more enter the shop. I walk over to Javier and give him an appraising once-over. He’s clearly never had a job like this, but he seems excited enough. Hopefully, that’ll keep us from getting destroyed.
“Things are going to get rough,” I murmur as the couple who walked in approach the register.
“I don’t mind rough,” he murmurs. “Do you?”
No.
“The rush is the worst part.” I blink and look away. “Remember to breathe.” I don’t know if those words are meant for him or for myself.
* * *
“Sorry, a small latte with four shots?”
“Medium. I want a medium latte with four shots.” The woman is super annoyed.
I lean back while I steam milk, checking out the situation. Javier is flipping through the screens and frantically searching for the extra shot button. It’s one of the harder ones to find and is in a spot that doesn’t make any sense, almost like it was only added after customers started asking for it.
“Right. Medium latte. Four shots.” His eyes jump to mine.
“Hang on.” I finish the drink I’m working on before going to help him.
He gives the customer an apologetic smile. “It’s my first day.”
She lifts an unimpressed eyebrow. “Cool.”
Rolling my lips together, I stop by his side.
He leans into my space. “I feel so demeaned. I love it.” His whispered words are hot as they brush over the shell of my ear, and an involuntary shiver skates down my spine.
“The button for extra shots is here.” I reach in front of him, my arm gliding over his corded forearm, which really has no right being so sexy. Lowering my eyebrows and concentrating, I hit the button to take us to the next screen and point to it. “You’ll need to hit it twice.”
“Thank you.” His palm brushes over the small of my back. The touch is searing and completely unexpected, but it’s there and gone before I can figure out how I feel about it. “There we go. That’ll be six eighty-nine.”
