AllFreeNovel
Share Us
***
Normally when Beth was late to work, it threw her entire day into a tailspin. She hated being late.
Tommy, who had known her for nearly seven years, knew this about her. That was why he immediately became suspicious when she floated around the kitchen humming to herself during morning prep, even though she’d come in nearly twenty minutes late. He stopped what he was doing and stared her down.
“What?” she asked when she noticed him looking.
“I’m trying to figure out why you’re so cheery this morning.”
She grinned as memories of the night before came back to her.
“Ah.” Tommy smiled and nodded. “Things are going well with the firefighter.”
Beth had no reason to deny it. “They are.”
“Good. I’m glad.” He reached around her to grab a large mixing bowl from the shelf. When he returned to his position beside her, he nudged her with his hip. “Make sure he treats you right.”
Although she didn’t comment, the look on her face must have been answer enough for Tommy.
When the doors opened at seven, people began flooding in. Almost every week they were busier than the one before. She’d been considering hiring another employee, if for no other reason than to give her and Tommy a break every now and then.
It was as they were closing the café down that afternoon that Beth broached the subject with Tommy. “What do you think about me hiring someone to help us around here?”
He looked up from where he was wiping the front counter. “You mean another employee?”
She nodded.
“I think it’s a good idea. If things keep picking up, you and I aren’t going to be able to handle it on our own.”
“I know. And with summer just around the corner, it’s probably going to get even busier.”
On her way home that evening, Beth swung by the store and picked up a help wanted sign for her front window. Maybe she’d get lucky and have someone see the sign and apply. If not, she’d have to place an ad in the local paper. She had plenty of foot traffic, though. Odds were someone who frequented her café was either in need of a job or knew someone who was.
That night she opened her toy chest and laid everything on her bed. Beth sorted the items based on what Drew had put on his checklist. Everything not on his list she tucked away in the bottom drawer of her dresser. The rest she cleaned and then returned to the chest so they would be easily accessible when she needed them.
With that accomplished, Beth made herself some dinner, and then curled up on the couch to call Nicole.
“Well, how was it? Please tell me you fucked that boy senseless.”
Beth laughed. “Well, hello to you, too.”
“Pfft. Save the pleasantries for later. Come on. Spill. You two did have sex, didn’t you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes.”
“And?”
“And . . . we’ll be doing it again tomorrow.” Beth picked up the bowl of ice cream she’d brought into the living room with her.
“It’s about time.”
“It was only our second date.”
“Maybe technically. But tell me you didn’t want to see him naked the first time you laid eyes on him.”
Beth chuckled as she licked the ice cream from her spoon. “I think half the women in Serpent’s Kiss wanted to see him naked.”
“You think that’s changed? Something tells me the first time you two scene at the club you’re going to have an audience.”
