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He was freshly shaven and his hair was pushed back. But this close, she could see the slight curls. She wondered what it looked like when it was free from its typical styling.
She dragged her eyes to his, only to find herself wanting to memorize their exact shade of brown. While blue eyes got all the attention, there was something about his eyes’ walnut hue that kept her attention.
That was when she realized she was staring.
“Sorry,” she said, putting on a smile. “I’m a bit out of it before I’ve had my first cup of coffee.”
Amelia lifted the mug to her mouth and took a sip. She silently begged the caffeine to do its magic and make her a fully functioning person.
“Ah. I can’t relate to that.”
“Not a fan of coffee?” she asked.
Daniel shook his head. “More of a green tea drinker.”
She felt relieved. See? she told herself. We don’t even have coffee in common.
“I noticed there was someone who always got into the green tea I stock. Bigelow, right?”
“You stock it?”
“Yeah, why not? We have to have something that keeps people happy around here.”
“Did you somehow convince Cheryl to pay for it?”
“It was either that or she give me a raise to pay for it myself. She chose the first option.”
“I’m impressed,” he said. “Then again, you’ve always been that way.”
Amelia’s heart sped up. Was he . . . complimenting her?
“I mean, at your job, of course,” he corrected.
“Right,” she muttered. She didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed at him bringing the conversation back to work. “Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say.”
Thankfully, another employee was speed-walking to the break room and almost ran right into them. Amelia immediately recognized her as Stacey, another of her employees.
“Whoa!” she said, blinking at them with wide eyes. “Wow, hi, Daniel, Amelia. I promise I’m working, I just . . .”
“Need coffee?” Amelia asked, giving her a smile.
Stacey’s eyes stayed wide. She’d always been intimidated by Amelia ever since she’d entered management.
“Yeah, just coffee. And maybe a donut,” Stacey replied.
A moment passed where no one moved or said anything. That was when Amelia realized she and Daniel were blocking the door.
“Sorry. I’m in the way. You do what you need to.”
Amelia went to move and bumped into Daniel again.
He reacted smoothly, stepping back and out of the way right after Amelia had gotten too close. They made it through the doorway with no coffee spilled, but by that time, they were lingering a little too close for comfort.
“Wow,” Amelia said, laughing nervously. “I think I need to be away from people for a while. See you later!”
She turned and walked to her office without waiting for his reply. For a moment, she stared at her dark computer screen, feeling her cheeks burn in the aftermath of whatever the hell had just happened with Daniel.
Their usual conversations were short and to the point. He’d never smiled at her before. Then again, he’d never been unmarried before either.
