AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The older gentleman wanted a plain black coffee, and Maggie could have kissed him if she wasn’t already smitten with a certain Tetons center. “Jack, how about I ring him up and when you’re done pouring his coffee, you can take a break, and then get a load of dishes going?” If Jack was out of her hair, it would give her a break, and they wouldn’t get too far behind on the dishes.
She glanced through the windows into Get Lost and spotted Lucas. Again. Since he, Bash, and Cal had entered the store about an hour ago, she’d crafted another apology for him and visually stalked him.
As soon as he’d escaped from the farmers’ market—chased away by the storm she’d inadvertently created—she’d called him to apologize, but it had gone straight to voice mail. She’d texted several times that afternoon, but all of them went unanswered. Finally, just before his curfew, he’d called her and explained his phone had been on silent and when he’d reached the team dinner, the assistant coaches had confiscated everyone’s phones, and they hadn’t gotten them back until after the team movie.
Maggie had apologized for her outburst and Lucas had apologized for overreacting.
Then Maggie apologized for making him doubt them.
Then Lucas apologized for not staying to hash it out. And when Maggie tried to apologize again, his roommate had told them to knock it off before he lost his dinner. “You’ve forgiven each other. Now hang up, Rodriguez, we’ve got a game to win tomorrow.”
And they did. At this point in the season, the Tetons had more wins than losses, and many Monday morning quarterbacks thought they’d make it to the division play-offs. Maggie knew they were hungry for it and wanted to prove everyone wrong, especially Harper, who still villainized the Tetons and their owner as the cause for everything wrong in Cascade City.
Lucas said they called Harper the anti-fan and blamed all their problems on her—everything from missing a catch, letting their QB get sacked, to making a girlfriend mad. Last week, Oregon’s dog had thrown up in his practice shoes after he’d read Harper’s editorial to the poor beast, and he’d blamed Harper for the mess.
Two women laden with Get Lost bags ordered, and Maggie crafted their peppermint mochas as she listened to them discuss the book signing across the hall by Gloria Sebastian, the famous female author of thrillers and police procedurals. “She was just so down-to-earth and kind,” one lady gushed.
“And funny. She’s got such a dry sense of humor I feel like I need lotion now,” the shorter woman joked as she tapped her credit card on the card reader, adding a generous 20 percent tip. “Merry Christmas,” the customer called to Maggie as she and her friend made their way to the door.
“You, too,” Maggie called, as her brain turned to mush and the butterflies in her belly took flight. Lucas stood there, holding the door open for them. His eyes met hers as the women chatted with him and he pulled a marker out of his back pocket. Autograph time, Maggie thought, recognizing that move and knowing Lucas got a little thrill each time he did it.
She heated water for his tea and watched as the women took selfies with him and had him sign whatever scrap of paper they’d found in their designer handbags. Although women like that probably have notebooks, not receipts, Maggie thought, eager for him to finish with his fans so she could share her discovery with him.
She had a solution to one of her problems. When she hadn’t been baking in the wee hours of the morning, she’d been researching. And the solution wasn’t far away or expensive.
She watched with amusement as the women squeezed Lucas’s biceps while Cal and Bash hovered in Get Lost’s doorway. The cowards wanted no part of these handsy fans. Maggie poured the milk into the small stainless-steel pitcher and heated it in case he wanted a London Fog latte. If he didn’t, she knew Cal would murder a gingerbread latte. She didn’t know what Bash would want. He never ordered the same thing twice.
She felt Lucas’s approach as she watched the milk heat. When it was done, she set it aside and faced him. “Hi,” she said, before he leaned over the counter and kissed her. “What can I get you?” she asked, forcing herself to stay behind the counter.
“Already, got it.” He winked. Cal and Bash backed out of the bookstore and if Maggie didn’t say her piece now, she’d lose her chance.
“Lucas, again, I am so sorry.”
“Sweet bean, you’ve already apologized.” Maggie cringed. She hated his lame term of endearment, but she’d let the nickname slide, and now it seemed like she was stuck with it.
“But I needed to do it in person. Texting and the phone don’t make up for how badly I messed up.”
“If that’s your definition of a bad mess-up, I’ll take it any day.” He caressed her cheek as he slid his big hand to her nape, pulling her forward. “We’re both going to mess up. But then we get to make up.” Screw being professional, she thought, needing the feel of his firm but tender lips on hers more than she needed her next breath. She nipped at his lower lip, and he hummed in the back of his throat like he always did before his other hand traced her jaw. His lips touched hers and everything melted away. Like it always did.
“Dude, stop kissing my sister,” Cal said, making juvenile retching noises. She felt Lucas’s smile against her lips before he released her, and she melted further under his heated gaze. If Jack didn’t finish his break soon, he’d come back to find a steaming puddle instead of Maggie.
“For your information, Five, I was kissing him.”
“Yeah, well, don’t.”
“Could be worse, Cal,” Bash said, staring at the drink menu. “She could be kissing Oregon.” Cal closed his eyes and shook his head, as if trying to erase that vision.
“Just for that, you’re buying,” Cal said, before ordering the apple cider latte. It was Maggie’s newest caffeine-free hot beverage that tasted like apple pie à la mode, but in a cup. And portable. Perfect for cold winter nights.
“Make that two, and some sort of decaf tea for my mom, please,” Bash said, pulling out his credit card.
“Put that card away, Bash Vetter,” Jack ordered, walking in from the kitchen. “Lucas’s friends drink for free until the end of the year.” Maggie looked at tight-fisted Jack like he’d sprouted a second head. Bash and Cal looked amused, but Lucas looked apprehensive.
“Gee, Jack, that’s two entire weeks. Such magnanimity,” Maggie teased, winking at Lucas, and hoping to put him at ease. She didn’t realize he and Jack had become buddy-buddy, but it made sense with how often Lucas stopped in, plus his minor celebrity status.
“If that’s a bad word, Maggie, you’re fired,” Jack said sternly through his smile.
“It’s not,” Bash assured him. Maggie poured the boiling water over the tea bags and turned her attention to prepping the milk for the lattes, hoping the weird mood that had arrived with Jack would leave.
