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“I still don’t like it.”
“What about Paulie?”
“He doesn’t come in until nine.”
“Why don’t you give him a call and see if he’ll come in early? And while you do that, I’ll call Ella.”
“Why are you calling Ella?”
“So she can get down here and help.”
“And what is she going to do? She knows nothing about coffee.”
“No, but she worked ten years manning a register at Vinny’s Lobster Shack. Paulie can make the drinks, and Ella can ring them up.”
“I’m sure she’s busy.” The last thing she wanted to do was inconvenience her friend because she didn’t know how to properly stand on a chair.
“She was going to look at tiles for my backsplash. It can wait.”
“To go with your purple living room.”
“That was very funny by the way.” Sarcasm dripped from his words, and she couldn’t stop the laugh that fell from her lips.
“It was hilarious. The look on your face was so worth it. And the fact that you thought we accomplished all of that in like three hours. You give us way too much credit.”
His eyes caught hers. “I know once you put your mind to something, there is no stopping you. No matter the time constraints.”
The way he said it, it was as if he was in awe of her, and she wasn’t expecting the rush of emotion to flood through her. She cleared her throat and snapped her attention away from him before she revealed more than she wanted to. She pointed to the espresso machine. “Enough with the chit chat. We have work to do.”
***
Enzo had a newfound respect for Cami. He’d busted his ass on busy days at the Lobster Shack, but nothing compared to people looking for their morning caffeine fix. They were eager and desperate. He had cleaned up the shattered lightbulb, and by the time he was done, there was already a line at the register.
Cami had abandoned the chair for the countertop and greeted each person who came in with an apology and an explanation while Enzo prayed that Paulie and Ella would show up soon.
An hour after he turned the sign to open, he got his wish. Ella was the first to show up, and Paulie fifteen minutes later.
They took over, and Enzo leaned against the counter where Cami was still perched.
“You look tired,” she said.
“That would be putting it lightly. Exhausted seems to be a better word.”
Every time he had closed his eyes last night, Cami was there, standing in the doorway, looking adorably sweet and so damn kissable it drove him insane. In his dreams, he actually kissed her, but then he’d wake up just as their lips touched, and he’d be reminded of how he hadn’t. He couldn’t fall asleep after that, tossing and turning, unable to shake Cami from invading his mind.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because now you have to go over to the Lobster Shack and work your shift. You look like all you want to do is find the nearest bed and crash.”
“If I didn’t startle you, neither of us would be in this position,” he said.
When he had stepped into the coffee shop, his eyes had landed on Cami standing on her tiptoes on top of a chair, hand reached upward, and the chair beneath her rocking slightly… memories he never wanted to remember, but could never forget, had flashed in his mind. He didn’t mean to bark at Cami the way he did, startling her and ultimately causing her to fall, but seeing her lifting up on tiptoes while teetering on the chair, made him panic.
And like an idiot, he had startled her, making her do the one thing he was hoping to prevent. Guilt had tugged at his stomach from the second she fell and only seemed to grow with each passing minute.
“I have some time before the restaurant opens. Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
