Page 14 of Then Came You

“I know this office is small, but it seems even smaller with you in it.”

“It’s your fault for serving pastries.”

She laughed again, and the sound of it filled the tiny space with light. “Just because we sell them, it doesn’t mean you have to eat them!”

“How can a person resist? Who makes all that stuff, anyway?”

“We have contracts with a couple of the local bakeries.”

“Ahh.”

“When we first came up with the idea for a coffee shop/bookstore, Lauren suggested it. According to her, it’s unacceptable to serve coffee without offering something sweet to go with it.”

Sweet, just like you, he thought. “Whose idea was all this?”

“All of ours. The three of us met in college, and we were all taking business classes, but none of us knew exactly what we wanted to do. One day, we were talking about how great it would be to own a business and be our own bosses. We pooled our resources, and voilà, A Latte Books was born.”

“It’s a cool concept.”

“Some people come in for the coffee, like you, and some for the books. But we’re hoping to boost the number who come in for both.”

“Makes sense.”

“Do you read, officer?”

“Sam,” he gently reminded.

“Do you read, Sam?”

“Do magazines count?”

“Of course, unless you only look at the pictures.”

He chuckled. “I subscribe to a few outdoors magazines, and yes, I read the articles. But I mostly read in bed at night, and I’m usually too tired to read more than a few pages.”

She nodded. “I get it. Your job is stressful.”

“It can be.”

She averted her attention to the stack of books on her desk, and he worried she would shut down again. Talking about his job must have brought back painful memories for her. But law enforcement was a major part of his life, and he wouldn’t apologize for it.

“So, I picked out some books about being a policeman since I’m sure the kids will be interested in learning what you do.”

“Besides drink coffee and eat donuts, you mean?”

They both laughed, and then he picked up the first book on the stack and thumbed through it. It was obviously a watered-down version of the job since the audience was young kids, but he thought it was decent.

He perused the other books while Gillian watched him in silence, and he wondered what she was thinking. Finally, he pulled out the book he liked the best and held it up. “This would be my choice.”

The book was about an officer and his police dog, which happened to be a German shepherd.

Gillian smiled. “I thought you might like that one.”

“I’d offer to bring Rocky in with me, but some of the kids might be afraid of dogs. Besides, he’s not officially a police dog.”

His radio beeped on his utility belt. He glanced down at the screen and silenced it, but then he stood up. “Duty calls.”

“I understand.”