Page 99
“That I am.”
“Could you guess mine?”
Jade had been in the middle of a sentence, and I heard her trail off when I asked my question. I didn’t blame her. My plan was to never get involved in Strawberry Springs, but I had to see what Theo was capable of.
“Earl Grey tea.” Theo said it confidently.
I blinked in response. “That’s exactly right. How did you know?”
“Most of the time, it’s a lucky guess. But you scrunched your nose when you walked in here, which means you don’t enjoy the smell of coffee. With two kids, however, I had a feeling you wouldn’t be against the idea of caffeine. So black tea it is.”
“And how did you pick Earl Grey?”
“You seem just a little bit fancy.”
Damn. He was good.
“And for the kids?”
“Apple juice for one and milk for the other.”
“How the hell did you get that right?”
“They’re telling Jade about opposing things, which means they won’t want the same drink. I have a feeling neither of them would be content with water, so one gets juice and one gets milk.”
“You got it in one go. I’ll take all of that. Oh. Do you have any pastries left? It looks like your cabinet is empty.”
“We have a few blueberry scones in the back, plus some biscuits.”
I managed to get the girls to focus on me long enough to tell me what they wanted, and Theo nodded as he rang me up. I pulled out a fifty. When he looked back up, he blinked in shock.
“That’s way too much.”
It was. “Oh, well. I’m bad at math.”
“The only people who get away with that are Marjorie and Henrietta.”
“And me.” The money was pulled out of my hands and put on the counter. Jade had stepped up. “If it makes you feel any better, Theo, you can add my usual onto there as well.”
Theo let out a long sigh. “I can’t get a reputation for letting people bulldoze me.”
“I’m not people.” She rolled her eyes. “And I’m Piper’s close friend, so she’ll take my side on this.”
“Don’t bring my girlfriend into this.”
“I can and will.”
He sighed and accepted the money. Jade smirked the entire time.
We all stepped to the side, and I couldn’t help but glance at Jade. She was in that damn slitted skirt again, but this time with a lacy top that I’d be seeing in my dreams.
“Take a picture,” she muttered. “It’ll last longer.”
My cheeks heated. “Sorry.”
She took a healthy step away from me while we waited for our drinks, and I knew I needed to make my escape once they were done.
“Okay, girls.” It wouldn’t be a popular suggestion, but I had to say it anyway. “Let’s leave Jade alone so she can get on with her day.”
