“I can’t drink it. I’m nursing, I haven’t had coffee in over a year. I’ll be surrounded by delicious caffeinated beverages for hours, and I can’t drink any of it. What was I thinking coming here?” I almost shrieked the words, that’s how sorry I felt for myself.

Violet looked at me with horror and pity. “When I was nursing the boys, I drank one cup of coffee a day. You can have one coffee,” she declared.

“How did you survive on only one cup?” Violet was a coffee fiend, completely addicted. Owning this shop was her life dream come true.

“One cup of coffee a day, no sleep, and twin boys.” She closed her eyes and shook her head at the painful memories. “That was when I perfected my decaf roast. It won’t give you all the feels, but it’s not bad. You can try the decaf after I get you all fueled up on the regular.” She winked and bumped my shoulder with hers as she passed me.

“I am so ready for this.” I beamed at her. “Hey, Rose.” She had unlocked the front door and burst inside with a big smile aimed my way.

She flipped the Closed sign to Open, then waved a pair of shoes at me. I flipped her the bird and headed for the restroom to change. Her loud laugh followed behind me as I shut the door and looked in the mirror, which was something I probably should have done before I left the house. I cringed and splashed my face with water. I applied mascara and lipstick then added a bit of the lipstick to my cheeks to give me some color. Good Lord, I looked like one of the zombies in Gram’s basement. In other words, I looked pale and dead. I decided the mom-bun could stay. Everyone loves a messy bun, right? Rose knocked on the door, opened it, and passed me the shoes, high heeled, strappy black sandals. I decided to play along with my sisters and changed. I was supposed to see Luke later; there was no need for him to see me at my slovenly best. There would be plenty of time for that later.

“Lily, get your tiny booty out here,” Violet bellowed. I exited the restroom and tossed my stuff into Violet’s office.

She held out a cup of coffee. “You look pretty. At least you picked good jeans to wear today. Your ass looks nice.” She nodded as she checked me out. I wasn’t even looking at her, my eyes were on the coffee. She grinned. “It’s my special of the day: vanilla bean latte. I made the syrup myself, with real vanilla beans. I don’t fool around here.”