“There you are,” Camille says when I’ve reached their group, and puts her arms around me, and welcomes me with an embrace that is so tender, so loving and warm, I know I won’t be able to face her family—my future family—with dry eyes. But it doesn’t matter, because this moment of reunion is the culmination of many moments we’ve already gone through together. And as of now, we can truly be together. I stand in her embrace for a long time, until the children start whining and whistling and generally letting us know that we’re being untoward.

“Two middle-aged women kissing in the middle of an airport,” Ben jokes. “What has the world come to.”

What has the world come to, indeed, I think, when I loosen myself from Camille’s hug and look into her tearful face. It has come to this. Her and me together. The beginning of our life together.

THE END

Water Under Bridges

Pink Bean Series - Book 5

Dedication

To my wife (for putting the bliss in Harper Bliss on a daily basis)

Chapter One

As far as first days at new jobs went, this one had been easygoing for Mia. Kristin hadn’t hired her to brew coffee; Mia was here for far loftier goals. Expansion. A second coffee shop in another part of the city. Obtaining a liquor license. Turning the Pink Bean brand into much more than the friendly neighborhood coffee shop it stood for today.

“Great product,” she said to Kristin after taking a sip from her coffee. Strong and black. For someone who had just become manager of a coffee shop, Mia didn’t truly believe all the fancy coffee drinks were necessary. What was wrong with plain old regular coffee? That was how she liked it. But she wouldn’t have this new job if not for the fancier beverages which had a much higher margin than simple black coffee.

Tomorrow morning—bright and early—Mia was expected to handle the first barista shift of the day alongside Josephine, to whom she hadn’t even been properly introduced. She had suggested it herself, favoring a hands-on approach and learning the ins and outs of the coffee shop business from actually working in one. The only part she wasn’t very enthusiastic about was the starting time of her duties at 6:30 a.m.

“Hello, hello,” Sheryl said as she entered the Pink Bean from the back room.