Either way, I’m glad he isn’t currently looking at the me who’s all sweaty from the gym while he stands there in slacks and a button-down and looking like he’d just naturally smell like the inside of a new car.

The light changes and he strolls away. I mentally slap myself and head home. If I get my work done fast enough today I’ll have time to visit Pops. And that’s all that matters right now.

Chapter Six

Eliot

Have you ever woken up the way they do in television shows? Where you sit straight up and your hair sticks out in every direction and you nearly fall out of bed, but that’s okay because you’ve had the epiphany of a lifetime and suddenly everything in your life becomes crystal-clear?

Well, that happened to me this morning.

Last night JD fell asleep on the phone with me. I hung up, playing the sound of her voice in my head over and over until I drifted into sleep. And then, I woke up this morning like a bolt of lightning had just hit me.

I knew exactly who she was.

I had just enough time to get ready for work, get out and test my theory, and then get back in time for a conference call I had scheduled.

I don’t want to be sweaty when I roll up to the coffee shop, which is the only reason I don’t jog there. When I get there, I stand to one side of the windows so she can’t see. I shake out my fingers like a major league pitcher. I’m so freaking nervous I could probably take a sip of lemonade and turn it back into a lemon in my mouth.

Well, now or never.

I take a deep breath and push into the café. It’s a cute place, I guess. Newish in the neighborhood, everything is powder-blue and gold, and I’d probably come here more often if it wasn’t so expensive. But I don’t care about that right now. I’d pay fifty bucks for a single stale scone if it means I get to see JD.

Please let her be working today. Please let her be working today.

At first glance, my stomach drops because I don’t see her. But then, yes! She stands up from behind the counter with a stack of to-go cups balanced in her hand. Her red hair is braided neatly down her back, and she looks as cute as ever in her powder-blue apron.

She doesn’t see me at first but when she catches sight of me standing two customers back in the line, her face lights up. I clear my throat when I make it to the front.

“Hey, Mia.”