He cleared his throat and stared hard at the computer screen. “Where do you want to start?”

“The beginning, obviously.” Tara let him change the subject, probably putting a tally mark by her name on the scoreboard. “What were you picturing for the website? Do you have a theme for it?”

“It’ll be easier if I showed you some of the pictures I took.” Seth turned the laptop toward him and opened up the photo album for the restaurant. “This is one of the pictures I took today. I wanted to capture the warm, welcoming air of the restaurant without giving it a blurry, rounded-out look. It was important to keep the photo sharp and focused like life heightened. The website symbolizes Landon’s dream but shouldn’t have a dreamy affect. I want his dream to feel real and alive.”

“Wow. These are amazing, Seth. And the restaurant is coming along so beautifully. Oh, I love the new floors.” Tara continued scrolling through his pictures, and his chest puffed out with pride. It felt damn good to have her compliment his work. Why did everything she did feel so … extra? “I’m getting a feel for what you’re saying. You show the restaurant in its best light. It doesn’t have a sleepy feeling. Instead, it pops and feels edgy through your lens, and that’s what the website should look like.”

“You got it on the nose. We make a good team.” He reached over and took a sip of her coffee. “Mmm. I love Americano.”

“Hey, get your own.” When he set the mug down in front of her, she wrapped both her hands around it and gave him a sideways glare.

“I already had three cups of coffee today. I need to slow down a bit.”

“Fine, we can share,” she said with a calculating look. “But I get one of your brownie cookies.”

“I have no problem sharing.” He leaned in close and said, “You’re the one who hogged the desserts yesterday.”

“I didn’t hog anything,” she said haughtily. “I won fair and square.”

“You call that fair and square? You got a head start.”

“And your legs are longer.”

“I guess I shouldn’t complain,” he relented, and changed tactics. “You did give me one bite of the brownie.”

“Would you please stop talking about the brownie?” She looked around the bakery as though someone might be listening.

“Why are you so nervous? Who here would understand what that bite of brownie means?”

“What does it mean? Do explain.”

“For a start, it was the best damn first kiss I ever had,” he said earnestly. “Don’t you dare deny it.”

“Agreed. And?”

“I know I’m leaving the country soon, but this attraction between us is extraordinary. We can’t keep fighting it.”

“Can’t or won’t? Wouldn’t giving in to our attraction complicate things for us? With Aubrey and Landon in our lives, can you be certain that we’ll be able to see each other again without it being weird?”

“We’re adults, Tara. We both know what we’re going into, so there won’t be any hurt feelings. We’ll be able to remain friends. I won’t make it weird. I promise.”