The Coffee Shop by Lauren Hunter Read Free Book Online

asked.
    He grinned. “I was kind of hoping there’d be a next time. Is that totally wrong of me to admit that?”
    “No. I’d be okay with there being a next time.”
    His grin widened, but a look came over Annie’s face. “What?”
    “Oh, nothing.”
    “No, there’s something you’re not saying.”
    “Oh, I was just visualizing you crowing from the roof top.”
    He laughed. “That sounds about right.”
    There was a knock at the door, and Annie ran to answer it. “Hey, Cam.” She took the pizzas, setting them aside and going into her purse she pulled out her wallet. “Here you go. Keep the change.”
    “Thanks, Annie.”
    “Bye, Cam.”
    Closing the door, she gathered up the pizzas and came into the living room. Setting them on the coffee table, she sat on the couch. “Come on, dig in while it’s still hot.”
    Sitting next to her on the couch, Derrick opened the pizza box. “That was a lot faster than half an hour.”
    “Oh, I know, they always say that. Oh, your wine.” She jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen, grabbing two wine glasses and a corkscrew. She came back in with his wine and a bottle of sparkling apple juice.
    “Here.” She passed the glasses to him. Setting the bottles on the coffee table, she handed him the corkscrew. “I’ve never used this myself. So I think it would be best if you did it. I wouldn’t want to make a mess of it.” Grabbing a slice of pizza, she took a generous bite and poured herself a glass of sparkling apple juice. “Oh, this is so good.”
    Derrick watched her as she closed her eyes and savored the pizza. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
    “Aren’t you going to eat?”
    “Me. Oh, I was just enjoying watching you eat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone enjoy food as much as you.”
    She laughed. “Oh, it’s a guilty pleasure, I admit. That’s why I try not to have pizza very often. But when I do.” She shook her head, and he laughed at her as she took another bite, and made noises through her nose.
    “Do you two want to be alone?” He reached for the pizza.
    Annie laughed and gave him a gentle shove, then wiped the cheese from the corner of her mouth. The fire on the TV crackled as they ate.
    “I’m enjoying this.”
    “Are you? Even though we have been reduced to eating pizza before a television fire?”
    “Wouldn’t change it for the world.”
    Taking a sip from her glass, she looked away. “You know, I wasn’t going to go for coffee on that day we met. Not sure why I finally decided to.”
    He stared at her.
    “What?” she asked.
    “I wasn’t going to go there either, but when that truck lost its load on the road, blocking traffic to the place I usually go, I just stopped at the first place I came across so I could have my morning coffee. And that coffee shop just happened to be the first one I found.”
    “So, if that truck hadn’t lost its load?”
    “Yeah.”
    “But we’re here now. And who knows, we may have met someplace else. This city isn’t that big.” He was looking at her. “All right, yes its big, but I‘d like to think…”
    “You’re one of those optimists, aren’t you?”
    “Gee, to hear you say it, it sounds downright pitiful.”
    “No, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
    “You sure?”
    “If I didn’t know any better, I’d bet you were raring for a fight.”
    “Well, just maybe I am.” Her voice had taken on a southern drawl, and he laughed as she squinted one eye shut.
    “Let me guess, six shooters at sunset?”
    “Well maybe I’ll let you off easy, this time.”
    “Glad to hear it.” Finishing off his slice, he rose, going over to her music collection.
    “Oh, don’t look at that.”
    “Why not?”
    She cringed.
    “Oh, now I have to look.”
    “All right, but please don’t criticize me for being eclectic.”
    “Eclectic? I’ve never heard anyone describe their collection that way before.”
    “Yes, well, you’ve never met anyone like me before either.”
    “Don’t