What Were You Expecting? by Katy Regnery Read Free Book Online

he whispered in her ear from behind, just as he had last night. She felt his hand touch her hip, push her gently to her right, toward the end of the bar. “Go back to your office. I’ll take care of things for a bit.”
    She nodded, biting back a sob, and turned for the little office hidden behind a colorful yellow and red curtain. She pulled the curtain closed behind her and fell into her desk chair, laying her aching head on the desk.
    It wasn’t enough that she felt like death warmed over, or that she’d humiliated herself last night in front of Nils Lindstrom not just at the bar, but later, too. It wasn’t enough that he’d used the dreaded f-word with her this morning repeatedly, consigning their blatant attraction to friendship once again. All of this would have weighed heavy on a normal day, but today was a catastrophic day. It wasn’t enough that she looked scatterbrained and reckless, she was scatterbrained and reckless, and he’d had a front-row seat for the past twelve hours. Her head pounded as she processed the fact that she was about to be kicked out of the country she’d so come to love. All because she hadn’t been responsible enough to manage her own affairs and file the paperwork to renew her visa.
    Through the curtain, she heard Nils greet some customers and tell them they had a choice of regular coffee or decaf coffee, but any other orders would have to wait a bit. She smiled through her tears, swiping her sleeve over her snotty nose. Levelheaded, rock-steady Nils had come to her rescue. Again . Her stomach flipped over at the thought of leaving him and she spun around to scramble for the little sink behind her desk, heaving once, but thankfully holding down the contents of her stomach. She took a glass from the shelf over the sink and poured herself water, sinking back down into her desk chair and opening the top drawer to root around for Advil. Her head felt like it was splitting open.
    Then she sat back in her chair in a state of semi-disbelief and let the tears fall freely. She loved the little café she’d inherited from her aunt. She loved baking scones and other treats upstairs in her apartment and bringing them downstairs to sell. She loved the smell of fresh coffee beans mixed with books. She loved the friends she’d made—like Jenny Lindstrom, Nils’s younger sister, and Paul, who was like a brother to her. And Nils. Oh, Lord, how she’d miss his quiet brooding and longing looks. How she’d miss wondering every day if today would be the day his walls would tumble down and he’d reach for her, press his lips to hers, tell her that he wanted her—needed her—as much as she wanted and needed him.
    She’d imagined it a million times: the café would be almost closed for the night and she’d have just finished putting the chairs on top of the tables and sweeping the floor. She’d be untying her barista apron when the little bell over the door would jingle, and he’d be standing there in the dim light. He’d catch her eyes with his icy blue ones and cross purposely to her, pulling her into his arms. I can’t hide my feelings for you anymore, Maggie May. I have to know…do you love me even half as much as I love you? Have I even the slightest chance? And she’d throw her arms around his neck, leaning her body into his and—
    Her email pinged on the laptop before her, and she clicked twice on the space bar to animate the screen. Need legal advice? The offices of… She wiped her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath. Junk mail. Nothing but junk mail. Just—
    Wait a minute. She stared at the words. Need legal advice? She took the edge of her apron and swiped at her wet cheeks. Legal advice. Yes, of course! She pulled down the Yellow Pages resting on a bookshelf over her desk. Of course! She could talk to a lawyer, couldn’t she? There had to be a loophole of some sort; she couldn’t be the first person who’d ever let her visa run out. She flipped the pages to L and found