Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 213(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“Hi, sorry to interrupt,” Nate said, “but have either of you heard from Tamara since Friday night?”
“I haven’t seen her since this weekend,” Meg said.
“I haven’t either.” Jenn gave Nate an appraising look. “In fact, the last time I saw her on Friday night, the two of you were looking pretty cozy on the dance floor. Is everything okay?”
“Sure, everything is fine,” Nate replied, not wanting to lie to his friends, but not wanting to talk about the kiss either. Not until he’d spoken to Tamara about it, at least. One look at the two women, though, told him they weren’t about to give in that easily. He’d caught their attention now. What he needed was a distraction, and he spotted just the thing. “Look! Furface is here again.”
The dog was ambling across Married in Malibu’s grounds, blissfully oblivious to Travis’s security measures. It was obviously a stray—of indeterminate breed and far too thin to be anything else. There was probably some terrier in there somewhere, maybe some poodle or Pomeranian. Whatever the mix, the result was a small, tangle-haired mess who had recently shown up outside Tamara’s café, begging for scraps.
“Furface?” Jenn said.
Clearly, neither Jenn nor Meg had noticed the dog before.
“Tamara always leaves something out for him to eat and drink,” Nate said. “I should probably take him over to her café.”
“Actually, if you’ll hold his attention for sixty seconds, I’ll run back to the kitchen and grab something for you,” Jenn said. She returned a minute later with a dish containing leftover cold cuts from the launch party buffet. In a kind voice, she said, “Here you go,” to the dog as she placed the bowl off to the side.
Looking wary, he moved closer, close enough to sniff at the dish. Nate assumed he was going to eat the meat, but then he suddenly turned and ran toward the gate, heading in the direction of Tamara’s coffee shop.
“I guess he doesn’t like my cooking,” Jenn said as she picked up the bowl of food.
“I’d better head over to let Tamara know that her best customer has arrived.” Nate grinned. “Her two best customers, actually, given that I haven’t yet had my first double espresso of the day.”
Furface’s appearance gave Nate the perfect excuse to ease into a casual chat with Tamara. Hopefully, he’d find out what was going on inside her head. And while they were at it, he hoped he’d be able to untangle his own thoughts and feelings about their kiss too.
Because while he definitely wanted to reassure Tamara that everything was okay on his end and that nothing needed to change between them just because they’d shared one epic kiss, there was another part of him that couldn’t stop dreaming about what might have happened if she hadn’t left the club in such a hurry on Friday night…
Chapter Two
Monday mornings were always hopping at Tamara’s coffee shop. Regulars came in from nearby offices, moms arrived with their small children in strollers, and tourists who’d noticed the line out the door obviously figured it must be a good bet if so many locals liked it.
Tamara had hired a couple of high school kids for the summer. While they were still learning the ropes, she had them bussing the tables, washing dishes, and taking out the trash. Meanwhile, Tamara sped around the shop trying to do everything at once: making coffees, answering questions, and filling orders, all while trying to look relaxed and greet people she knew. A couple of the newcomers were looking at her as though they couldn’t work out whether she actually worked there or not. Maybe it was the fact that she was wearing a light cotton dress more suited to a day on the beach than making coffee. Or maybe it was the collection of beads and scarves, bracelets and rings that she always wore. Well, that was who she was and she made excellent coffee without having to resort to wearing a boring uniform.
Tamara was thankful to be so busy this morning, because she was hoping it would stop her from thinking about anything else. Like kissing Nate.
A kiss that had been nothing short of incredible.
That is, until she’d pulled out of his arms and took off like a scared rabbit. The memory made her wince. Honestly, she was about as mature as her two teenage employees behind the counter. She’d been ignoring his messages ever since, unsure of what to say.
In the end, however, it turned out that work wasn’t enough to keep her from thinking about Nate. He was too good to be true in a lot of ways. He called himself a geek, but he looked more like a Hollywood leading man, and he was smart and funny. Any woman in her right mind would want to kiss Nate Waterson.