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)
But she was also pretty sure they were glad to have her back in charge. And her customers had missed her. They all said how great the service had been when she’d been away, but it wasn’t the same thing as having her there. A lot of her relationships with her customers were like ongoing conversations, picking up where they had left off the day before. She became involved in their families and the dramas in their lives. After a couple of days away, a lot had happened, and everyone was eager to catch her up.
Of course, they also wanted to hear about what she’d been doing with her weekend. They knew she didn’t leave the shop very often, so figured it must have been pretty important. But if there was one thing Tamara didn’t want to talk about right then, it was Nate. Although she was dying just to speak his name, she had turned a perfect weekend into a hot mess when she decided she needed more time to think. Think about what? She felt bad about the way she’d left things with Nate and knew he was confused. Hearing that he loved her had been everything. And then seconds later, it had sent her into a panic. All this because she didn’t think she deserved to love him?
Most of her customers knew Nate because he was in the shop so much, but none of them realized he was more than another customer. She repeated the story about the beach wedding several times, describing it in general terms and emphasizing how much fun she’d had.
And that was the absolute truth. She had had fun. She’d loved every minute of being in San Diego. His family were entertaining and welcoming and warm. And as for being there with Nate… Well, that was amazing. Her instincts told her that Nate was everything she could ever hope for in a man. She knew they had a connection that was deeper and more meaningful than anything she had ever felt before. They were so perfect together that Nate’s own mother believed they were a couple—there was no pretending, it just was. Tamara had been happier than she had been in a long, long time.
As the lunch rush died down, Tamara realized she needed to place her weekly orders with her suppliers. She sat on the back step of the coffee shop, pen and paper in hand, and tried to compile her list, but all she could think about was Nate’s parting kiss and the memory of so much more than that at his brother’s beach house.
The kitchen at Married in Malibu was just finishing up the final taste tests for the catering of the wedding later that week. There were dozens of pastries, small cakes, and canapés laid out on the huge stainless-steel island that commandeered the center of the kitchen. Last week, Jenn had asked for Nate’s opinion, believing him to be the expert in what geeks liked to eat. The only qualification Nate thought he had was that he liked food, however she’d insisted.
Jenn had told him that once Zach and Yuriko signed off on everything, she would leave the food out for everyone to try. Technically, Nate didn’t need to be here, but free food was not to be ignored, and anyway, he was curious to see if she had used any of his suggestions.
He looked at his watch and couldn’t believe the time. It was almost seven pm. As predicted, he’d had a busy day—they all had—and he knew it was going to be a late night. In fact, he was sure he wouldn’t be the only one burning the midnight oil tonight.
Everything looked delicious, and as he was making a plate for himself, Nate glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye and snapped his head around. Tamara was in the kitchen chatting with Liz. Nate hadn’t reckoned on seeing her again today, but he was pleasantly surprised. In a different situation, Nate would have gone over to her, thrown his arms around her, and kissed her. But the room was full of his coworkers, and probably for the first time ever, Nate found himself wishing they weren’t there. He was also a little on edge, remembering how they’d left things earlier in the day.
“So, how was your weekend?” Liz asked Tamara. First glancing across the room at Nate, Tamara began to tell her how great the wedding had been. Liz was interested in hearing the details about the catering and how the beach location had been arranged. Liz didn’t say anything about their furtive glances, but Nate could tell she was suspicious.
He went over to join them, wanting to make things easier for Tamara and wanting to find out what she was doing there.
“That part’s easy,” Liz said before Tamara could respond. “As you know, Tamara’s providing coffee for the wedding, so I thought she should be in on sampling the food. After all, her coffee will go with our food.”