when they can’t believe their luck. That Drew Danforth smile, the one everyone’s seen a million times before, is real and it’s mine.
“Annie,” he says, and my name still sounds so much better coming out of his mouth, “that was the best speech I’ve ever heard in my life.”
He takes a step and closes the distance between us. Drew puts his hands on my face and leans in, so only I can hear, and says, “I love you, too.”
And if you’ve ever seen a rom-com, you know what happens next; he kisses me, and the crowd goes wild.
Drew pulls back, and both of us take in everything around us. The camera crew. Orange Windbreaker, who’s looking at us with misty eyes. Chloe, doing a wolf whistle. Nick clapping and Uncle Don dabbing at the edges of his eyes with a tissue. It’s not perfect, because my mom’s not here, but like I told Drew, this isn’t a movie. It will never be perfect, but at least it’s real.
“I’m really glad you ran into me that day,” Drew says.
And as he leans in to kiss me again, although I know it’s not possible, I swear I can hear the music start to play.
ONE YEAR LATER
DREW DANFORTH ENGAGED!
by Steve Babbitt for Hollywood Gossip
Well, we thought it would never happen, but it’s true! Hollywood prankster Drew Danforth has finally settled down, popping the question to his girlfriend, screenwriter Annie Cassidy. Drew is set to costar in the upcoming Frasier reboot, while Cassidy’s first film, Coffee Girl, is in preproduction. Congratulations to the happy couple!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Kerry Winfrey’s next contemporary romance . . .
NOT LIKE THE MOVIES
Coming soon from Jove!
Chapter One
I can tell what’s going on by the way the customer looks at me. The concentrated stare as I pour her coffee, the anticipatory smile as I put the lid on. This isn’t someone who’s only here for the caffeine hit. No, this is something different.
“Have a great—” I start as I hand her the drink, but she cuts me off.
“It’s you, right?” she asks, breathless, eyes wide. “From the movie?”
I am typically friendly—some might say too friendly—to our customers here at Nick’s coffee shop. It’s kind of my thing. And it’s not even a problem for me to let gruff patrons or rude comments roll right off my back; not because I’m a doormat but because I’m genuinely not bothered by it. People have hard days, and while they definitely shouldn’t take them out on their baristas, I know it’s not about me.
But this . . . this is different. This couldn’t be more about me.
“Um, yeah,” I say, trying to keep my voice down. “It’s me.”
“There’s an article about you on People,” she says, the excitement palpable in her rushed words. “With . . . pictures.”
I see her eyes dart toward my boss, Nick, who’s tending to the espresso machine behind me. I wince before I can stop myself.
“Oh, is there?” I say, and before she can complete her nod, I finish with, “If you don’t mind moving along, there are other customers I need to help.”
She smiles and walks away, so starstruck she doesn’t notice that there’s no one else in line. I let out a long sigh, then immediately pull up People on my phone.
There it is. “The Real-Life Love Story Behind the New Film Coffee Girl!”
There’s a picture of me, one that I don’t remember taking and certainly didn’t give to People magazine. And then there are a couple pictures of Nick and me here, at work, behind the counter. The saving grace is that I was wearing an especially cute cardigan that day, one with little embroidered flowers and bees, so at least I look good, but that doesn’t take away the weirdness inherent in seeing a picture of yourself that you didn’t even know someone took.
But why am I, Chloe Sanderson, resident of Columbus, Ohio, and no one all that special, gracing the pages of People?
Because my best friend wrote a movie about me.
Okay, so Annie maintains that the movie isn’t about me so much as inspired by me, and she’s right. But anyone who knows me and sees the trailer can see the similarities. The movie’s lead character, Zoe (come on, Annie), has a stubbornly, almost annoyingly positive attitude, even in the face of rude customers or family tragedy. She works in a coffee shop. She takes care of her sick father, although Zoe’s father has cancer, while mine has Alzheimer’s.
But there