She had purposely left Eleanor’s in time to come in a few minutes before opening so she could give him a chance to talk to her with just the two of them there, but he’d busied himself unpacking boxes in the back room, barely glancing in her direction. Then he’d gotten straight to work, training her, beginning with a caramel crunch latte and then rushing over to the first customers waiting at the door. As she stirred the lavender, she tried to guess what had caused his silence.
She set the spoon down and went out to see if Theo needed her, still thinking about him when—bam!—she slammed right into his chest. “Oh!” she cried, stumbling backwards. Theo caught her, his strong hands steadying her in a flash.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It’s fine.” He hurried past her, avoiding eye contact.
“You know, if you end up driving me home and you’re this quiet, it’s going to be a long journey…” she teased.
He finally looked over at her. “I’m not being quiet,” he said.
“So what do you call this silence then?”
He pursed his lips. “Working.”
She offered a challenging look. “Wanna see working? I’ll show you working. Take over the lavender boiling.” She walked back into the front and stood by the register.
Theo poked his head through the kitchen doorway. “But you don’t know all the—” A customer came in so he stopped talking, gritting his teeth and retreating to the kitchen.
An elderly woman lumped her handbag onto the counter. “Y’all got just plain coffee?”
“Of course,” she said with a smile.
The woman looked around the shop. “Theo’s been itchin’ to get me in here. He told me I should pop by sometime, but I can make my own coffee just fine in my housecoat at six in the mornin’. I don’t need to be runnin’ the streets for it.”
Her candor gave Lila a burst of pleasure. “I totally understand,” she said, shooting a grin over to Theo, but he moved out of sight. This woman was the type of person she could spend hours talking to—she could already tell. “What’s your name?”
“Adele.” The lady looked Lila up and down.
“Adele, it’s nice to meet you,” Lila replied. “Are you going to settle in and relax with us, or are you in a hurry?”
“I was gonna take it home with me.”
“Well,” Lila said, “you’re more than welcome to stay by the fire over there for a chat, but I’ll make your coffee in a to-go cup so if you need to head out, you can take it with you. How does that sound?”
Adele nodded. “That would be wonderful, thank you.”
Lila grabbed a paper cup and filled it with the coffee that Theo had brewed this morning after she’d come in. “Are you all ready for Christmas?” she asked the woman as she snapped the lid on the cup.
“Nearly. I’ve still gotta get a gift for my grandson Rex.”
“Rex from the Christmas tree farm? I met him the other day,” Lila said, while hunting for the correct buttons on the register to ring up the order. “He’s adorable.”
“Yes,” Adele said, perking up, clearly keen to talk about her grandson. “He’s such an old soul. I have no idea what I should get him for Christmas.”
“You know, we rode horses with little Rex, and he was such a delightful host,” Lila told her. “He mentioned that he needed some tools to fix his saddle. Maybe you could find him some… That’ll be three seventy-five,” she said, proud of herself for ringing it up correctly. Luckily the register was similar to the one she’d used at work.
“Oh, like a little leather tool kit or somethin’?” Adele asked, getting excited as she handed over her money.
“Yes, exactly!” Lila put the bills into the cash holder at the bottom of the register and handed the woman her change as a line began to form, the next customer grabbing a paper coffee menu to make his selection.
“Thank you so much for the idea.” Adele gathered her bag and cup. “You have a lovely Christmas, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The woman stopped. “What was your name, dear?”
“Lila Evans.”
“It was so very nice to meet you, Lila. I’ll have to let Theo know how great an employee he’s hired. You know, I’ve been waitin’ for him to get a little help. He works so much…”
“Yes,” Lila agreed, glancing over to the kitchen door, but Theo wasn’t there. “Everyone should have a break now and again.”
“He’s been here almost a year now and he barely sees anyone,” Adele said, speaking