Coffee Cup Confessions - Trish Williford Page 0,14
how nice of Misha.” He chuckles.
Walking around Drew, I finally get a full glimpse of Jake. He’s wearing a charcoal peacoat with a dark green sweater underneath. His jeans are slim and dark wash, and he has on black boots. He’s absolutely breathtaking, and I feel like I need a personal stylist before I should even be seen with him in public.
Jake’s attention turns to me, a bright smile lighting up his face. “Hey.”
“Hello. I’m sorry you had to come to get me. I was held up. Or down.” I shoot a glare at Drew.
Jake laughs with a shrug. “What kind of guy would I be if I didn’t come to the door?”
Drew throws me a pointed look. “See!”
Rolling my eyes, I kiss Drew’s cheek. “I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Have a good date tonight.” He pulls me in for a hug and whispers, “Holy shit, he is a mix of Gosling and Tatum. Fuck him enough for the both of us.”
I punch Drew in the ribs and turn toward Jake. “Ready?”
Jake opens the passenger door of his truck, and I’m barely able to climb in.
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He shuts the door, and I click my seat belt.
He took me to a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant for dinner, and was by far the best lasagna I’ve ever had. I’m stuffed to the gills, and I blame Jake. We were so busy talking that I continued to take little bites of bread well after I was full, so I could keep my jittery hands busy.
Jake turns the key, and the engine rumbles to a start. “I know of a pretty good band playing tonight. You feel like checking them out?”
To be honest, it could be the most terrible band in the world, and as long as Jake was there, I’d be willing. “Let’s do it.”
His grin is contagious, and I feel my cheeks ache from the amount of smiling and laughing I’ve been doing this afternoon.
“Did you do well at the farmers market this morning?”
“I sold out of everything by ten thirty and have enough orders for next week to keep me busy,” I say proudly.
I’ve been a vendor at our local farmers market for the last two years, and for the past two months, I’ve been consistently selling out of all my baked goods, but I’ve never sold out as quickly as I did today.
“That’s awesome, Misha. Are you closer to opening that bakery now?”
“Baby steps, Jake. The idea of opening my own bakery is thrilling and terrifying at the same time.”
“I understand, believe me.” He chuckles. “At some point, you’ll have to take the jump. The fall is scary, but you’ll never know if you’ll land on your feet if you don’t try.”
“Is that how you decided to buy the coffee shop? Just dive headfirst and hope for the best?”
“Not exactly. Mama Java’s kind of landed in my lap. It’s definitely a labor of love, but it’s mine.”
A few minutes later, when he pulls into the strip mall where Mama Java’s is located, I giggle. “This is where the awesome band is playing?”
He laughs along. “Yep. We have local bands come in on Saturday evenings for live music. Tonight’s band is actually one of my favorites; however, I have another reason for bringing you here.”
“Okay …”
He puts the truck in park and turns to me. “You said you’d never come back into the coffee shop again, but I’m making you come in and have a cup of coffee with me while we listen to the band.”
“And to think, the date was going well,” I tease with a roll of my eyes.
“It’s about to get better.” He winks and gets out of the truck.
And it suddenly feels like it’s two hundred degrees in here.
As I round the truck, I notice that the parking lot is fuller than usual. “Looks like quite the turnout.”
He glances around and nods. “This band tends to bring in a lot of people.”
He grabs my hand, and we walk toward the shop. I’ve never been a girl who was into holding hands, even when I was with Noah. His fingers were too thick and felt uncomfortable between my smaller fingers.
But Jake’s hand feels different in mine.
Our fingers laced together feels comfortable and natural, as if they were made to be held as one.
My focus is taken away from how his hand feels against mine when we walk into Mama Java’s and find a massive crowd gathered inside.
“Holy shit,” Jake gasps, and I’m just as shocked as he is.
The