Come To Me (Dare With Me #3) - J.H. Croix Page 0,10

“You should take that group of women. One of them has her eyes on you.”

“I’ll pass then,” I replied quickly.

Nora’s brows hitched up. “You’re a professional flirt.”

I shrugged. “Not in the mood for flirting right now,” I said lightly.

Tucker caught my eyes from where he sat across from me. “Dude, what gives?”

“Nothing, how about I take one of the deliveries?”

“One of them includes a rescue dog being adopted, so we’ll be transporting it over,” Nora offered.

“I’ll take that one. The dog can ride in the front with me,” I offered.

Nora tapped it into the schedule. Conversation carried on, and conveniently, no one teased me about my choice not to take the flight with a group of women guests here. I wouldn’t call myself a player, but I was definitely a flirt. Yet, at the moment I only had one girl in mind: Gemma.

I wasn’t prone to focusing on one woman like that, and I had my reasons for it. I didn’t want to question it right now though. I was impatient to see Gemma at the grand opening for Cammi’s new café tomorrow night. Lately, those of us out here were getting rounded up time and again for the needs of our friends’ newest loves. Cammi had the best damned coffee in Alaska, so I was going to support her no matter what.

Of course, the coffee wasn’t what had me wound tight with anticipation. That was all Gemma.

Chapter Five

Gemma

I crossed the parking lot in front of Misty Mountain Café, pausing to spin and look behind me. I was still soaking in every view to be found here. This little coffee shop was situated on a slight hill off of Main Street in Diamond Creek with enough elevation to offer a view of the mountains and a slice of the bay in the distance.

I was still getting accustomed to the long days here. It was June and the sun wouldn’t set until after ten p.m. It was evening now, and the sun was only beginning its slide down in the sky. Sunset lasted for hours here in the summer. At the moment, there were the early glimmers of a watercolor sky and the fading brightness of late afternoon.

Turning back, I glanced at the new sign on the café. Cammi must’ve had that mounted at some point during the day today. I smiled. The renovated Quonset hut was adorable. Windows had been cut into the sides of the structure, and the front, where the door was on the long end of the cylindrical shape, was all windows. Walking inside, I glanced around at the artwork hung on the walls in the already crowded space milling with customers and guests. In addition to her incredible coffee, Cammi had partnered with Daphne for baked goods and updated the sandwich menu.

As I glanced around, a voice came from over my shoulder. “Hey, Gemma!”

Turning, I found Susie Winters smiling at me. Her brown curls bounced and her matching brown eyes crinkled at the corners with her smile. I’d met Susie through Cammi, encountering her occasionally at the coffee shop in the short time I’d been in town. Come to think of it, almost everyone I’d met so far had either been from students coming to my yoga classes, or people I met here.

“Hey, Susie, how’s it going?”

“Good, good,” she said quickly. “Doesn’t it look great?”

“It does, and I love the new sign outside.”

Susie’s husband, Jared Winters, approached, looping his arm around her waist. “You’ve met my husband, right?” Susie asked.

“Just once, good to see you again,” I responded with a nod to Jared.

“If you haven’t been out fishing yet, you need to go,” Susie added.

Jared’s grin shifted from her to me. “Just let Susie know if you’d like to go, and you can hitch a ride on one of our trips.” I knew from Susie that Jared and his two brothers ran a fishing charter business.

“I’ll make sure to do that,” I replied.

Susie was drawn away into another conversation, so I threaded my way through the crowd to say hello to Cammi who was standing by the counter. “Love the sign,” I commented.

“Jessa painted it. She’s the one who does the tables too,” Cammi explained, gesturing over to a table nearby.

I looked in that direction, seeing a woman with wavy brown hair standing beside yet another handsome man. Alaska was crowded as far as the rugged, handsome man quotient went. Outdoorsy was definitely the vibe.

The tables here were whimsically painted and fun. Cammi explained to me