Evers & Afters (Dare With Me #2) - J.H. Croix Page 0,28
coffee.
She cast a quick glare in my direction, her cheeks going a little pinker. I suddenly recalled just what we’d been doing on the very counter where she was serving me.
I dropped the silly argument about change. “Okay, fine. Give me three dollars change.”
Cammi made a funny little sound, but she said nothing further.
I stepped to the side as the next person began ordering and rested my elbows on the edge of the serving window. “Will you be ready to go soon?” I asked, keeping my voice low.
She looked up and awareness sizzled in the air between us. “Give me fifteen minutes? If that’s too much trouble, I can get a friend to take me up there. It’s busy, and I don’t wanna leave Amy alone yet.”
“Fifteen minutes is fine,” I assured her. “I need to get some gas anyway. I’ll go do that and come back. Okay?”
“You sure?” She handed me my coffee, and our fingers brushed as I took the cup from her. Fire chased over the surface of my skin from that subtle touch.
“I’m sure,” I said before stepping away just as Amy called over, “A chai latte, and a latte with an extra shot and caramel syrup, two pumps.”
Cammi cast me an apologetic smile, but I lifted my fingers in a wave as I turned and strode back to my truck.
Chapter Twelve
Cammi
“Thanks again for taking care of my tire,” I said for probably the twentieth time today.
Elias looked quickly in my direction before his eyes shifted back to the road in front of us. “It’s really no trouble.”
I almost said thank you again, but I actually managed to shut my mouth by biting the insides of my cheeks. “Did you have a good flight?” I asked after a moment.
“Sure did. Pretty day for a flight.”
“Are you back to your regular schedule?”
“Should be by next week. Gotta say, I’m relieved to be back in the air. It’s been a long few months. I’m just grateful my injury happened over the winter when things are slower anyway. Flynn would’ve been in a bind if the accident had happened during our busy season.”
“He would’ve figured it out. But yeah, I’m sure you’re relieved. I hate having time on my hands.”
“You have no idea,” Elias said firmly, just as the computerized dashboard lit up in front of him with a phone call. The sound of it filled his truck. He glanced at the dashboard screen quickly before casting me an apologetic look. “That’s my sister, I’m gonna need to take this.”
“Go ahead.”
He tapped a button on the screen, answering with, “Hey sis, you’re on speaker, and I’ve got a passenger in the truck.”
“Hey, who’s riding with you? Is it Diego? Because he owes me five dollars,” his sister said.
He chuckled. “No, it’s not. You can’t see her, but my passenger is Cammi. She runs Red Truck Coffee. I took you there last summer when you came to visit,” he replied.
His eyes bounced to mine briefly. “Cammi, this is my sister, Faith.”
“Hi, Faith. Elias is just giving me a ride. Sorry to eavesdrop on your conversation.”
Faith let out a quick laugh. “I don’t think it counts as eavesdropping when Elias put the call on speaker, but that’s okay. Nice to meet you.”
“What does Diego owe you five bucks for?” Elias prompted.
“We bet on a basketball game. My team won.”
“He’s ignoring my texts,” Faith explained.
Elias chuckled. “Smart man. I’ll get the five bucks from him, don’t you worry. Now what’s up?”
“Mom is driving me crazy. You know how the doctor told her she needs to take it easy? Well, she’s not taking it easy. She is still working full-time even though they told her she could cut her schedule back. Will you call her?”
He let out a sigh. “Yeah, I’ll call her. What makes you think she’s gonna listen to me?”
“Because she always listens to you better than me,” Faith returned.
“I’m not sure I agree, but I’ll definitely call. You doing okay?”
“Of course. I’m always okay.” Faith added, “Cammi, Elias is an obnoxious older brother. He’s always worried about us when he doesn’t need to be.”
“Okay, this phone call is over,” he interjected with a dry laugh.
“Love you,” Faith said quickly.
“Love you too. I’ll call mom soon.”
He tapped the screen to end the call. “That’s my sister. You might not remember, but I did bring her by last summer with my mother and my other sister.”
I riffled through my memory. “I think I remember. You stop by a lot with people when