Bad Taste in Men (Clover Park, Book 3) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series) by Kylie Gilmore

Author:Kylie Gilmore [Gilmore, Kylie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance, romantic comedy, women's fiction, humor, chick lit, family saga, friends to lovers
Publisher: Extra Fancy Books
Published: 2014-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Rachel was super busy at Book It the next couple of weeks on account of being the only employee. She’d roped Liz into subbing a few hours here and there so Rachel could keep working on the café with Shane. Things were going perfectly there. Shane supervised the contractors, and they’d already completed plumbing, electric, and painted the walls. Now they were installing the cabinets and counter that Shane had ordered. She should’ve been on top of the world. Everything was going so smoothly. Except Shane was so distant.

Gone were the warm looks she’d grown accustomed to. No more sweet, dimpled smiles just for her. No more alpha looks giving her hot flashes. He was professional, polite, considerate. The perfect business partner.

She hated it.

She put up a sign on the front window of her shop announcing she’d be back in fifteen minutes and headed across the street to Shane’s Scoops for the only decent coffee in the area. At least until their café opened.

She got in line. Shane and Matt were working.

“Hi, guys,” she said. “Can I get a latte?”

“Hey,” Shane said. He inclined his head to Matt.

“Coming right up,” Matt said.

Shane busied himself rinsing out a pitcher.

“What’s up?” she asked.

He stopped and met her eyes, no warmth in those blue eyes, just a blank expression. “We should get the coffee brewing machine and grinder delivered tomorrow.”

“Awesome! We should try them out. Do some taste tests.”

He nodded. No warmth. No enthusiasm. Rachel’s stomach dropped a notch lower into the beginnings of despair. She was losing him, losing his friendship, the one thing she wanted to keep more than anything.

“Aren’t you excited?” she asked, hating the way her voice came out small. “We’re almost there.” Matt handed her the latte. “Thanks.”

“I’m excited,” he said flatly.

He didn’t sound excited. He sounded like he barely cared about the café, barely cared about her.

She took a step back, hurt by his withdrawal. She still wanted him in her life. She missed hanging out like they used to. He used to pop by for lunch whenever he had a chance, two or three times a week. They never binge-watched Brit comedy like they used to. They used to laugh themselves silly watching shows like The IT Crowd while eating popcorn at her place.

“You busy tonight?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on. Accounting stuff.” He didn’t meet her eyes.

She knew when she was getting the brush-off. “Okay, well, if you need a break, stop by. I just got Not Going Out seasons one, two, and three. It’s supposed to be really funny.”

“Maybe.”

She gestured for him to walk over to the side, away from Matt, for a private conversation. “Are you mad at me? I thought we were friends.”

He crossed his arms. “We are.”

“Friends hang out.”

He said nothing, but his body language clearly said: Back off.

She swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. “I miss you.”

He shifted from one foot to the other. “We see each other all the time.

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