CHRISTMAS COFFEE: A HOLIDAY ROMANCE by H.M. Ward

Author:H.M. Ward [Ward, H.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781630352479
Publisher: Laree Bailey Press
Published: 2021-11-01T18:30:00+00:00

28

Nova

My life falls into a pattern. Sleep paws at me every night and I’m dead to the world until four in the morning, when I pull on my tacky costume and head to work. I’m on my feet all day and bone weary by the time I get off. Quitting time has gotten later and later because the second shift never appeared. Celyn has been working both shifts, along with Quin who helps him out. Shannon is useless, aside from his ability to attract swarms of women. After he does that, he seems to be at a loss and has no idea how to get them to buy anything. One day I told him, “Just tell them you can only talk if they’re buying something. It’s true, and they all want to talk to you.”

That created some purchases, but the line moved too slow. Shannon moves at snail speed when he’s flirting, which is all the time. He has that obnoxious guy vibe. It flows off of him with such force that it’s like being blasted with a high-wattage flirting fan. Personally, it’s not my thing, but there are many women who like it. They linger and wait for him. No doubt, Shannon is loving the attention. I didn’t get to hear the legendary story of the Dick before Christmas, since Celyn forbid him from reciting poetry, but periodically a blushing face will ask about Shannon and every time, she says she was in that crowd, mesmerized by him.

And things with Celyn, well, they turned cold. It’s really weird because that day at McDonald’s he was kind, and warm. Now he’s curt and distant. He doesn’t talk to me. There’s no casual conversations about anything besides the weather, inventory, and work. It’s as if he decided that he doesn’t like me. When work is long, tense, and tedious it stretches out forever. Shannon is an obnoxious brat and Celyn, well, it’s been like working with a robot. He helps, and we have a good pace. The flow of our work isn’t clumsy anymore. We don’t bump into each other the way we used to, but I miss his smile.

Celyn grabs his briefcase and a folder of papers. He scribbles on an order form and hands it to me with a wad of cash. “Please add that to the pile and put the money in the drawer. I’m grabbing a coffee and heading inside to finish this up before the night rush begins. Thanks.”

“Sure.” Pleasant. He’s always pleasant and says please and thank you. But it lacks warmth. When he reaches for a cup with his other arm already holding his case and papers, I cut him off. “I’ll get it.”

“I can do it,” he retorts flatly.

“I know you can.” I stop and look into his face. He avoids my eyes. “Your arms are full and you seem like you’re in a hurry. I’ll grab it and you can go.”

He stiffens and spits out, “You don’t know what I like in my coffee.

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