Some Like It Hotter by Isabel Sharpe

Author:Isabel Sharpe [Sharpe, Isabel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-08-31T14:00:00+00:00

9

EVA WIPED DOWN the counter in front of the gleaming Beast one more time. After two weeks she still hadn’t established a karmic connection with this machine. Back in California she had a sixth sense for hers, understood when it was feeling grumpy from too much humidity or heat. This one, she had to pull several shots each morning before she got it right, tasting each cup carefully, adjusting the grind, the dosing, the timing, sometimes fussing with the blend for maximum flavor balance, sometimes several times.

Besides that, so far the day had gone well. An October pumpkin-bread special had sold out—the rush of morning commuters had seemed particularly hungry—then they’d suffered the usual dead space midmorning. With lunch hour winding down now, the midafternoon lull had started. At the moment the store held Tom, in his jeans and sweatshirt as he was pretty much every afternoon, and an older man reading the New Yorker.

Those empty hours were the ones Eva wanted to target with her changes to the store. Commuters racing in and out didn’t care about atmosphere; they wanted a quick jolt of caffeine, thanks, goodbye. But those who had the time and would rather linger—they needed luring in and they needed a reason to stay. For that reason, instead of cleaning for the two o’clock shift change, she was getting ready to close.

This afternoon she was conducting a grand tour of thrift stores with Ames. He didn’t know that yet, but he’d find out soon. A quick call yesterday to Jean, always happy to snoop in the name of matchmaking, confirmed that Ames had only one appointment this afternoon, with a client he often complained needed more hand-holding than necessary. Further meddling—on Jean’s initiative, Eva would never go that far—revealed that the client would be just as happy seeing Ames the next morning, in fact, the reschedule was really a better time. And voilà, Ames was free.

Jean was brilliant. Eva should give her a lifelong gift certificate to NYEspresso.

As for the shopping, Eva still hadn’t made any firm decisions. She was counting on inspiration to determine what the narrow cold space needed to cozy it up. So far she’d come up with a few fun themes, but they made her nervous. Too much change could be jarring and disconcerting to customers. Natalie the decorator might have good ideas, but she’d either been crabby or rushing to go out whenever Eva fished for suggestions, and had responded only with grunts and promises to think about it.

“So what are we closing for, exactly?” Ben was working the register today. Rebecca’s incessant chatter had made Eva thoughtfully share her with Jinx’s time on bar. Ben was a little dense, maybe, a little rumpled, but a sweetheart, with tattoos and piercings that made Eva look like a rank amateur.

“I talked to Chris last night. I’ve been thinking the decor here could use a little changing.”

“Yeah?” Ben glanced around dubiously. “Looks okay to me.”

This from a guy who clearly didn’t bother with a mirror in the morning.

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