“They won’t let me in the door unless I do,” I said. “I’ll save you a few.”
“That’s very kind of you.” An affectionate look was in his eyes.
Now I was even more confused. We were two sides of the same coin. We just clicked. It wasn’t forced. It was completely natural. I didn’t have this kind of connection with anybody. Did he?
“How are your classes?”
“Good. After Thanksgiving it’s time for finals. Not exactly something to look forward to.”
“Well, at least there’s Black Friday.”
I laughed. “God, no. I’m not going out to get trampled. I’ll buy everything online.”
He chuckled. “That’s how I do it too.”
“So…black coffee?”
He rubbed the side of his cheek where his hair was coming in. “Add a shot of espresso. I have a lot of work to do.”
“When you come here, you work?”
He gave me a grim smile. “I work at the office, and then I have to prepare for the next day. On average, I work about thirteen hours every day, including weekends.”
I cringed. “Are you sure you don’t want to make it a double then?”
He smiled with his eyes. “Actually, that would probably be best.”
“You got it.” I put the order in the computer. “Anything else?”
“That’ll be it. Thank you.” He set the cash on the table.
I gave him the change and made sure I got him a coffee this time. “Well, have a good holiday.”
“You too, Frankie.” He gave me a final nod before he walked away and sat in a booth.
I released a deep sigh as I watched him. What was it with this guy? Why couldn’t I forget about him? Why couldn’t I just say hi and bye? Why did we have to have conversations that flowed so naturally? Why was it so easy for us to get along? I wish he were just an arrogant jerk that pissed me off so much that I never thought about him again. I wish I hated him for the way he ended our date.
But I just couldn’t.
CHAPTER FOUR
Francesca
I loved the holidays.
It was the time of year I got to see my family. During the school year, I was too busy to do anything fun. Sometimes, I barely had time to even brush my teeth. But during the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, it was required of everyone to do absolutely nothing. We lay around the house, ate, took naps, and then lay around the house some more.
It was one excuse to be lazy.
And I got to see my yaya. She was the sweetest lady in the whole world. She’s been through a lot in her life, the loss of a husband and a daughter, but she managed to remain happy and uplifting. She never let anything bring her down. To her, life was meant to be enjoyed. It was because of her that I tried to stay positive all the time.
Yaya lived a few miles from the coast toward the mountains. She had a cute cabin in the midst of the trees. Just a mile hike away was a beautiful lake. It was always so quiet and serene, and it was a peaceful place.
The second I drove up to the house, I felt excitement course inside me. This weekend was going to be amazing. There would be no talk of school or work. It would just be a fun and relaxing weekend. My brother was coming too, and I always looked forward to seeing him. We actually lived in the same city, but we were usually too busy to take time out of our lives to spend it together.
I carried my bags to the door, and before I could knock, the door flew open. Yaya obviously had been sitting at the kitchen table waiting for my brother and me to pull up. The delight was on her face, and she screamed before she hugged me. “So beautiful.” She always said this to me whenever she saw me. “I missed you so much, dear.”
I returned her embrace. “I missed you too, Yaya.”
She continued to hug me for a moment longer before she reluctantly pulled away. “I’m so glad you’re here. I haven’t been able to sleep because I’ve been looking forward to this so much.” She helped me carry my bags inside.
“I’m more excited. I get to have some of your amazing pie and everything else you make.”
“I’ve been prepping for that for weeks,” she said with a laugh.
We got my bags inside by the door. I’d carry them to my room later. I was too excited to think about that at the moment.
“Axel will be here soon. He’s bringing a friend for the weekend.”
“A girlfriend?” I blurted. My brother hadn’t brought anyone around ever. I knew he had relationships, but none of them were ever serious enough to be introduced to us.
“No, I guess it’s a friend from work. It sounded like he didn’t have anywhere to go for the holidays.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” I said. “But if he’s friends with Axel, then he must be a fun guy.”
“I’m sure he’s lovely.” She went into the kitchen and made two cups of tea. Then she sat across from me at the kitchen table. “Anything new with you, dear?”
I grabbed my cup and took a sip. “Nothing really. I’ve just been working and going to school…my life is pretty boring, actually.” I released a sad chuckle.
“That’s not true,” she said. “How’s the baking?”