From Bully To Beloved

“Oh, no, no. He’s not a bad guy at all, Kelly,” I clarify. “He just annoys the crap out of me, and his eyes haunt me in my dreams. I don’t know what it is, but most of the time, we just can’t seem to get along.”

“What about his friend?”

“Justin? Oh, he’s cool. Great guy.”

She perks up again. She looks over at him, and I notice her taking in the tattoos, leather jacket, and motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm.

“I think my water broke, and I ain’t even pregnant,” she jokes.

Huh. I know Kelly likes the inked bad-boy type, but I never saw her going for any of them in real life, yet here she is, practically drooling. Justin and Kelly. Wouldn’t that be so sweet? But in all honesty, the odds of that happening are as impossible as Coltonand me.

Daphne sits them in my section, of course. As in, of course I would be the one to serve them. I’m in no rush to greet them. I know, I know. We’re not at war anymore. We’re on good terms now. But his nakedness threw me off.

I finish cleaning the other pots and get more coffee going while putting the freshly washed mugs on the shelf.

“Sera, they’re in your section,” Kelly says, patting me on the arm to get my attention.

“I’m aware.”

“Are you going to serve them? Or can I-?”

Ha. Great idea. Why didn’t I think of that? “Knock yourself out,” I tell her.

“Yes,” Kelly exclaims in a hushed whisper. She adjusts her already-flawless hairdo, takes off her glasses, grabs one of the fresh pots of coffee, and heads over. I watch her go in anticipation.

“Good day, gentlemen,” she chirps, slightly nervous. “Can I start you off with some coffee?”

“Yes, please and thank you,” Justin says with a lilt to his voice, eyeing Kelly in appreciation. I can tell by the redness of her cheeks that she notices. Her smile says she doesn’t mind. She shyly doesn’t meet his gaze when she leans forward to fill his mug.

Coltondeclines the coffee with a gentle shake of his head. His eyes slide past her to meet mine, and he gives me a smirk and a wave. Waving back, I figure I should at least greet them now that we’ve made eye contact.

“Hello, gentlemen,” I say, coming to stand by Kelly. Playfully-kinda-I say to Cal, “Any particular reason you have chosen to annoy me at work?”

Coltonthrows up his hands. “I literally haven’t said a word to you yet.”

“I know, and I appreciate it.”

“You see what I’m dealing with,” he says to Justin and Kelly. “I don’t even have to say anything, and she gets annoyed.”

“Congratulations, Cal,” I say. “You finally understand me.”

“Don’t worry, they’re always like this,” Justin says to Kelly.

“I gathered as much.” She giggles. “Do you guys need a moment with the menus?”

“I’ll take a beer and a burger,” Coltonsays and winks at me. “Medium, with the works on top.”

“And I’ll take the breakfast special,” Justin says, nodding toward the chalkboard on the wall. “Thank God you guys serve breakfast all day.”

“Good choice,” Kelly says. “It’s the best meal.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Justin rumbles.

I raise my eyebrow, watching them. Honestly? They’re kind of cute. When I glance back at Cal, he also seems to have noticed the spark between them, and we share a smile. My annoyance doesn’t go away, but that shared smile takes the edge off.

“Seriously, though, what are you doing here?” I ask him.

“We were passing through,” he says, “and figured I’d stop by and see where you work.”

I gesture to the bright-pink walls which match my T-shirt. “Well, what do you think?”

“It’s a nice place. Cozy. Have you taken your break yet?”

“No.”

“Join us.”

It’s a sweet offer. “Thanks, but I don’t have a break yet.”

“I don’t mind if you want to,” Kelly says earnestly. “The lunch rush hasn’t started yet, and the other girls are here to cover when it does.”

“See?” Coltonmoves over and pats the spot next to him. “Come on.”

My stomach growls and suddenly lunch sounds like a wonderful idea. Aside from the coffee I shared with Marie, I haven’t had anything else.

“Can you tell Deacon I want my usual?” I ask. “And let Marie know I’m taking my break.”

“I’m on it, honey.” Kelly gives me a cheeky grin as she turns her back on them on her way to the kitchen.

I sit next to Cal, noticing Justin watching Kelly while she walks away. He isdefinitelynot her parents’ type, but then again, her parents’ type hasn’t exactly been working out for her.

“Everything okay at the dealership?” I ask.

“We haven’t gone yet. Getting a bit of a late start,” Coltonsays. “By the way, when I woke up this morning, you were gone. Why did you leave so early?”

“I couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d make myself useful and get some work done.”

Coltonshifts his gaze to Justin. “Justin, tell Sera she works too much. I’d do it, but she never listens to me.”

“No way, dude. I’m not getting in the middle of whatever this is,” Justin says, gesturing between us.

“Let’s stop talking about me,” I say, not in the mood to have my life choices aired out in my place of work. “Tell me about the dealership. Is everything going okay with the new contractor?”

“Oh, a thousand times better than the last asshole,” Justin says.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Coltonnods in agreement, resting his arm on the back of the booth. It’s not quite around my shoulders, yet I can feel the heat of him. “We’ve made up some time and it’ll be good to open by the end of the month. Everything is back on track.”

“That’s awesome!” I’m genuinely happy for him.

“Speaking of the dealership,” Justin says, sitting straighter and wrapping his hands around his coffee mug. “Now that I have both of you here, as well as witnesses, I have to tell you something.”

Uh-oh. I don’t like his tone or the fact that he wants to talk to both of us. What does the dealership have to do with me? Coltonalso appears confused, his brow furrowed as he stares at his best friend.

“What did you do?” he immediately asks.

“And what does it have to do with me?” I add.

Justin takes a sip of coffee before he speaks. “Well, I ran into Mr. Osborn,” he says carefully.

“Who’s Mr. Osborn?” I ask.

“Main investor,” Coltonclarifies.

“We got to talking about the shop and his investment. One thing led to another, and…I may or may not have accidentally referred to Sera as your wife.”

There’s silence.

We both stare at Justin.