The Coffee Shop by Lauren Hunter

drawers. Taking the toiletries into the washroom, she set them on the counter next to the sink. There was fresh soap next to the faucets, and in the bathtub, the towels neatly folded and fluffed. Everything was perfect.
    Strolling back into the bedroom, she slipped her boots from her feet, and climbing on top of the down comforter, she let herself sink into its softness.
    I could get used to this . She shook her head. Oh, Annie, what have you gotten yourself into?

    The knock at the door made Annie jump, and she sat up, staring at the room around her. Where am I? For a second she just stared, taking it all in, and slowly she remembered where she was, and she laughed to herself. “Yes?”
    “Dinner is served.”
    “You mean reheated, don’t you?”
    Derrick chuckled through the door. “Dinner is at a temperature that would be considered perfect for eating, if you should so choose to join me.”
    “I choose to.” Running her fingers through her hair, she brushed it away from her eyes. She jumped from the bed, walked over to the door, and opened it.
    Derrick took one look at Annie and stepped back. “Whoa!”
    “What?”
    “Nothing.”
    Annie tilted her head, her lips pursed, and going into the washroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. As far as she could tell there was nothing wrong, and so she took a step back and studied herself carefully. “All right, I must be completely blind because I don’t see anything.”
    “Made you look.”
    Annie straightened, and poking her head out the washroom door, she stared at him. “Did you just say, what I thought you said?”
    But Derrick just shrugged.
    “What are you? Ten?” Shaking her head vigorously, she crossed the room and waved her hand. “Out of my way, you child.”
    “Okay, Granny.”
    “Oh, you did not just say that.”
    “Say what?”
    She gave him a shove, and he fell back up against the doorframe, but he just started laughing, so she smacked him on the arm.
    “What was that? A love tap?” he asked.
    Her temper fired, and she reached out to smack him again, only this time he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him.
    “You wouldn’t be trying to hurt me, by any chance, Miss Maddock?”
    “Don’t tempt me.”
    He smiled down at her as she looked up at him, her eyes staring deeply into his. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I just did that. You make me nervous, and I get stupid.”
    “So, that’s your excuse is it?”
    “It’s the one I am using for now. If I come up with a better one, I’ll let you know.”
    She nodded as he explained. “But we best get eating or all that effort it took me to heat up the food will have gone to waste.”
    She followed him downstairs, and there on the dining table were salads already dished into their bowls. In the middle of the table was a platter of what looked like lasagna, hot and steaming, fresh from the oven.
    “Wow, it smells and looks so good.”
    “Don’t say that with too much surprise in your voice.”
    “Well, you love to give surprises, this is my contribution to the whole surprise thing.”
    “Fair enough.”
    He held out her chair for her before dishing out the lasagna onto their plates. Next to her chair was a wine bucket with sparkling apple juice cooling on ice.
    “You’ve thought of everything.”
    “I try to.”
    “Are you trying to impress me, Mr. Sloane?”
    “Is it working?”
    Annie smiled. “Yes, it is.”
    Derrick beamed at her as they ate. The lasagna was perfect, the sparkling juice cold. Derrick sipped his wine, and she was conscious of him watching her across the table.
    “You do realize you are staring, don’t you?”
    “Am I?”
    “Yes.”
    “Can you blame me?”
    “Yes.”
    “All right, I am completely to blame. I admit it. I can’t help but stare at you. Is that really so bad?”
    “It is when you’re the one being stared at.”
    “How about, I try to keep the staring to a minimum?”
    “I think I can live with that.” She sat back in her chair. “So,