The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor, #1)

by Laurie Gilmore

It wouldn’t be the first time someone had agreed with her just to get her to shut up.

The doctor said the heart attack was stress-induced.

‘Don’t worry about them. They’re just looking for a place to peddle their pornography.’

Oh, and also, I usually deliver scones to the café on weekend mornings. Spare me the greeting you gave Logan.’

‘Why do you call him that? Just call him Dad.’

She was just here to serve coffee and ideally not die of a stress-induced heart attack at the ripe old age of twenty-eight.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t like her, but she decided to chalk his curt attitude up to general old-man curmudgeonliness.

But Nana had always been there for him. He stooped down and gave her a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. ‘If anything worth mentioning happens, you’ll be the first to know.’ She smiled. ‘That’s all I ask.’

‘I promise, the next time you puke you can call me, okay? I’ll clean it up. I deal with all sorts of gross farm emergencies every day. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve had an alpaca spit on you.’

‘I think maybe you’re not used to being treated right, Jeanie.’

He should have stayed with the goats.

Logan laughed too, mostly to avoid making any comments about face-sitting.

Reading was probably safer than hiking, anyway.

This secretive thing was working for her anyway. Way less pressure.

He nodded because he couldn’t bear to tell her how inevitably not fun it would be, and because he was honestly terrified that if he said another word to her, Pete would have him signed up to inflate the bounce house with his mouth.

They both glanced around outside, emerging from the spell they’d been under to remember they were right in the middle of freaking Main Street, making out like they were seventeen.

He was done hiding.

Yes, she was here, damn it. This was her damn café. And despite Norman’s efforts and Logan’s fears, she wasn’t going anywhere.

‘Wonderful! I’m sure you two worked up an appetite.’

His gaze lingered on her like he was drinking her in, absorbing every bit of Dot that he could. Jeanie could feel the longing. The angst. The love.