The next day, walking the same route I did the day before, I passed the hotel where Luke bolted from.

I was smiling at the memory when I caught sight of a figure leaning against a newspaper box out on the sidewalk.

I halted in my steps as my jaw dropped slightly.

“The sun’s out today at least,” Luke said as he straightened away from the newspaper box and walked toward me. 

“I see you’re dressed this morning,” I said wryly, raising a brow at him. “You shouldn’t be here though in case that woman’s still around. She was ready for murder.”

He grinned and I was again struck by how handsome he was.

I’d spent the night before trying to make sense of the day I had yesterday and whether Luke Hedenby was real or a figment of my overworked, Theodora-tortured imagination.

With him towering over me by a little over a foot, his clean, fresh scent filling the air around us and his eyes sparkling blue in the bright spring sun, he looked larger than life.

Oh, yeah. He was real, alright.

“Don’t worry. Based on the crazy amount of scathing messages she left on my phone yesterday, she’s on her way back to Michigan. She said something about taking back her old fiancé although I don’t imagine I’ll be getting an invitation to that wedding.”

“If there’s even going to be one,” I said with a scoff before tipping my head in the direction of Cleo’s Cafe where I was going to do a coffee stop for me and Jillian. “I would never take back anyone who cheated on me. Infidelity is a total deal-breaker.”

“I agree if you’re at the point of meeting up at the altar,” Luke said as he opened the door of the cafe for me. 

It was a little cozy place already packed with people grabbing breakfasts to-go.

I joined the line, Luke following behind me, and I turned to face him, my arms crossed over my chest. 

“And when would you disagree that it’s a total deal-breaker?” I asked, very curious to hear his answer. 

He shrugged. “Well, if you’re both in a mutually non-exclusive relationship and everyone’s clear on what their expectations are, then I don’t see a problem.”

I grimaced. “Of course, you won’t. You see, normal people, like me for example, would never find themselves in a mutually non-exclusive relationship because we wouldn’t want to have one in the first place.”

“Never?”

I nodded. “Never. I know the world is changing and liberating itself with each passing day but I guess I’m still pretty old-fashioned about that. If I’m in a relationship, it better be damn exclusive.”

His eyes widened slightly and I forced myself to relax.

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little opinionated on this matter. It’s not unexpected, I guess, when your father runs away with the new town bank teller and your mother not so accidentally walks in front of a speeding car. People who love each other don’t hurt each other like that. If you can’t commit your heart and your life, don’t commit at all.”

Even with the sounds of the kitchen and the random chatter around the cafe, I heard and felt the silence between us.

That confession slipped out of nowhere. I barely talked about my parents. 

“How old were you?” he asked softly.

I looked away. “Thirteen. My grandpa took me in after that.”

I was looking out the window as I willed the bitter memories away but I wasn’t really seeing anything. 

Suddenly, I felt the warm press of a light kiss on the top of my head as Luke’s arm went around my waist to gently pull me close to him.

“Alright,” he murmured as he pulled back and smiled down at me. “No worthless, womanizing cads for you, then. I’ll keep them away.”

I couldn’t resist the smile that pulled at the corners of my mouth and I playfully pushed him on the chest. “There’s one standing right here next to me and you’re not doing anything about it.”

He laughed and released me. “I’m not going to be that guy with you, Max. Count this as another one of my rare promises.”

Before I could ask him to expound on that statement further, our turn came up at the till and I rushed out an order for mine and Jillian’s coffee before turning to Luke. He rapped out two orders as well, one for him and the other for Terrence. He looked mortified when I practically thrust the cash in the barista’s face but he was too late to stop me. He just gave me a stern look but said nothing except a grumbly thank-you.

“Come on, ride with me,” he said as we walked out of Cleo’s. I could see his town car parked by the curb with Terrence leaning over to the passenger side to smile and wave at me in greeting through the rolled-down window.

I groaned. “Luke, I can’t be carpooling with the company CEO for the second or nth time. It doesn’t look good.”

His forehead scrunched up in confusion. “What’s wrong with that? It’s a ride. Terrence is in the car with us. I’m not going to compromise your virtue or anything.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” I told him as I pointed to the bus stop. “The seven-thirty is almost here. I usually take that to work. I’ll see you in the office later, okay?”

“Max, come on!”

I glanced over my shoulder when he cursed loudly, startling some passers-by.

I watched in amusement as he walked over to the car, poked his head in through the passenger side window and talked to Terrence before pulling himself back on the sidewalk with only one coffee left in hand.

My brows shot up when the town car pulled out into traffic.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded when he came over to me, his eyes glinting mischievously. “Why did Terrence leave you here?”

“Because I told him I’ll see him at work,” he answered, looking up just as the bus heaved into a stop in front of us. “I’m taking the bus with you.”

My mouth dropped open. “You’re taking the bus?”

He raised a brow in challenge. “Is there a law saying I can’t?”

I closed my mouth shut as I got bumped against Luke by the throng of people jostling their way into the bus.

Luke’s arm instantly wrapped itself behind my waist as he shouldered his way through, positioning his body around me protectively.

“You alright?” he asked as soon as we settled in a spot int he middle of the bus, pressed up against the other people who were standing as well since all seats were taken.

I nodded. “Yeah, of course. I take the bus every day. Are you alright? Have you ever been on a public bus?”

He smiled. “Once or twice in college when my friends and I went out on weekends and we didn’t want to drive because we planned to have a few drinks. We’d take the bus to town and just take a cab back if it’s already early in the morning and the bus service was done.”

“Why didn’t you just cab your way over in the first place?” 

“Because it was more fun in the bus,” he answered with a shrug. “And because we met some pretty cute college girls that way.”

I rolled my eyes. “Typical.”

“What?” he asked defensively, settling a hand on my hip to steady me as the bus suddenly braked and lurched forward at a red light. “We were young and full of it, okay? It was a good way to snag dates.”

I levelled him a look. “Snag dates? You could walk into a bar and count yourself lucky if you didn’t get tackled to the ground. I don’t imagine that an attractive guy like you would have any problem finding a date.”

“Max,” he said, his eyes crinkling in the corners with suppressed laughter. “You know that you just admitted to finding me attractive, right?”

My cheeks warmed and I defended myself with a scowl at him. “Yeah, well, I don’t ever recall claiming otherwise. And it’s not like you don’t know it already.”

He laughed. “I only care that you admitted it. You’re not completely immune to me, you know? I like knowing that.”

“You’re such a jerk,” I muttered in embarrassment but Luke just grinned and said nothing, resting his chin on the top of my head. 

We were like that for a long time as the bus chugged its way through traffic and although it was a particularly intimate moment, I didn’t mind it. I’d rather be pressed up against Luke than any other stranger in the bus. Besides, he smelled awesome.

“You know, you forgot to pay,” I said with a smirk, lifting my head to look up to him. “I have a bus pass but I didn’t see you put a ticket in.”

He smiled. “I’ll pay on my way out.”

I shook my head. “You’re incredibly silly, you know? Taking the bus when you have your own personal car and driver.”

“Hmm. Sometimes, Terrence’s chatter gets old,” was all he said before the bus pulled up by the sidewalk across the street from Hedenby Towers. 

He assumed the same protective stance as we filed out of the bus and I caught him slipping a twenty-dollar bill into the change slot as we passed it.

“Is today going to be a busy day for you?” I asked as we joined the herd of people on the cross-walk. “Wait, don’t answer that. Of course you’ll be busy. Duh.”

He gave me a teasing smile. “Not too busy that I can’t join you for lunch. Where would you like to eat?”

I shook my head. “I can’t. I promised lunch to Jill and Ryan.”

“Ryan?” he repeated, furrowing his brows in thought. “Which Ryan?”

“Ryan Wilcott, director of Legal,” I answered as we walked up the front steps. “He’s good friends with me and Jillian. He sometimes hangs out with us for lunch if he’s not out on a meeting or something.”

“Interesting to know,” he said thoughtfully. “Ryan and I went to college together and we were good friends. He went to law school afterwards so we didn’t see each other much until I convinced him to work for us.”

I grinned. “Why am I not surprised that you are Ryan are such girl magnets? Were you two on that same bus you took in college to snag dates?”

He laughed. “Maybe. Don’t tell him I told you that. He likes to think he’s reformed.”

“Maybe he is compared to you,” I teased. “After all, I haven’t seen him running around naked downtown.”

Luke glowered at me. “I wasn’t running around naked downtown—only from the hotel room to the sidewalk outside. I took your coat, remember?”

I laughed at his petulant expression. “Oh, I remember very well. I’ll remind you to return it to me but I feel like I shouldn’t after all that money you spent on me yesterday. I feel like I should trade you something.”

His eyes lit up. “You’ll let me keep it?”

“Uh, I guess, if you’re one for sentimental value because that’s about all that you’ll get out of it,” I rambled on uncertainly, puzzled by why he looked excited. 

“Good,” he said with a satisfied smile. “It’ll be in the coat closet in my office if you ever need it but let it stay there if you don’t need it quite yet.”

Before I could answer, we came up to a small crowd waiting for the elevators by the main lobby. 

We were behind the group when one of them glanced back at us and recognized Luke.

“Oh, Mr. Hedenby, hi. Good morning, sir.”

“Hi, Mr. Hedenby. Please, go ahead.”

“Sir, hello. How are you this morning?”

“Go ahead, please. We’ll wait for the next elevator.”

I just watched in amusement as Luke smoothly handled each greeting with a polite and friendly response. The small group parted to provide him a path to the elevator just as it opened. 

“Please, come on in,” he said to the others as he grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into the elevator. “I don’t want you to be late for work because of me. There’s more than enough room for all of us here.”

People exchanged puzzled and curious looks between each other before glancing at Luke and then t me as they filed in after us. Everyone had been comfortable to greet him but not enough to talk to him once we were inside the elevator and it started moving up.

“I like this coffee,” he said after he took a sip and glanced at mine. “What’s yours again?”

“It’s a mint macchiato,” I told him as he leaned down and sniffed my cup through the small opening on the lid. 

“Let me try it,” he said as he reached for the cup and lifted it to his lips. I was too stunned to do anything but watch him.

He smiled at me mischievously. “I like this one, too. You want to try mine? It’s some kind of vanilla cappuccino.”

And before I could protest, he handed me his cup and I took a tentative sip. 

“It’s nice and rich,” I told him as he switched our cups back. “It’s a bit sweet but I might try that next time.”

If anyone in the elevator thought that our conversation and coffee-cup swapping was extremely weird, no one said anything. I had a feeling it was going to make the gossip mill before noon today and I could explain that he and I were really just friends but no one would probably believe me. After all, he’s known me not even a whole two days but we were practically swapping spit like strangers hooking up in a bar.

I mentally groaned at the image I mentally groaned at the image of swapping saliva with Luke in a completely different way. Friends did not make out the way they just did in my imagination.

We reached my floor and Luke followed me out but instead of going down the hall towards the marketing department, I turned to the opposite direction.

"I have to drop off Jill's coffee," I explained, not really sure why he was following me around. "She works in the IT department. She was the one who gave away my hideout to you yesterday."

His eyes lit up with recognition. "Ah, yes, Ms. Dane. She took pity on me yesterday after I flagged down a fourth person for your location."

"You know that people are going to ask a lot of nosy questions once they've seen the two of us hanging out like this, you know?" I told him as we approached the last door down the hall.

He rolled his eyes. "I know. If anyone gives you a hard time, tell me. I don't remember a company policy about restricting friendships between ranks. It's not like I'm adding you to my list of conquests. Not at all."

I glared at him, not able to quite admit that his last statement stung. "You don't have to sound so vehement about it. Trust me, they're probably going to say more about me than you."

"No one should say anything about you because you're not doing anything wrong," he insisted, halting in his step and catching my elbow gently to stay me. "I meant what I said, Max. If anyone gives you a hard time about being friends with me, I want to know about it."

And since I’m not going to get anyone fired, not even the tyrannic Theodora, you would never hear about it from me, I thought as I sighed and nodded at him.

I turned and walked the last few steps to the IT office, pushing the door open and poking my head in.

Jillian was at her desk, rapping away at her computer with Kings of Leon blasting from her speakers. Everyone else in the office had headphones on, focused on each of their computers.

"Hey, Jill,” I greeted as I headed for her desk, handing her her own cup of coffee.

She looked up and her eyes widened when she focused on Luke who came in behind me.

"Hello, Ms. Dane," he said to the speechless Jillian. "Good morning."

Her music immediately went mute and everyone else in the office looked up at our arrival, tugging their headphones off and politely greeting Luke.

The IT manager, Lance Wong, stepped out of his glass-walled office and headed for Luke who greeted him warmly.

"Max, what in the world is Mr. Hedenby doing here with you?" Jillian hissed at me in a whisper, her eyes still trained on her boss and Luke as they chatted easily.

"We got coffee at Cleo's this morning and I needed to bring yours over to you," I told her in a hushed voice.

If I thought her eyes couldn't bulge out any further, I was wrong. "You two got coffee at Cleo's this morning?"

I nodded. "Yup. And took the bus together. Mr. H is my friend now, you know? He's actually pretty nice."

"Don't tell me you're sleeping with him!" Jill whispered furiously, grabbing my hand and gripping it so hard I yelped.

Luke stopped mid-conversation with Lance and glanced at me in concern.

I flashed him a reassuring smile before turning to Jillian and tugging my hand free.

"No, I am not doing anything of that sort with him," I told her under my breath. "He's not interested in me that way. He's made that clear enough."

Jillian looked like she didn't quite believe me but she didn't say anything more.

"Anyway, I gotta go," I told her as I straightened away from her desk. "Lunch later, okay?"

"Okay," she answered mulishly before nodding politely to Luke who wrapped up his conversation with Lance the moment I started for the door.

"See you later, Ms. Dane," he said with a wave and a smile at Jillian before reaching for the door and holding it open for me.

I giggled when were safely out of earshot. "I don't think I've ever stunned Jillian into speechlessness before. It would've been hilarious if I knew I wouldn't be paying for this later."

"If she's really your friend, she'll trust you," was all he said as we walked along the hall. "I probably should make my way to my office before Peggy sends out a search party for me."

"Okay. Say hi to Peggy for me," I told him as he stopped in front of the elevator doors. "Talk to you later, Luke."

I turned to keep going on my way to marketing when he suddenly called out my name.

I whirled around to face him and he crossed the few steps between us to lean down and whisper in my ear.

"By the way, I like that you wore your hair down today," he said before pulling back and giving me a wink. The elevator doors swished open and he jumped in before I could recover.

My cheeks must be scarlet at that simple statement, reminding me that if he and I were really just in the friend zone as I insisted with Jillian, a mere compliment about my hair was nothing to fuss about. 

But that was where we were and it was probably the best place to be—friends.

Anything more and I would be asking for heartbreak.

 ♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg♪♪♪

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you.
I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down
I want to come too

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop
I love so much
All of the while I never knew
I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop
I love so much
All of the while I never knew