Take Me I'm Yours (Coffee House Chronicles) (3 page)

“I suggest you let go of the lady,” the stranger said. His tone said he meant business.

Ethan
gave him a long, cool look that said,
make me
. She held her breath, waiting for the two to get into a fight here on the street. Instead, Ethan released her arm and she smoothed her shirt against her hips.

“Goodbye, Ethan.” Marion
turned and walked away, trying to remain as dignified as possible.

To her utter surprise, the stranger fell in step beside her.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just an
ex-boyfriend.” She waved Ethan away with a shaky hand as though swatting a fly.

“I thought so. You’re shaking. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Despite her efforts to keep her emotions in check, her nerves were raw as though she’d been through the wringer. She paused a block from Bonjour Café to look at the man who insisted on following her. He had dark wavy hair and green eyes. She liked him right away. Any man willing to defend a woman’s honor had to be all right.

“I’m
sure.” She granted him a smile, glancing up at him as he towered over her. He was taller than she guessed.

“
How about I buy you a cup of coffee? I happen to know a great place.” He thumbed to the coffee house behind him and winked. “And my mother owns the joint.”

Marion glanced up and wondered why she had never noticed
it before. The Bitter End Coffee House sat nestled on the bottom floor of a renovated building at the corner of Main Street and Fourth. And suddenly it struck her. Here was a nice looking, honorable man asking to buy her a cup of coffee. How could she say no? And…her devious mind thought it would be good if Ethan saw her with another man.

“Yes, I think you can.”

“Great.” His face, shaded by a day’s growth, broke into a wide smile, showing off two deep dimples. “Mark Sawyer.”

“Marion Parker.”
She extended her hand and they shook like old friends.

He pushed open the door
and she entered, her heels clicking on the shiny wood floor. There were a few patrons inside the cozy coffee house and she inhaled the heady aroma of coffee and baked goods. Cinnamon, nutmeg and other yummy scents filled her nose. There was a glass case full of delectable delights—everything from pound cake to honey buns to cookies and scones. She even spied slices of cheesecake.

Mark paused at the counter, leaning toward the young woman with long flowing blonde hair and a nametag that read Cara.

“Hey, doll,” he greeted the girl and she grinned at him. A familiar grin that said she was abundantly happy to see him.

“You took your sweet time getting out of bed this morning.”
She handed the customer in front of Marion his change, who then headed down the bar to the barista for his coffee.

“That’s your fault.” He leered at her across the counter. “This is Marion. Get her whatever she wants on me.”

“You got it,
sir
,” she replied and winked at him. Then to Marion, “What’ll it be?”

“A latte, please.” Cara was already reaching for a cup before she could get the words out
.

Marion turned to Mark, who
planted a kiss on Cara’s cheek.

“
Enjoy,” he said before heading around the counter.

“Thank you,” Marion
said, wishing she had a man who looked at her like that.

“Stay as long as you like,” he said
, heading for the back office.

Moments later, a
s Marion grasped the warm cup of coffee, she turned to find someone she knew sitting in a corner of the coffee house. Graeme Butler hadn’t noticed her entrance since he had his head buried in his laptop.

The blood drained from her head, pooling in her stomach as it clenched. He had been a good friend who helped her move, no questions asked. He had been there for her at her worst.

And now here he was. Looking tall, dark and seriously sexy.

With a deep breath, Marion headed over. There wasn’t any reason why she couldn’t say hello to an old friend.
An old friend she hadn’t spoken to in a while. Even though their last meeting had been awkward, she was determined to not let that affect her. They had been friends once and she had always liked Graeme.

S
he pasted on a bright smile and sauntered over. She’d forgotten how good looking Graeme was with his strong jawline shadowed by a goatee. He shoved his hand through his naturally dark blond hair.

“Well, hello, you,” she said in her sweetest voice.

Graeme glanced up, question then surprise flickering through his devastating blue eyes. His mouth broke into a wide grin and he looked genuinely happy to see her.

“Marion
?”

“Are you as surprised to see me as I am you?” she asked as he rose and came around the table.

“You have
no
idea.”

He fold
ed her into his powerful arms, hugging her tightly and squeezing her to him, then kissing her soundly on the cheek. He smelled of soap and his familiar cologne that smelled dark and dangerous. Spicy and sweet. All rolled into one delectable package stamped Graeme. She could sniff him all day. It made her knees weak. A totally unexpected feeling because Graeme wasn’t her idea of a weak-in-the-knees kind of guy.

Stepping back, his gaze swept over her. And
, strangely, it hadn’t bothered her at all that he did it. It wasn’t the same creepy look Ethan had given her. This one was less on the lascivious side and more on the appreciative. Marion found she didn’t mind so much when Graeme did it.

“You look fantastic. I haven’t seen you since—”

“I know.” She blushed.

She didn’t want to be reminded of those fateful events
. They became friendly after the horrendous breakup with Ethan. Graeme treated her to a night out drinking beer and shooting pool. But things had turned awkward when he’d tried to kiss her. She’d run out of the pool hall as though the devil were on her heels. That was a few months ago and they hadn’t seen each other since.

Until now.

“How are you?” She smiled. Why was she so incredibly happy to see him?

He waved her to a nearby cushioned chair
. He closed the laptop then leaned back, propping his ankle on his knee to give her his full attention. “I’m great. I’ve been thinking about you.”

“You have?”

“I hope that’s okay.”

She nodded.

Damn, he’s sexy.
There was something ruggedly handsome about Graeme, yet she knew underneath that tough exterior was a sensitive guy. Of course, he never liked for that to be common knowledge. He liked to keep up the rough façade. In the few years she’d known him, he’d always been friendly with her. She could be herself with him. Remembering that almost kiss sent her gaze to his lips.

Suddenly she wondered what his lips would feel like on hers. Why had she stopped him before? Oh, yes. Because the thing with Ethan was still too fresh. Her wounds still too raw and deep. And Graeme had a girlfriend at the time. But now things were different. She’d recovered. She was whole again. She was ready to start anew.

She couldn’t stop looking at him. He had the best forearms and hands. Nice, strong looking hands.

She kept her cup in her hands to keep them from fidgeting.
He kept his gaze pinned on hers. “What are you up to these days?”

“I’ve got some new clients lately, so
the business is going really well,” he said. “I work a lot.”

“I’m glad to hear
the business is doing well.” She forced her eyes back to his face, noticing for the first time the new facial hair. One corner of his mouth was upturned in a grin. She resisted the urge to reach out and run a finger down his stubbly chin. “I like the goatee.”

He ran his hand over the beard, his skin bristling against
the coarse hair. “It’s something I’m trying.”

“Well, it looks great
. It suits you,” she said. “And how’s Charlotte?” Charlotte. His girlfriend. The one he still had when he’d tried to kiss her. Another reason not to let him.

“Uh…” He cleared his throat.
“We broke up a while ago.”

Graeme had no girlfriend. Graeme was single. There was nothing standing between them now.

“Shortly after you and Ethan—”

“Stop.” She held up her hand. “Please don’t say it.”

“Sorry.” Looking sheepish, he picked up his paper cup and sipped his coffee. “I didn’t mean to bring it up. Anyway, it wasn’t long after that.”

After their breakup? Did that mean he was already single at the time he tried to kiss her? Did she miss an opportunity?

She twisted the edge of her worn shirt around her forefinger. “Speaking of the devil’s spawn…I ran into him this morning.”

“Here?” Graeme sat straight and glanced around the nearly deserted coffee house. He looked as
if he were ready to fight.

“
No, no. Down the street at the café. I was having brunch and he showed up out of nowhere. Told me he made a mistake and he wanted me back.”

“Fuck him.”
He scowled, clearly unhappy with his friend’s actions. His face lost the light he had only moments ago and turned dark and serious. Graeme sat back in the chair again, relaxed.

“No, thanks.” She
snickered then blushed for laughing at herself. “I’m not sure what makes him think I’d want him back, especially after what he did to me.” Looking back up, she met his gaze. “All that time we were together, he lied to me about his business dealings.”

“What do you mean?” Graeme
asked.

“I mean he did web design for a…” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “…porn website.” Clearing her throat, she glanced around to see if she had been overheard. “Did you know that?”

When Graeme was silent, she was certain it was from sheer shock. That was her first reaction as well. “I had no idea and all that time we were together, he hid it from me. Talk about a scumbag!”

“Yeah,” he agreed, his voice muffled behind his coffee cup
.

“
It wouldn’t have been such a big deal if he hadn’t cheated on me with half the girls
from
the website. Of course, I found out about that after we broke up, but still…the nerve of that guy.”

This time, Graeme cleared his throat. “How did you find out about all that?”
He carefully placed his coffee cup on the table, and then opened the lid of his laptop. He fiddled with a few keys. Was he avoiding her gaze on purpose?

Marion gave him a pointed look of disbelief. Either he really didn’t know, or he was as guilty as Ethan was for pretending
not
to know. “You never knew, Graeme? You were his best friend.”

“Ethan and I shared a lot, yes. But he never shared that information with me. It’s sort of written in the Man Rules.”

“Man Rules?” She chuckled.

“Yeah,” h
e said, smiling a cocky smile. “Never share information that can incriminate you.”

“
Ha ha.” Marion first wanted to smack him for the remark, but his big silly grin made her giggle.

“Anyway, Ethan had his chance with you and he blew it.
His loss.”

Her eyebrows shot up. She was surprised to hear this from the man who was supposed to be his best man and best friend
.

“You deserve better than him, Marion. I always thought so.”

“I…don’t quite know what to say.” A heated flash went through her and her palms felt as though they had suddenly caught fire.

“He’s an idiot for letting you go.” He
snatched his cup again and sipped his coffee. “So what’d you tell him?”

She
smirked, remembering her lie. “First I told him too bad and then…” She stopped, waving the thought away. “Nothing. It’s silly.”

“If you said something that will make that asshole suffer please share. I haven’t spoken to him since that day in the church.”

She blinked. Graeme was full of surprises. She had no idea the two of them hadn’t spoken in the last six months. So…Ethan had lost his fiancé and his best friend all in one day.
Interesting.

“You haven’t?”

“No, I haven’t.”

She wanted to press further,
to find out exactly why the two had ceased their friendship. Was Graeme sore because Ethan made him do the deed of telling Marion the news? Or was there something else underneath his cool exterior he wasn’t telling her? What did Graeme care if Ethan ditched his girlfriend?
Unless…

Unless deep down, Graeme had feelings for her. The notion seemed so ridiculous she quickly pushed it away. Graeme wasn’t interested in her any
more than she was interested in the guy who owned this coffee house.

She stared down at her lap, toying with a string on the edge of her shirt. “I sort of told him I was seeing someone.” Looking up through her lashes, she added, “And that I was almost engaged.”