The Coffee Shop (9 page)

Annie closed the door and leaned back against it.
What are you doing here? You don’t do this kind of thing, ever! You’re not that kind of girl. Although, he did set me up in the guest room.

It was obvious he was hoping to take their relationship to the next level, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for something like that. And deep down she realized she must believe she was, otherwise she would never have said yes. But it scared her. Sure, he loved her now, in this moment, but what about six months from now? Would he have grown tired of her by then? Would he want to move on, leaving her alone and wondering what happened?

Stop it, Annie. He’s not like that. I know he’s not. He would never…You always do this, you think it to death and then it never gets a chance…but then there’s good reason for that after what happened last time. Is it any wonder this scares me?

She pushed the thoughts from her head, and opening her suitcase, unpacked the few things she brought and put them in one of the dresser 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, what have you planned for us?”

“Well, I thought we could go for a walk along the lake. And then watch a DVD while warming up by the fire. How does that sound?”

“The part by the warm fire sounds great.”

“If you bundle up you’ll be fine, I promise.”

Reluctantly, Annie got up from her chair and retrieved her boots before she slipped on her scarf and coat. “Oh, wait.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out mitts and put them on. “Okay, you can open the door now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Am I sure I want to go out into the freezing cold?”

Derrick opened the door and stepped outside, Annie following closely behind. “There’s a kind of trail along the edge of the lake.”

“Kind of?”

“Where the snowmobiles ride.”

“Where the snowmobiles ride? Isn’t that like a really bad idea or something? I mean aren’t you worried about being run over?”

“They’re pretty noisy, and we can just move out of the way.”

“Oh, so this isn’t as secluded as you were hoping after all.”

“There aren’t that many, and you never come across them unless you go where they run.”

“So, you’re going where they run?”

“Well, we could walk on the ice, or into the trees, but I thought you’d prefer this. At least this way there’s a path.”

“I see.”

“So, what do you say?”

“All right, let’s do this.”

“You sound like you’re psyching yourself up for a game.”

“Do I?”

“Come on, you’ll love it. I promise.”

They walked down to the edge of the ice, and finding a path that looked like it had been recently used, they walked along the lakeside.

“I can see the attraction,” Annie finally said, as she stared out across the snow-covered lake. The trees that edged it trimmed in white, the odd cabin lining its edge. “It’s so quiet, I can actually hear myself think.” The snow made everything look perfect and clean, everything lit up as if still daytime, long after the sun had set. All around her was a hushed quiet, as they walked in silence. “I’m glad you brought me here.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” She was so bundled up, her scarf covered everything but her eyes. “You want to head back?”

“Yes, I don’t want to push my luck. I can only stay out so long, and then my fingers and toes start to hurt.”

“Okay.”

He tried to take her hand, his glove grasping her mitt in his as they walked back to the house and inside.

“Where’s the fire? Where’s the fire?” She peeled off her mitts and boots, and sitting on the carpet she held her hands and feet before the fire. She glanced over at Derrick as he unzipped his coat. “What’s that look?”

“What look?”

“Oh, the one that says, ‘Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad.’”

“I don’t have any look.”

Shrugging, she sighed. “Sorry I am such a complete wimp.”

“Don’t feel you have to do anything for me. Honestly, Annie, just having the opportunity to spend time with you is enough for me.”

She smiled at his words, and then removed her coat, letting it fall to the floor. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll pick all this stuff up. I just need to get warmed up first.”

Derrick came up behind her, and slipping his arms around her, leaned his chin on her shoulder. “Annie, you can leave them there for all I care. You are what matters.”

“Oh, you’re getting into dangerous territory there. Once it starts, then the next thing you know there’ll be stuff all over the place.”

“You always say the most…” He stopped and sighed. “What would you like to watch?”

“What do you have?”

“Well, the selection is pretty wide open. There are classics, action, thriller, horror, comedy, sci-fi.”

“Is there anything you don’t have?”

“Well.”

“Let me ask you this, have you seen everything in your collection?”

“No.”

“So, there are some you haven’t had a chance to watch yet?”

“A few, yes.”

“Okay, then how about you choose one of those. I’m pretty much open to just about anything. I love everything you just mentioned, so you pick.”

“This is the pizza thing all over again, isn’t it?”

“Pizza thing?” But then she remembered that night he came to her apartment and they ordered take out. She sighed. “In a way, but I am honestly open to just about everything.”

“All right, but next time, you choose.”

“Agreed.”

Opening a cabinet filled with DVDs, Derrick ran his finger over the covers. “Ah, here’s one. I think you’ll like it.” Closing the cabinet, he removed the DVD from its case and slipped it into the machine. He sat down next to Annie as the movie started.

“What is it?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Annie turned to face him. “That’s it, where’s a felt pen? I am going to write surprise across your forehead!”

Grabbing her before she had a chance to jump up, Derrick pulled her down on top of him on the sofa.

“Felt pen! Give me a felt pen.”

“I tell you what, I’ll make you some popcorn if you promise not to write surprise on my forehead in my sleep.” Annie stopped struggling and became thoughtful.

“All right, it’s a trade, popcorn, in exchange for not writing surprise on your forehead.”

Derrick paused the movie. “It’ll only take a minute.”

Annie waited while Derrick popped a bag of microwave popcorn, and returning in record time, he set the bowl on her lap. Sitting next to her, he put his arm around her.

“There, how’s that?”

“Pretty good. The fire, the movie, popcorn. What, no wine?”

Holding up a finger, he reached over the back of the sofa, and picked up two empty glasses, handing one to her. Going back over the sofa, he came back up with the wine and her sparkling apple juice.

“I was joking, you do realize. These are cold. What, did you have them in ice buckets?”

“Yep.”

“When did you do this?”

“When you went to get your boots from your room.”

“You literally thought of everything.”

Derrick filled their glasses, and settling back, he put his arm around her once more.

He was close to her, his arm reaching up and around her shoulder as he sat next to her, and in that moment, it just felt right. The two of them close on the sofa as they watched a movie. She smiled, and as she helped herself to the bowl of popcorn in her lap, she relaxed against him.

It didn’t take long before Annie was fast asleep, her head resting against his chest as she slept soundly upon him. Derrick put his feet up on the coffee table and watched television, until he too drifted off.