Rush (Breathless #1)(13)

She sucked in her breath. Jace was a huge problem. He would lose his mind if he ever found out about any of this. Surely Gabe had considered that. Hadn’t he?

There was no way she could ever let her brother know about this. It would ruin his friendship with Gabe and would likely ruin their business as well. Not to mention he would never understand, and it would put a huge wedge between her and Jace.

She was contemplating it. She must be if she was factoring in all the potential obstacles, right? Had she lost her mind?

She should so be running as fast as she could in the other direction, and yet…

She made it with ten minutes to spare and opened the door to La Patisserie. The bell jangled, a familiar sound as the door shut behind her, and she smiled a greeting at Greg and Louisa, the owners of the shop.

“Hello, Mia!” Louisa called out from behind the counter.

Mia offered a wave and quickly ducked into the back to get her apron and hat. It was a ridiculous French beret, and she always felt silly wearing it, but Greg and Louisa insisted on all the employees wearing them.

When she made her way back to the front, Louisa waved her over.

“I’ve got the counter today. Greg will be in the back baking. We have a huge order to fill by tonight, so can you man the tables?”

“Sure,” Mia said.

There were only five tables in the tiny café. It was mostly a takeout spot for coffee, croissants and delicious confections, but a few of their regulars liked to take their coffee and food inside on their lunch break. There were an additional four tables on the sidewalk, but they were self-serve and she didn’t have to wait those tables.

“Have you eaten?” Louisa asked.

Mia smiled. Louisa was always concerned that Mia didn’t eat enough or that she skipped meals, and as a result she was forever trying to force food on Mia.

“I ate this morning. I’ll grab a bite before I leave.”

“Okay, be sure and try Greg’s new sandwich. He’ll want your opinion. He’s testing it out on a few customers today to get feedback. He wants to add it to our menu.”

Mia nodded and then headed toward a table where a couple had just sat down.

For the next hour, Mia worked the lunch rush and was too busy to give the matter with Gabe her full attention. It definitely still occupied a huge part of her brain. She was less attentive than usual, and she messed up two orders, something she rarely did.

Louisa sent concerned looks her way, but Mia stayed busy, not wanting the older woman to worry, or worse, to ask her if anything was wrong.

At two, the lunch rush started winding down, and the shop started to empty of the steady stream of customers. Mia was just about to take a break, grab a drink and sit down for a minute, when she looked up and saw Gabe walk through the door.

She stumbled in midstride and nearly went sprawling on the floor. Gabe lunged forward and caught her before she could fall. His hands remained firmly wrapped around her arms even after she’d steadied herself. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment, and she hastily glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed her clumsiness.

“Are you all right?” Gabe asked in a low voice.

“I’m fine,” she managed to get out. “What are you doing here?”

His mouth quirked into that half smile, and he regarded her with that lazy gaze. “I came to see you. Why else would I be here?”

“Because they have good coffee?”

He started toward the table in the far corner, his hand still curled around her elbow.

“Gabe, I have to work,” she whispered fiercely.

“You can take my order,” he said as he took his seat.

She huffed in exasperation. “You don’t eat here and you know it. I can’t ever imagine you eating in a place like this.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you calling me a snob?”

“I’m merely making an observation.”

He picked up the menu and studied it for a moment before lowering it again. “Coffee and a croissant.”

She shook her head and walked around the back of the counter to get the croissant and pour a cup of coffee. Thank God Louisa had gone in the back with Greg and hadn’t witnessed her falling all over herself. She had no desire to answer questions about who Gabe was.

She had to wait for her hands to stop shaking before she picked up the cup of coffee. She carried it and the saucer with the croissant to Gabe and placed them both in front of him. When she would have retreated, his hand shot out to grab hers.

“Take a moment and sit down, Mia. No one’s in the shop.”

“I can’t just sit down. I’m at work, Gabe.”

“Are you not allowed a break ever?”

She wasn’t about to tell him that she had been just about to do that very thing when he’d walked in. Hell, she wouldn’t put it past him to have waited until the shop emptied when he knew she wouldn’t be occupied to come in.

With a resigned sigh, she sat in the chair across from him and leveled a stare in his direction.

“Why are you here, Gabe? You said I had until Monday.”

“I wanted to see what my competition was,” he said bluntly.

He glanced around the shop and then back at her, a questioning look in his eyes.

“Is this really what you want, Mia? Where you want to be?”

She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Greg and Louisa were still nowhere in sight. Then she glanced back at Gabe, her knees shaking under the table.