Close to You

What?” She looked it over
again. It offered tea for two for the price of one as well as a
to-go option.
    “ The kid was standing just
to the side of your door, handing them to all your customers.
That’s bad neighborly etiquette. Plus Sacramento Street is long.
There’s plenty of sidewalk to peddle from.” Olivia shook her head.
“So I talked to him about it.”
    Eve couldn’t help it—her lips quirked.
“Of course you did.”
    “ Did you expect I wasn’t
going to look out for a friend? Apparently he was instructed to
pass them out to all your customers.” She poked at the flyer with a
finger. “Margaret Byrnes is trying to steal your
business.”
    “ I take it Margaret is the
owner of Crumpet.”
    “ Yes.” Olivia made a
face.
    Eve laughed. “And you don’t like
her.”
    “ She’s not exactly
friendly, but I didn’t hate her until that boy handed me a flyer on
my way in here.”
    “ I’ll go talk to her. I’m
sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”
    “ Uh-huh.” She didn’t sound
convinced. “I told the boy to pass the rest of them out down the
street.”
    “ Thanks.” She linked her
arm through Olivia’s. “Come on. I’ll make you your
usual.”
    “ I’m predictable, aren’t
I?” Before Eve could say anything, she continued. “Although I
prefer to call it admirably dependable. It’s your fault. Nutella
lattes are ingenious.”
    While she made the latte, Olivia
chatted with Allison. She handed over the drink and a little goody
bag.
    Olivia held it up and shook it gently.
“What’s this?”
    “ Something you’ll
like.”
    Olivia peeked instead and then
grinned. “I didn’t doubt you, but curiosity would have killed me.
You know if I keep coming here I’m going to have to work out twice
as long at the gym. But that’s a mall price to pay for your
croissants.”
    As she walked her friend to the front
door, Olivia said, “Stop by the store sometime. I have a bustier
that’d look awesome on you.”
    “ I already have a drawer
full of lingerie I don’t wear.”
    “ Wear them
then.”
    “ You’re looking at me like
that’s a no brainer, but I bake all day.”
    Olivia shrugged. “So bake all day in
black lace. Think how hot you’ll look in it and a pair of your
impractical shoes.”
    “ They aren’t impractical,”
she said, looking at the Kate Spades on her feet. “They’re
pretty.”
    “ So is the bustier I have
waiting for you. Stop by later.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I really don’t
need sexy underwear.”
    But then she pictured Treat’s admiring
gaze. He’d almost kissed her the other night. He hadn’t made any
sort of move on her since, but then they were in the café with all
sorts of people around.
    Olivia tugged on her
sleeve. “You’re daydreaming in such a way that it leads me to
believe that you do have a use for it. Tell me.”
    Two women pushed past them into the
café.
    “ Saved by the bell,” Olivia
said. “But don’t expect that I’m going to let you off the hook so
easily. I want to hear about him later.”
    Eve laughed. “Okay.”
    “ You can tell me how it
goes with Margaret too.” She hugged her tight and then briskly
sauntered out.
    Eve watched her walk to the end of the
block. Then she picked up her discarded rag and went back to the
counter. “One day, when I grow up, maybe Olivia will teach me how
to walk like that.”
    “ That girl doesn’t walk.
She sashays.” Allison shook her head in admiration. “I’ve seen men
walk into signs, watching her go down the street.”
    “ And yet no man’s claimed
her.”
    Allison shrugged. “There’s more to
some stories than meets the eyes.”
    “ Speaking of...” She took
off her apron and folded it. “Will you be okay for a few minutes on
your own? I have an errand.”
    “ Go. I’ll be
fine.”
    She didn’t have far to go.
Crumpet was just across the street, closer to the other end of the
block. She saw the closed sign before she got to the door, but she knocked
anyway.
    Her chance paid off when a statuesque
woman opened the door. She looked expensive and put together like
the women in Laurel Heights usually did, with her hair styled into
a twist and a strand of lustrous pearls at her neck.
    Her expression was less than
welcoming, and her tone was even colder. “Yes?”
    Eve pasted her friendliest smile on.
“My name is Eve. I own Grounds for Thought, down the
street.”
    She paused, waiting for some sort of
thaw. When nothing happened, she mentally shrugged and