Touchstone
Page 21
“I’m fine. How about the caramelized banana and Nutella and the roasted pear with mascarpone and honey?” If that one was good, I could easily duplicate it at Speakeasy with some Lyons honey.
“Sounds good. How do you feel about a brie and fig, and a classic ham and cheese?”
“Hungry.”
Sam rattled off our order, en Français, and I shook my head. Amazing.
A young woman came out of the back. “I can ring up your order.”
She had no accent whatsoever. I reached into my purse, but Sam stopped me. “I’ve got this.”
He swiped his card and she handed him a receipt.
“Excuse me, but how long has this café been here?”
“We opened in October, on Halloween.”
“I was here in September. Do you have any idea what happened to the rock and crystal store?”
She looked at me funny. “What rock and crystal store?”
“Crystal Connection. Do you know if she just moved to a different location?”
“Sorry, far as I know this store’s been empty for a year. If there was a rock shop here, it must not have been for long.”
She disappeared into the back of the store.
“What’s wrong?” Sam stepped up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head.
“I know the shop was right here. I can prove it. I took a business card when I left.” I rummaged in my purse and pulled out the small pouch I stuck all my cards in. The round cardboard disc stood out from the rest—part of why I’d taken it was that it was heavy cardboard, not thin like most business cards, and it looked like the moon. “See? I was actually going to suggest you get cards like this for Crystal Persuasion because I thought the moon was cool.”
But when I flipped it over expecting to find contact information—a website, phone number, the address, anything—the only thing there was a quote. “Live by the sun, love by the moon.” I whispered the words.
“I like that.”
“It’s just so weird that the shop is gone. I’d think I imagined the whole thing, if I didn’t have this card and your necklace as proof.”
“I’d have believed you anyway.”
“She was so nice. I wanted to thank her.”
“Maybe she was your guardian angel.”
“Maybe. Maybe the universe told her to open her shop just to help bring us together.” I sounded ridiculous, but I didn’t care.
Sam pulled me back against him, and I could feel his erection. “I think the universe is telling us to get our order to go and take it back to the hotel.”
I subtly wiggled my ass against him. “I mean, I know it’s big, but I’m not sure it’s as vast as the universe.”
Sam chuckled, then waved his hand to get the man’s attention. “Can we get a box for those, s’il vous plait?”
“What happened to your fluent French?”
“There’s not enough blood left in my brain for translations at the moment.”
I grinned, grinding back on him again.
Sam took the box of crepes, and we headed back out into the night. It had started to snow heavily while we were inside, giant flakes falling rapidly, the thin blanket of white making everything sparkle under the streetlights.
“You got to see my two favorite things in New York City. Ellie and the city with a fresh layer of snow.”
Sam wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. “I get to see my favorite thing about New York City every day for the rest of my life.”
“What’s that?”
“You.”
T H E
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Thank you for reading Touchstone by Karen Stivali! Did you know there’s a bonus epilogue featuring Sam and Phoebe? Get your copy here.
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You can get all the links to the next Speakeasy books right here. Or turn the page for more great recommendations for Karen Stivali and World of True North titles!
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Heartwood by J.H. Croix
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Sideways by Lisa Hughey
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Karen Stivali’s Books Include:
Meant to Be (M/F duology)
Then, Again (M/F foodie romance):
Moments In Time (M/M series)