Angel Sands Collection Books 1 - 3

by Carrie Elks

“You want to taste it?” he asked, his fingertips brushing hers.

  She nodded, lifting the cup to her lips. She could feel the heat steaming up, as it misted the top of the glass. She blew at the surface before slowly tipping it up and letting the hot, black liquid coat her tongue.

  Nate leaned his elbows on the counter, his face inches from hers. “What do you think?” he asked.

  “It’s exquisite.”

  His eyes caught hers again. It was crazy how often it was happening. Even crazier the way her heart hammered every time it did. Neither of them moved, blinked or even breathed. For a moment everything was still.

  And then it was like a curtain had been pulled down. Nate pulled his gaze from hers and pushed himself away from the counter, taking her cup and rinsing it under the sink. “Okay, it’s your turn to make one,” he said, still looking away.

  Oh God, this time she’d really embarrassed herself. No wonder he pulled away, he must have seen the way she was staring at him. Gritting her teeth, Ally stood and walked around the counter, tightening her apron as she made her way to the imposing espresso machine. She felt better with a few feet between them – enough space to be able to breathe. She swallowed hard and told herself to stop being so weird. He was her boss. That was all. Maybe she should behave like an adult without embarrassing herself for once.

  “Wish me luck,” she said, still not looking at him. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

  Nate watched as Ally pulled the porta filter from the machine and slid it beneath the coffee dispenser the way he’d shown her. There was at least four feet between them right now, he’d made sure to hang back as far as he could, but right then it didn’t seem far enough.

  He felt an overwhelming urge to touch her. He had to hold tightly to the counter to stop himself from doing it.

  Christ. He blew out a mouthful of air and took a step back. Best to keep the distance between them. He was her boss, for God’s sake.

  Not to mention old enough to be her father. Or a much older brother, at least. Somehow that didn’t make it feel any better.

  Ally pushed the filter back into the machine and pressed the button. But instead of forcing the water through the coffee grounds, the steam pushed the filter off where Ally hadn’t fixed it on properly, and coffee grounds flew everywhere. “Oh shit.” She grabbed a wet cloth and wiped it all down, glancing over at Nate with a rueful smile.

  “It’s okay,” he said, glad of the diversion. “It happens. Try again.”

  This time the coffee came out when she hit the button, filling the little glass cup with dark liquid. She glanced at her watch and then at the cup before picking it up and carrying it over to him. “You have twenty seconds before it’s no good,” she told him.

  He lifted it up, inspecting it. “Three layers,” he murmured. Then he brought it to his lips and drank from the cup, letting the warm, nutty flavor envelope his tongue.

  Her eyes were full of anticipation as she waited for his verdict, the same way Riley used to look when she was a kid, holding a drawing out for his inspection. “It’s good,” he told her.

  “Really?” she asked. “You like it?” Her lips curled up into a huge grin, and she clapped her hands together with delight.

  “Yeah. I think you’ve got the hang of espresso. Now let’s move on to the steamed milk. I’ll show you the difference between cappuccinos, lattes, and flat whites.”

  “This is so much more fun than I thought it would be,” she told him, that smile still curling her full lips.

  She was right. In spite of the need that was thrumming in his veins, he realized he was having more fun than he’d experienced in a long while. “I don’t get a chance to use the machines very often,” he admitted. “Normally the only equipment I spend my day on is the laptop. I’ve missed doing this.” Back when he’d had his first coffee shop, Nate had spent most of his life attached to an espresso machine, but it had been years since he’d done more than have a little play with them.

  “I guess that’s what happens when you rise to the top. You stop doing the thing you actually love and get to watch all your employees do it instead.”

  “Yep. You’re not wrong.” A wistful expression crossed his face.

  “Maybe it’s a good thing you came to Angel Sands, then,” Ally said. “You can relax and have fun for a change.”

  The corner of his lip quirked up. “Yeah, maybe.”

  Ally took the cup back from him and turned around to rinse it. Nate watched as she bent over to turn on the faucet, her blonde hair flowing over her shoulders. “I met your daughter the other day,” she said, her back still to him. “She seems nice. Is she settling in okay?”

  “You met Riley?” Nate blinked. For some reason her words pushed him off center. “Where?”

  Ally turned back, grabbing a towel to dry off her hands. “At the beach. It was last Wednesday, I think. I was on my lunchtime run.”

  Wednesday. That was the day he’d brought her home sick, and left her in her bedroom while he ran back to the coffee shop to meet with the building inspector. He frowned. “She told me she wasn’t feeling well.”

  Ally grimaced. “Ouch. And I just ratted her out. So much for the sisterhood.”

  Nate sighed. “Don’t worry. She’s done much worse.”

  Ally wrinkled her nose. “Is it really that bad?” Her eyes were full of understanding. “If it makes you feel any better, I was a pretty painful teenager. I’m surprised my dad stuck around as long as he did. I made his life a misery.”

  “You know what? That does make me feel a bit better.”

  Ally raised an eyebrow. “Hopefully things will improve soon. Is she any better for her mom?”

  “Her mom’s not around anymore.” Nate’s voice dropped low. “She died earlier this year. That’s one of the reasons we came down here. To try and make a new start.” Another one. Which right now didn’t seem to be going any better than the last.

  Ally’s voice was soft. “I’m so sorry. I swear I say stuff before I think it through sometimes.” She reached out and touched the top of his hand with her own. The shock of the contact made him feel jittery. “No wonder things are so tough for you both.”

  Her hand felt warm and soft against his. He swallowed hard, trying to ignore the strange electric sensation shooting up his arm. He slowly pulled his own hand away, not sure whether or not he was relieved at breaking their contact.

  He cleared his throat to try and get rid of the lump that was forming there. “Okay, then,” he said, trying to keep his voice even as he reached for a stainless steel jug. “Let’s try out a latte.”

  6

  “Have you got everything?” Nate asked, as Riley stomped down the hallway with her bag slung over her shoulder. She gave him a look that told him all he needed to know. Yes, she had everything, and no she didn’t appreciate him asking.

  He took a deep breath. “I want you to come to the coffee shop after school,” he told her.

  She frowned. “Why? You know I hate it there.”

  “Because I want you where I can see you. Not hanging around at the beach or wherever else you’ve been for the past few days.”

  She let out a huff. It was big enough for her shoulders to drop forward until her posture resembled that of a Neanderthal. “That’s so unfair. I have an assignment to do. I’ll come home and do it.”

  “You can do your assignment at the coffee shop. I’ll save you a table.”

  “Is this about last week? I only went to the beach for a moment. I was sick, remember? I needed fresh air.”

  “You could have gotten fresh air by sitting on the deck,” Nate pointed out.

  “But it’s not salty air, is it? Salty air is what I needed. All those kings and queens of England used to head to the beach whenever they felt ill. I saw it on the history channel.”

  He still hadn’t gotten used to her having an answer for everything. He remembered the days when her eyes would widen as he told her how the earth revolved around the sun, or
that stars were always out but you could only see them at night. Now she was so smart – smarter than he ever was at her age – and she liked to use it against him whenever she could.

  “Well I don’t see a crown on your head, so I’ll see you at the coffee shop at three.” He raised an eyebrow. “I’ll make you a hot chocolate with all the trimmings.”

  And there was the eye-roll, right on time. “I hate hot chocolate. And anyway, it’s like a hundred degrees out there, who wants hot chocolate when you can barely breathe?”

  Nate bit his tongue even though it had only just got up to seventy degrees. Sometimes it wasn’t worth fighting back.

  “Three o’clock,” he repeated.

  Another huff and she was out of the door. Nate grabbed his bag and his car keys and followed right after her, heading for his Lexus.

  “Hope the opening day goes well, Dad,” he said to himself, muttering as he unlocked the car. He was talking to himself again. Great. His descent into madness was almost complete.

  “Is everybody ready?” Nate asked as he walked over to the door. Ally looked over at the team she’d spent the past few days training. Jeff was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, where the ovens were on full blast. She’d been surprised to learn that all the food was made on site at Déjà Brew, rather than being delivered every morning like so many other coffee shops. But then she was beginning to see how much attention to detail Nate put into his business. His success seemed well-earned.

  In the days since he’d trained her on the coffee machine, he’d been friendly but reserved, and she’d taken his lead. It was better that way. She really didn’t need to be having feelings for the man who’d taken her beloved Beach Café away. It was hard enough that she was working here for him. Better to keep as much distance between them as possible, even if it was only in her head.

  “We’re ready.” Ally nodded at him. They were expecting an influx of customers as soon as he opened the door, and she had four baristas hovering by the espresso machine ready to pick up the orders.

  The opening day was the talk of Angel Sands, mostly thanks to the flyers that had been delivered everywhere, promising free drinks to the first two hundred customers.

  A huge line had already formed outside Déjà Brew by the time Nate pulled the door wide open. He stepped back and the first customers swarmed in, rushing across the walnut floor to be the first at the register.

  “What can I get you?” Ally asked, smiling at Frank Megassey. Of course he’d be the very first customer.

  “A coffee?”

  “Sure. What kind? They’re all up there on the board behind me.” She turned and pointed to the huge wooden board fixed to the back wall. “Would you like a latte, a cappuccino, or maybe a macchiato? That’s got chocolate syrup in it.”

  Frank’s eyes widened. “Um, just a coffee will be fine. With a little milk.”

  Not wanting to push it, Ally nodded and called over to the barista. “One medium Americano with room and hot milk please. In the name of Frank.”

  Frank looked at her expectantly, not moving. Ally smiled at him. “If you head over to the collection area at the end of the counter, Brad will make your coffee right up.”

  He frowned. “You’re not going to make it for me?” he asked her. “You always make it the way I like it. Just a little milk, and then you sneak the sugar in while Mrs. Megassey isn’t looking.”

  The line of people behind him was getting bigger. And they were getting restless. “No, Frank,” she said, trying not to smile too much. “It’s like when somebody orders something big from your store. They pay at the register and you pick it up from around the back.”

  “Is everything okay?” Nate asked, walking up beside Frank.

  “Ally just said I have to pick my coffee up at the back,” Frank told him. “Isn’t that a strange way of doing things?”

  Nate caught her eye, his brow rising up. She bit her lip because the urge to laugh was growing. “I was explaining to Frank that you pay here and go down the counter to pick up your drink,” she told him. “A bit like at the hardware store.”

  “Come with me,” Nate said, inclining his head. “I’ll show you where to pick it up.”

  “And he’ll show you where we keep our stash of sugar, too,” Ally said, leaning forward to whisper. “Nobody will see, I promise.”

  The morning flew past. Even after they’d served the two hundred free drinks, customers kept spilling in. All of them had managed to mess a few orders up, but everybody was in such good spirits it really didn’t seem to matter. Ally couldn’t remember the last time the place had been so full of loud chatter and deep laughter. And she was pleased, she really was, but there was a little bit of her deep inside that felt some sadness, too. No matter how hard she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to keep the café going the way it always had.

  And that failure hurt.

  Well, suck it up, buttercup. Because this was how it was going to be. There was no going back to the old days. And why would she want to? The truth was she was going to be better off all round working as an employee of Déjà Brew than spending all her savings – and all the hours God gave her – trying to keep a failing café afloat.

  “Has everybody had their break?” Nate asked her, as the afternoon stretched on. The traffic was still steady, but they were finally able to take a breath between orders.

  “Yep. Alex and Brad finish in an hour, so I’ve arranged for Christie to cover us until close.”

  “How about you?” Nate asked her. “Have you had your break?”

  “Have you had yours?” she countered, grinning. “Anyway, what would I do if I took a break? Sit and read a book?” She widened her eyes to show him just how crazy that thought was. “I’m better off keeping busy in here.”

  The door flew open and Riley walked in, stopping dead in the middle of the floor as she looked around. She caught Nate’s eye and pointed to herself. “I’m here as commanded, sir.” Then she took a bow – a real-life, deep one. Ally had to bite her lip not to laugh as the girl did a little flourish with her hands.

  “How was school?” Nate asked, lifting an eyebrow at her antics. Ally watched the two of them with interest. Though she’d met them both, it was the first time she’d seen them together. Had people watched her and her dad in the same way back when she’d spent most of her teenage years here? For a moment she could picture them, Ally’s head down as she squinted at her indecipherable math homework, her dad leaning over the counter trying to help her.

  She swallowed hard and pushed those memories out of her head.

  “It sucked.” Riley put her bag on an empty table and pulled out her books. “A sucky day and now a sucky afternoon. I’m just loving it here in California. I’m so pleased we came.” Her voice oozed with sarcasm. The cherry on the cake was her pretend valley-girl accent.

  Nate opened his mouth to reply, but right then the door opened again and a whole load of high school kids entered the shop. They oohed and aahed at the décor, then squealed as they looked at the cakes and cookies nestling in the glass cases.

  “Oh god, this is amazing,” one of them said. “So much better than the café. Remember how embarrassingly bad that was? Thank God somebody put it out of its misery.”

  “Yeah. I swear they made their hot chocolates out of the dirty dishwater.”

  Ally felt herself flush. She looked down at her hands, not wanting to catch their eyes – or Nate’s. She didn’t want them to see her reaction, or the way her eyes had watered at the criticism. She swallowed hard, and grabbed a cloth. “I’ll just go and clean some tables,” she muttered, leaving the other baristas to serve the teenagers.

  There really wasn’t much to clean. Most drinks were served in paper cups that the customers disposed of on their way out. Gone was the need to stack up plates with one hand while wiping with the other. Now she sprayed and polished before moving on to the next table. From the corner of her eye she noticed Riley sit down at a table in the far corner, throwing her bag
on a seat while Nate went back behind the counter. She scrubbed at the table top harder, trying to ignore the frown on Nate’s face.

  “How’s it going?” she asked Riley when she reached her table. The girl had spread out her work and was leaning over it, her hair flopping over her face. It took a minute for Ally to realize she was wearing earphones that meant she couldn’t hear a thing. Still, she must have sensed something because she looked up with a start, pulling one of the buds out.

  “Um, did you say something?” Riley asked.

  “I was just asking how it’s going,” Ally said, giving her a smile. Yes, she was bolshie as hell, but Ally couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for her, especially now that she knew her mom had died only a few months before. “Would you like a drink?”

  Riley eyed up the swarm of high school girls who were giggling with Brad as he took their orders. “As long as I don’t have to go up there.”

  “I’ll bring it over,” Ally said. “Tell me what you want and I’ll go get it.”

  Three minutes later she carried two cups of iced latte to Riley’s table. She passed one to the girl. “You mind if I sit with you for a minute?” she asked.

  Riley glanced over at the counter. “You sure my dad won’t yell at you for slacking off?” she asked. “Because he can shout really loud when he wants to.”

  Ally raised her brow. “I’m due a break.” She didn’t bother to tell her she rarely took one.

  Riley shrugged, so Ally sat down, taking a sip of her icy drink. She glanced at the book Riley was working from. “Algebra?” she asked, her voice sympathetic. “I swear it was invented by some evil genius to drive me crazy.”

  “It’s not so bad,” Riley said. “Better than Spanish anyway.”

  “I was bad at that, too,” Ally confessed. She’d been pretty bad at all subjects except for physical education. “We had this teacher, Senora Palmer, and every time I tried to speak she’d scream ‘yo no entiendo’ to me. Sometimes when I fall asleep I can still hear it.” Ally grimaced.