Some Like it Hotter

Besides that, so far the day had gone well. An October pumpkin-bread special had sold out—the rush of morning commuters had seemed particularly hungry—then they’d suffered the usual dead space midmorning. With lunch hour winding down now, the midafternoon lull had started. At the moment the store held Tom, in his jeans and sweatshirt as he was pretty much every afternoon, and an older man reading the New Yorker.

Those empty hours were the ones Eva wanted to target with her changes to the store. Commuters racing in and out didn’t care about atmosphere; they wanted a quick jolt of caffeine, thanks, goodbye. But those who had the time and would rather linger—they needed luring in and they needed a reason to stay. For that reason, instead of cleaning for the two o’clock shift change, she was getting ready to close.

This afternoon she was conducting a grand tour of thrift stores with Ames. He didn’t know that yet, but he’d find out soon. A quick call yesterday to Jean, always happy to snoop in the name of matchmaking, confirmed that Ames had only one appointment this afternoon, with a client he often complained needed more hand-holding than necessary. Further meddling—on Jean’s initiative, Eva would never go that far—revealed that the client would be just as happy seeing Ames the next morning, in fact, the reschedule was really a better time. And voilà, Ames was free.

Jean was brilliant. Eva should give her a lifelong gift certificate to NYEspresso.

As for the shopping, Eva still hadn’t made any firm decisions. She was counting on inspiration to determine what the narrow cold space needed to cozy it up. So far she’d come up with a few fun themes, but they made her nervous. Too much change could be jarring and disconcerting to customers. Natalie the decorator might have good ideas, but she’d either been crabby or rushing to go out whenever Eva fished for suggestions, and had responded only with grunts and promises to think about it.

“So what are we closing for, exactly?” Ben was working the register today. Rebecca’s incessant chatter had made Eva thoughtfully share her with Jinx’s time on bar. Ben was a little dense, maybe, a little rumpled, but a sweetheart, with tattoos and piercings that made Eva look like a rank amateur.

“I talked to Chris last night. I’ve been thinking the decor here could use a little changing.”

“Yeah?” Ben glanced around dubiously. “Looks okay to me.”

This from a guy who clearly didn’t bother with a mirror in the morning.

“I wonder if it could be more...” Eva gestured around her. “Fun.”

He looked skeptical. “Like fun how?”

“I don’t know. Where do you have fun?”

“Bars. Baseball stadiums. Video arcades. Rock concerts.”

“Ah.” Eva drummed her fingers on the counter. “Not quite what I was thinking. More like the beach, or the zoo, or...”

“Like kid fun?” He was looking at her as if she was nuts.

Maybe she was. Eva felt herself reddening. “No, huh?”

“I’m not seeing it.” He nodded past her, indicating a customer. “Yo, Tom.”

Eva turned to find Tom at the counter holding his mug for a refill. “Another coffee?”

“Please.”

“So what do you think of changing the decor here? Something a little more welcoming, maybe a little creative whimsy?”

“Uh.” He scanned the store’s interior. “Like...what?”

Eva sighed and handed him his refilled cup. Maybe this was a dumb idea. Or just dumb to ask men about it. Though Ames had seemed enthusiastic about brainstorming with her when she’d tried the previous night. Of course his ideas had been more like lining the walls with sex toys or pictures of her naked.

Such a help. But also such a sweetheart. They’d had more than one fabulous date this past week. Eva had worked hard to keep things light and playful between them, and so far so good. She was really enjoying him.

And what an awesome beastie in bed.

The door opened. Natalie strode in, looking model perfect as usual in a soft brown zippered jacket, a scarf in jewel tones that set off her dark coloring and black leggings tucked into brown ankle boots that showcased her membership in the mile-high-legs club.