“Um, excuse me,” the woman in front of me says, holding her smoothie cup out in front of her with a wrinkled nose and pursed lips. “I ordered the açaí one, not… whatever this is.”
“You gave her the Ménage-a-trois-berry,” Madison whispers. “She ordered Açai Standing There.”
“Oh, sorry about that,” I say, reaching for the smoothie cup so I can get her another, but the crazy lady sticks her straw in it and sips it. “This one’s fine,” she says, rolling her eyes. “But I’m not paying for it since you screwed up my order.” She turns and starts to leave, but Toni stops her at the door.
“Wait. You can’t just take it,” she says, folding her arms across her chest.
Oh, dear.
“You really can’t!” Madison says, her eyes flashing. Bitch’s got the longest fuse of anyone I know, but when she blows…
“Why not?” the woman snaps. “You gave me the wrong one. It isn’t the one I want, and the customer’s always right.”
“Because,” a cool, deep voice says, “that would be stealing.” I look up to see Miguel strolling in, sleeves rolled up like he’s all casual, just taking a walk, but the snap of his dark eyes gives him the look of a lethal predator.
He blocks her exit. The woman scowls, grabs a five-dollar bill out of her bag, and shoves it at Toni. “Fine,” she hisses. “Here.”
Santiago steps aside and gestures for her to exit. “After you.”
Excuse me, but we don’t need Mr. Guy-Next-Door to swoop in and save us.
Still, that was kinda hot. I have a feeling when he brushes his teeth, it’s hot. Does he do it shirtless?
Focus, Sam. Focus.
Toni runs to the counter and gives Madison the money, then runs back to her place by the door as greeter.
“Um, thank you?” I say to him as he approaches the counter. Finally, the line of customers has gone down. It’s closing time, and it’s time for us to pack things up and go home.
He shrugs, then takes out his wallet. “How much do I owe you for babysitting?”
What?
“You don’t owe me anything,” I say, shoving the cash register drawer closed and tallying up today’s sales as Allie walks out of the yoga studio, and for some reason Madison is groaning. Allie pauses, her blonde hair wrapped up in a towel, and stares. She takes one look at me then Miguel and mouths you got this, girl. Gives me a thumbs up, then heads back the way she came. Prince yips, and Allie quickly scoops him up and kisses his fluffball head as the door shuts.
I love my friends.
“Thank you for your help,” I say to him, “but we don’t need your interference.”
He shrugs. “I merely reminded her of common courtesy.”
I look to Madison, who’s staring at her phone and looking like she’s about to cry.
“Ugh, I fu —” She looks at Toni. “Messed up the DoorDash thing,” she says. “I was supposed to approve delivery, but somehow signed us up as vendor delivery, but newsflash, we don’t have a delivery person.” She grabs a cardboard drink holder and plops two of the last smoothies we made inside. “So guess who’s been making smoothie deliveries all day long?”
“Oh, no, babe.”
“Oooh,” Miguel says, nodding.
“Oh what?” I ask, looking from him to her.
“Nothing,” he says, shaking his head, then he takes out a few crisp bills and pushes them across the counter at me. “Here.”
I shove the money back. “Nope, don’t want it. She’s a client under my care, and I had questions for her.” We were too busy to actually get to any of those questions, but that’s a moot point.
He shoves the money over again, his eyes growing dark.
“Take the damn money.” Ooh, proud, eh?
“No.”
Madison reaches over, snags the bills, fans them out, then tucks them into her bra and shrugs. No flies on her. “Fine, then, I’ll take it. Thank you very much, Mr. Santiago. Now if you two will excuse me, I’m off to make my final delivery of the day.”
She swipes an address on her phone, sighs, and leaves.
Which leaves me, Miguel, and Antonia alone in the front part of the shop.
The smell of incense wafts from the studio in the back, which means Allie’s doing her thing again. It’s nearly cloying. Is that sage? I wonder if she thinks the place is haunted.
Miguel looks from me to Toni, then back again.
“Not sure what to do with me now, huh?” Toni asks, and is it my imagination, or is there a triumphant glint in her little eyes?
“Of course I know what to do with you,” Miguel says, though I have a decided feeling the man’s bluffing.
I lean across the counter. I don’t know what possesses me to provoke him, but I never really could leave well enough alone.
“Oh yeah?” I whisper. “What are you going to do with her?”