He takes my hand and looks down at them, rubbing his thumb against my fingers. “You have nothing to be nervous about.” His striking blue-green eyes make conta

ct with mine. “I know you don’t believe me, but they’ll love you. Besides, Dad’s not here, so you only have to meet my mom.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat, surprised I don’t choke on it.

“We’ll go in the back,” he says, leading me around the lot and to a door painted the same color lime green as his hat. The door leads to a small back area with a love seat and a table with two chairs. “Wait here.” He points to the couch. “I’ll grab my mom from the front.”

As he walks away my heart beats out of control and my palms sweat.

I’m about to meet T.J.’s mom.

Right now, I can’t even think of her as Jasper’s mom. All I see in my mind is T.J. The boy I only saw briefly at the beach one day. The boy I never knew. The boy who might’ve saved my life.

The swinging door across from me opens and a woman around my mom’s age steps into the room. She’s taller and curvy with long brown hair with lighter streaks from so much time in the sun—I can tell it’s natural and not from a hair salon. She’s dressed in a Cool Beans black shirt with the logo across the chest, jeans, and a smock tied around her waist.nbsp;

“You must be Willa.” She smiles, holding out a hand. Her eyes crinkle at the corner, and she has this warm presence. Looking at her like this you wouldn’t know that she’s only recently suffered an incredible loss. “I’m Tessa.”

“Y-Yeah, I’m Willa,” I stutter, shaking her hand and hoping she can’t feel the slight dampness. “It’s nice to meet you, Tessa.”

“Sit down.” She indicates the couch, and I realize after Jasper left I froze and never sat down.

I do as she says, and she pulls one of the chairs up to sit across from me.nbsp;

“Jasper says you’re looking for a job?”

“Yeah—I’m taking the next year off before I go to college and I wanted to work and save money.”

“Awesome.” She nods. “Have you worked in a coffee shop before?”

I shake my head. “This would be my first job. I’ve been … sick the last few years and working wasn’t an option.”

“I see. I’m sorry about that. Well, I see no reason not to hire you. You seem nice and a little shy. Jasper can teach you everything you need to know, and frankly we need the help desperately. I have one last question for you. Are you dating my son?”

I open and close my mouth. “Um … yeah … I think so?” It stupidly comes out as a question

She smiles. “You’ve been good for him. It hasn’t been that long since he lost his brother, but I see a huge difference in him since he met you. At least, I’m assuming it’s you.”

“I really like him,” I say in response. “He’s an amazing guy.”

She smiles the way only a mother can when thinking of her child. “He is. Anyway, can you start now?”

“Like right now?” She nods. “Um … yeah.”

“Great. Come to my office and we’ll fill out paperwork.”

I follow her to a small side room and thirty minutes later I’m a brand-new employee wearing a shirt over my dress and a hat on my head.

Thankfully, when I enter the coffee shop—behind the counter for the first time ever—it’s not busy and no one is in line waiting at the moment. Jasper grins at me in my clothes—I’m sure I look goofy wearing this with a dress—and immediately starts telling me what everything is and showing me how to use the machines.nbsp;

“There’s a book with all the drink recipes, so use that to start but eventually you’ll have it all memorized. It doesn’t take long I promise.”

“You make an awful lot of promises,” I joke, bumping his hip with mine as we work side by side.

The rest of the day passes by in a busy blur and by the time Jasper and I are closing the place down I’m exhausted, all in all I had fun.

Jasper flips the sign on the door to CLOSED and I collapse into a chair.

“No, no, no,” he chides, “we have to clean first.”

Tags: Micalea Smeltzer Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net