Read You Smiled for Free Online

measuring cocoa precisely into her drink. “It was fine. No big deal.”
    Kelly poured some steamed milk into her cup. “Is that why you’re so happy this morning?” She slid her latte across the counter to the waiting customer.
    Grace topped her drink with whipped cream. “I’m not so happy, I’m just trying to be cheerful.”
    Feeling as silly as she sounded, s he ignored Kelly’s grin and chose to engage in conversation with the mail carrier who’d stopped in for her Friday cappuccino. Kelly waited on the next customer in line.
    By two o’clock, Grace had had just about enough smiling. Her cheeks hurt. She felt like she needed to ice her face. Untying her apron, she began to update Daphne, who’d just started her shift, when she saw Alex walk through the door.
    She smiled all over again. Couldn’t help it. Daphne peeked over her shoulder, then walked past Grace with a grin. “You can touch base with me later.”
    Grace hardly acknowledged her afternoon manager. She walked up to the counter, really looking at Alex and trying to remember. He wore a black T-shirt that stretched nicely across his rather impressive chest. His hair was gorgeous, thick, and somewhat pulled back by the sunglasses on his head. How had she gone to school with him and not known him?
    “What can I get for you today?”
    He smiled at her, and she acknowledged that a smile was a powerful thing, indeed.
    “I think I’m in the mood for a mocha, with all the bells and whistles.”
    Grace smiled back, her coffee-making skills momentarily wiped from her memory bank. “You’re going to regret all those calories,” she managed to say. She was trying not to think about the shape of his lips when he said the word ‘whistles.’ It would probably help if she looked at his eyes, or anywhere else in the store, for that matter.
    “I’ll go ahead and make that for you,” she said, praying that the blush she felt creeping up her neck wasn’t apparent to him.
    Alex grinned as she backed into Kelly, who gave her a playful shove. “Cocoa’s over there, Grace.”
    She shook her head and got to the business of making his drink. Determined to collect herself, she took her time, piling his mocha with whipped cream and covering that with chocolate shavings. It was truly some of her best work. She presented it to him with a flourish. “Tip jar’s right in front of you. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
    He smiled and put a bill on the counter. “Are you almost done?” He smelled his drink appreciatively. “I can’t believe you don’t like coffee.”
    “That one almost tempts me.” Grace turned away from him with an effort and finished untying her apron. “And yes, I’m done for the day,” she said over her shoulder. “I just need to talk to Daphne and grab my bag. I’ll be right back.”
     
    ***
     
    A few minutes later, Grace was ready to leave her office; except that she wasn’t. It was one thing to go out for pizza the night before. Curiosity was a powerful motivator, right up there with spending the evening with a really good-looking man. Then she’d gone and held his hand. What was that about? When he’d said good night, there was considerable interest in those beautiful brown eyes. She felt a little tremor run through her. Where was all of this going?
    Now that she knew his story and had committed to an afternoon of - what? getting to know him better? - it was all very unsettling. She wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to leave her safe little world of coffee chaos to enter that unknown territory.
    She ran her fingers over her cheek, evaluating her reflection in the mirror. She wondered how different she looked after ten years. She had no point of reference, but it certainly seemed as though the intervening years had been kind to him. She tried again to remember anything about Alex Mitchell. She’d like to think that it wasn’t only the good looking guys who got her attention, but that didn’t mean it was true. She