The next morning, Neal arrived not ten minutes after Hayden opened the coffee shop. Whistling and tapping his fingers against his sides, he got into line behind others who were already there for their morning cup of brew. Hayden couldn’t help playing over in his mind how future encounters with Neal might go. What course their conversation today might take.
Neal hung back and let several customers go ahead of him in line. Hayden was manning one of the two registers. Each time Hayden touched the frame of his glasses to adjust them or pushed them up his nose, one corner of Neal’s mouth turned up ever so slightly and he met Hayden’s gaze with his beautiful dark eyes.
Settling at one of the small tables, Neal took out his phone and leaned back in his chair, reading. He’d positioned himself so
