But it was all nonsense. Inconsequential nonsense. He didn’t deal with nonsense, inconsequential or otherwise. He’d made that promise to himself years ago, and his life had improved exponentially. In regard to Jada, they were temporary colleagues, and that’s where it needed to start and end.
So why had he made his way to the front counter long before his official shift was supposed to begin? Oh, right. Because Jada was his employee, and he needed to monitor her progress. Make sure she didn’t try to burn the place down again. And maybe because he’d heard Nicholas’s voice followed by her laughter after Ella’s shift ended. Nicholas had given him a shit-eating grin when he spotted Donovan before retreating to the kitchen.
“Gonna break your neck if you keep staring at her like that,” a grumpy voice drawled from behind Donovan.
Donovan spun to face the counter. “What?”
The graybeard staring at him didn’t flinch. “You heard me. I’ve been standing here for a while now, and you didn’t notice. I might be old, but I’m not foolish. You might be though if all you do is stare without making a move.”
He was getting killed by a man old enough to be his grandfather. Awesome. Donovan cleared his throat. “Welcome to Sugar Blitz. How can I help you?”
The old man snickered while he studied the menu board. “Well, I don’t know. Give me some time to decide.”
Hadn’t he just said he’d been standing there for a while? But Donovan decided to keep that fact to himself. He was in no position to antagonize customers, even if he spoke the truth.
His shoulders straightened when Jada joined the geezer at the counter. “Hi, Mr. Till. Good to see you again.”
“Oh, hi, Ms. Jada.” Old Guy hitched up his pants and sucked in his paunch before patting his head, where a crown of gray hair circled a shiny brown bald spot.
Donovan blinked. “Wait. You know him?”
Jada turned those amazing chocolaty brown eyes his way, hitting him square in the solar plexus. “Oh, yeah, we’re old friends, right, Mr. Till?”
“Yep. Met yesterday.” He beamed at Donovan, sure he held a higher place in Jada’s affections than Donovan.
“I told him to come back today after he was done playing chess to try out our red velvet cupcakes.” Her smile and tone were both bright and authentic. “He said red velvet was his favorite, but we were out.”
“Yep, I play chess with the fellas at the park and my sweet tooth was cutting up yesterday. This was the closest place I could get something.” But not the preferred place, based on his tone.
Donovan infused his voice with his best “happy to have you here” customer service tone. “Well, we do have a fresh batch of red velvet cupcakes. They’re a crowd favorite.”
Mr. Till sniffed. “I’ll be the judge of that.” Yeah, Donovan could see how he and Jada had bonded. He tapped his fingers on the counter while Donovan completed his order. “You play chess?”
“A little.” Donovan slid the box across the counter.
“Good to know.” Mr. Till gave him a look that said maybe Donovan wasn’t a total loser.
“Mr. Till said if he liked the cupcakes, he’d bring his chess buddies in,” Jada said.
Mr. Till pointed a gnarled finger at her. “I said I might, young lady. You’ve got a long way to go before that happens.” He paid for his purchase and shuffled to a table in the corner of the shop.
The bell over the front door dinged. A woman wearing an expensive-looking, sleeveless, black-and-white-striped dress entered.
Jada raised her hand in a wave. “Carrie!”
Donovan blinked. “Wait. You know her, too?”
“Yes,” she hissed out of the corner of her mouth.
“What are you doing here?” the fashionable woman asked when she reached the counter.
“I work here,” Jada answered cheerfully.
“Oh, cool.” Carrie’s brow furrowed. “Are you okay after what happened the other day?”
What happened the other day?
Jada waved away Carrie’s concern. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”
Her smile and tone were so chipper, Donovan almost believed her. Almost.
Carrie glanced over her shoulder, then leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Did you see that interview Dr. John did with Extra? He says he misses you.”
Who the hell was Dr. John?
“No, I missed that,” Jada said, her voice still so sunny Donovan almost believed he’d misread the stricken look that had flashed across her face at the mention of that John guy. “How can we help you?” she added quickly, stepping around behind the counter to stand next to Donovan, bringing her gentle and always intoxicating scent with her.