“Yup. Which is why I’m not protecting you from Justin the next time you see him.”
“Did I say jerk? I meant gem. You’re a gem.”
“That’s more like it,” he said. “Do you work around here? Or are you just hanging around until the nearest bar opens?”
I rolled my eyes as we moved closer in line. “Work. The Foundation for Scientific Technology.”
He eyed me with surprised respect. “I didn’t have you pegged as a scientist.”
“Particle astrophysics. You shouldn’t be so judgmental.”
“Really?”
“No, I’m their head of PR. I write a lot of press releases and make really miniscule discoveries sound interesting to laypeople.”
“That’s still higher-tech than I would have guessed.”
“What was your guess?”
He looked me up and down. “Gossip columnist. Or fashion blogger.”
I burst out laughing. “Yup, that’s me. In my outfit from TJ Maxx.” Just the woman with the young son remained in line in front of us. “What do you do?”
“Stalk PR people for scientific organizations at coffee shops before murdering them at weddings.”
“Pays well, does it? That’s a nice suit.”
He laughed. “I’m a lawyer. At Waters and Flynn.”
“Never heard of them,” I said. “But cool. They’re near here?”
“Two blocks down on M.”
“Ah. I’m on L Street.”
“I know,” he said. “We represent some of your scientists. Patent law.”
“Oh—maybe I have—oh shoot—sorry, a grande skinny vanilla latte,” I said, turning to the barista.
I pulled out my wallet, but Alex edged in next to me, flashing the app on his phone. “And a venti Americano.” He looked down at me. “I’ve got this.”
“Are you—I mean—okay. Thanks.”
We moved aside to wait for our drinks, in a mildly awkward silence now that he had bought me a coffee.
I broke the peace first. “So do you come to this Starbucks a lot?” Ugh. That sounded like a pickup line. I didn’t want him to think I was interested. I mean, maybe under other circumstances I could have been, but sleeping with Justin irreparably negated any potential that could have existed with the other groomsmen.
“Yeah. It’s right between the Metro and work.”
“Same. I’m just usually running later than this.”
“So if I want to run into you again, I should be late to work?”
“Probably. Or wait until the wedding.”
The barista put our drinks on the counter. Alex took them both and handed me mine. He took the hint. “Gotcha. Well, maybe I’ll see you around.”
I nodded, feeling a tinge of disappointment. “Yup. Thanks for the coffee.”
“No problem. Have a good day, Lily.”
“You too.” He held the door for me, and we went our separate ways.
Good job, Lily. You meet a nice guy who buys your coffee and holds the door for you, but you can’t like him because you slept with the slimy creep who is in the same wedding with both you and the nice guy. And you wonder why you’re single.
I had planned on Tuesday being a one-time splurge, but I was able to justify going Wednesday because I hadn’t paid for my coffee on Tuesday. Thursday—well—Thursday, maybe I was hoping I would see Alex again.
“Grande skinny vanilla latte,” I told the barista absently while fishing my wallet out of my bag.
“Are you Lily?” she asked.
I looked up warily. Was I coming to this Starbucks too often? “Ye-es. Why?”
“Your coffee is already paid for. We just need to make it.” She turned toward the staff making the drinks. “Lily is here!”
“What’s going on?”
“Your friend paid for your drink and left you a note on the cup.”
“My—do you have the right Lily?”
The barista nodded. “He said you got a grande skinny vanilla latte and that you had dark hair and eyes and a red bag.”
“What did he look like?”
“She said he left you a note, which probably has his name on it, so can you do this later?” the man in line behind me asked impatiently.
I normally would have told him where he could shove his attitude, but I was too flustered. Instead I apologized reflexively and stepped toward the pickup area to wait.
“Lily,” a different barista called out, and I snatched the cup before she could even set it down.