“See you tomorrow.” Drew disconnected the call.
After cleaning up the kitchen, he moved through the small family room, where his two fat cats snored on the sofa, and continued down the short hallway past the one bathroom and toward the two bedrooms. While his little cottage could fit into the four-car garage attached to his parents’ sprawling colonial, this little house was his. Well, technically it belonged to the bank until he paid off the mortgage, but Drew had earned this home himself without his father’s help.
He stepped into the first bedroom, which he had converted into his office, and sat at the desk before powering up his laptop. He clicked on the link he’d saved for the job and settled back in his chair as he folded his arms over his chest.
His mind spun as he perused the job post. Newton was nearly two hours away from Splendid Lake, so he would have to sell his little cottage and move there. And by doubling his salary, it would give him the opportunity to buy a larger home—not that it was important to him.
Drew rubbed the stubble on his chin. Applying for a job wasn’t necessarily a commitment. There were no guarantees he’d even be considered for the position. So, it really couldn’t hurt to try.
He began searching through his files for his résumé. Garrett was right. He should at least apply and see how it turned out.
Saturday morning Kacey pushed open the door to the Coffee Bean, which was located across the street from the bakery, the bell above her announcing her presence. While she enjoyed the coffee offered at the bakery, her sister only sold regular and decaf. This morning she was in the mood for a vanilla latte, and she offered to pick them up for her mother, sister, and herself.
The shop was buzzing with activity as customers sat at the tables or in booths enjoying their coffee and pastries. A few others stood in line at the counter, where the sisters and co-owners, Ava Burns and Brooklyn Waller, took and filled their orders.
Kacey stood in line behind a group of women who looked to be in their midtwenties and then slipped her phone and keys into the pockets of her coat.
She took in the sisters working behind the counter and couldn’t help but think that they looked exactly the same as they did when they were all in high school together. Brooklyn was twenty-three to Ava’s twenty-six, and although they had physical similarities, those were hard to spot at first glance. They shared the same petite frame, warm smile, and friendly personality, yet Brooklyn had her mother’s dirty-blonde hair and baby-blue eyes and Ava had her father’s wavy, dark-brown hair and coffee-brown eyes.
Ava had married her high school sweetheart, Dylan Burns, who owned Burns Auto Repair with his brother. Kacey recalled seeing Ava and Dylan walking arm-in-arm around high school, and it didn’t surprise her when she heard they had married.
When it was Kacey’s turn, she moved up to the counter and Ava grinned at her.
“Kacey!” she exclaimed. “I thought that was you. Are you home for the holidays?”
“I’m teleworking and staying with my mom for a while.”
“How fun! What can I get you?”
“Three vanilla lattes to go, please.”
“Coming right up.” Ava repeated the order to her sister and then told Kacey the total. “How’s your mom doing?”
“Great,” Kacey said as Ava ran her credit card. “She’s still working at the elementary school.”
Ava handed her the receipt. “I’m glad to hear it. It was good to see you! Have a great day.”
“You too.” Kacey moved to the end of the counter while Ava turned her attention to the next customer in line. She pulled her phone out from the back pocket of her jeans and scrolled through her messages. When she heard someone call her name, she spun as Drew approached her with a wide smile lighting up his handsome face.
“Drew. Hi.” She pocketed her phone and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
Drew nodded toward the menu. “Let me guess. You ordered a vanilla latte.”
“How’d you know?”
He scoffed. “Well, it wasn’t all that long ago when we’d hop in my mom’s old Beamer and go to that coffee shop over on Lincoln Avenue. And you ordered the same thing every time.”
“You remember that.” She gave a little laugh as she took in the sparkle in his lush, green eyes. They always reminded her of the grass in spring.
He lifted a dark eyebrow. “How could I forget?”
“Kacey?”
She pivoted toward the counter, where Brooklyn held a to-go container with three coffee cups. “Thank you so much.”
“Come back and see us,” Brooklyn said before fluttering off to fill the next order.
Kacey turned back to Drew. “I need to get to the bakery. My mom and I are helping Dani out today.”
