Page 16 of Forbidden Whispers
“Excuse me?” Maggie said, quickly pulling her hand away.
“Hello, Susanna,” Noah said. Maggie noticed that his face had turned a deep shade of crimson.
“Noah.” Susanna nodded with a half-smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Maggie observed that Susanna was wearing a Lakeside Latté apron. She must have been the worker that Olivia was waiting for.
“Let me give you some free advice,” Susanna said, her attention back on Maggie. “If you’re hoping for a good time with someone who makes you feel interesting and special,” she jerked a thumb toward Noah, “stay away from this one.”
“Susanna, I already told you how sorry I was,” Noah said. Impossibly, the flush on his face seemed to grow even darker. “It was an accident.”
“Uh-huh.” Susan was already turning away to head for the coffee shop entrance.
Maggie frowned. “What was that about?”
“I...uh, went out with her once after I moved here and...uh, sort of fell asleep while she was talking.”
“What?”
“It really was an accident!” Noah cried. “I’d done an especially grueling weight workout earlier that day and I’d pulled a muscle. I accidentally took a pain medication that included an ingredient to help you fall asleep faster. It literally knocked me out.
Maggie’s mouth was still hanging open when the coffee shop door opened and Olivia stepped outside. “Am I interrupting something?”
Maggie closed her mouth and cleared her throat. “No, no, of course not. We were just discussing business.”
Olivia set her coffee down on their table and pulled a chair away from another empty table to sit on. She closed her eyes and took a sip of her coffee, then sighed with bliss. “Okay, I’m ready now. You said you have some questions about Noah’s coffee date yesterday? Fire away!”
Noah seemed to have collected himself. “So, you remember me coming in with my date yesterday, right?”
“Yup, a hot brunette with the kind of figure other women would kill for? Hard to miss.”
“Uh...right. Anyway, I remember we sat at a table near the register, right?”
Olivia nodded, taking another sip of her coffee.
“But after that, I have no memory of what happened.”
Olivia set down her coffee cup. “Really? Like amnesia or something?”
“Yes,” Noah said. “I can’t remember anything about the date, what we talked about, where we went afterward, nothing.”
“Wow, that’s so bizarre!” Olivia’s eyes were wide. “Sooo, does that have anything to do with why you’re not sure what the story is about this sweet pup?”
Boon had risen and was resting his head on Olivia’s lap to enjoy more of her ear scratching.
“That’s right,” Noah said. “Can you tell me anything about what happened on my date yesterday? Anything at all?”
“Well,” Olivia looked off into space while she continued to run her hands over Boon’s silky black and gold head. “The start of the date was typical for you. A complete disaster.”
“What?” Maggie cried.
Olivia focused on her with a grin. “Ever since Noah moved to Whispering Pines, I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing him on a couple dates here, including one with Susanna.” She tipped her head toward the shop. “They never seemed to go very well.”
Noah’s face was red once again. “Uh...could we forget about all that for now? Let’s just focus on yesterday.”
“Right, yesterday. Let’s see...after you picked up your coffee orders, you sat down together at a table near me, just like you said. It looked like the conversation wasn’t really flowing well because she wasn’t really looking at you, and she was texting on her phone a lot. To your credit, Noah, it looked like you were really trying to engage her. But then, you spilled your coffee. And she lost it! Her reaction seemed over the top to me. She ranted at you for several minutes. It was painful to watch.”
“Really?” Maggie was surprised. Valentina had seemed so sweet and mellow throughout all their interactions.