Page 29 of The P*ssy Next Door

Cai glanced over at Xander with more than a little surprise. Great, even he didn't know this was a set up. How embarrassing.

I gritted my teeth. I was going to murder my brother. Possibly with this espresso machine, because it was the handiest weapon I could find. “That's really sweet of you, Xan, but I'm not really looking to date right now. Running the coffee shop is keeping me pretty busy.”

Cai's shoulders relaxed, and he nodded. “No worries, I get it. Maybe I'll just come hang out at your coffee shop sometime.”

“Sure, that'd be great,” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. The last thing I needed was another complication in my already messy love life. Hanging out with any of Xander's friends or teammates was definitely a complication. And he knew it.

Xander frowned, clearly not happy with my response. “Come on, Willa. You can't work all the time. Live a little. Cai's family is Hmong. You guys could swap stories of Vietnam.”

Cai looked at Xan like he was on crack, and I felt bad for the guy.

“Right, I was teaching there earlier this year. But I'm stuck in good old Thornminster for the time being.”

“Oh, right. Well, that's cool. I've never actually been, but my grandmother sure wants me to go.” Poor Cai looked like he wanted to flee the country right now.

I opened my mouth to say something about how much I liked living in Ho Chi Minh City but hadn't yet made it the north were the Hmong people traditionally lived, when I was cut off by a sudden hissing and sputtering from the espresso machine. I whirled around, my eyes widening in horror as steam billowed out from the top.

“No, no, no,” I muttered, frantically pressing buttons, and turning knobs. “Not now, please not now.”

I glanced down at Hayes whose eyes were as wide as mine. Not that he could do anything. It was too late anyway. With a final, pathetic wheeze, the machine went dead, leaving me staring at it in dismay.

“What the hell was that?” Xander asked, peering across the counter.

I forced a laugh, hoping it didn't sound as hysterical as I felt. “Just a little technical difficulty.”

“I'd better get going,” Cai said, glancing between me and the defunct espresso machine. “But it was really nice meeting you, Willa. Maybe I'll see you around.”

“Yep, super, come in for... a drink anytime,” I said distractedly, already wondering how much a repair was going to cost. Or worse, a whole new machine. “Thanks for stopping by.”

Once Cai was out the door, Xan hissed at me with the same vehemence as the espresso machine. “You could have been friendlier. I'm trying to help you out.”

“No you aren't, you’re being a dick, and you told me you were going to knock that shit off.” I swirled my hand in a circle. “Remember, you swore on your pizza?”

“You're a brat.” The espresso machine rattled again, and Xan stepped away. “Good luck with that. See you later, beanie.”

I'd yell at him for not offering to help, but I still had Hayes at my feet.

As soon as Xander was gone, Hayes popped up from his hiding spot, his brow furrowed. “You okay?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Not really. This is a disaster. I can't run a coffee shop without an espresso machine, and I have no idea if there's room in the budget for repairs. In fact, I don't even know if there is a budget at all. Accounting is not my strongest suit, and I don't want to bother the Guncles. They're on their way to the Drake Passage to see the penguins.”

Damn, I wish I was on my way to see penguins.

“I can help you with the books.” He pushed the now sweaty strands of hair from my face. “Numbers come easy to me. I even do half my family's taxes for them.”

“I can't ask you to do that.”

He stepped closer and pulled me into a hug. I melted into his embrace, some of the tension draining out of me.

“You can, and I will help,” he murmured, rubbing soothing circles over my shoulder blades, right where all my tension was building up.

I don't know how he did it, always making me feel like he had my back. But I think it was a fundamental difference in his family and mine. I'd seen it even just playing games with him and his brothers. They were all there for each other in every little way.

That was the opposite of the Rosemounts. Our family motto might as well be winner takes all, loser gets the shaft. They didn't mean it, I knew that. But it was how they made me feel.

Somewhere deep inside where I wasn't ready to look, I wished I was a Kingman. And not as a sister.

With a heavy sigh, I flipped the sign on the café door to “Closed” and locked up. The broken espresso machine had effectively killed any chance of staying open for the rest of the day.