Page 48 of Never Forever

When he’d been the danger all along.

11

Present Day

Calico Cove

August

Carrie

Istood outside Common Grounds and checked my watch. Almost six. One minute and then the coffee shop would open.

Bruce would hand me that beautiful to-go cup of goodness, tell me a corny dad joke and I would laugh a little too much because I was so excited about my drink and then….

“What are you doing here?”

Matt Sullivan’s voice detonated in my head. My lovely early morning good mood, my anticipatory happiness, destroyed.

“It’s a coffee shop,” I said, without turning around to look at him. I totally needed coffee to deal with him. “What do you think I’m doing?”

“Don’t they make fancy coffee on the set?”

“Can’t you make coffee at home?” I snapped and turned around, even though I knew it was a bad idea.

One of the things I’d learned about being in town these past several months, was that I didn’t need to look at Matt Sullivan any more than I already did. Looking at him was like looking at a solar eclipse.

Blinding.

Damaging.

Something only idiots did.

His hair was damp and the collar of his shirt was darker as the water dripped down his neck. He was tall enough he blocked out the sun rising up behind him and it glowed around his shoulders like he was a super hero.

Stupid sun.

Stupid Matt.

I needed my coffee.

“Coffee machine broke,” he said and lifted his thermos.

“Hmmm,” I said and turned back around. We were the only two people outside of Common Grounds. So yeah, it was a little awkward. I would just ignore him. It was either that or get into another one of our fights, and I didn’t have the energy this morning.

Not without coffee.

“So. How is the movie going?” he asked. “Almost done?”

“Do you care?”

“Not really,” he mumbled.

Then because I couldn’t help myself, I turned on him with narrowed eyes. “How is the ferry? Oh wait, I already know. The same.”

“Huh,” he grunted. “You know what I can’t figure out, Carrie, is why you seem to be perpetually annoyed with me after all these months?”

“I am not annoyed.” I would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he got under my skin.