Harmony should have picked another place. Any other place. Why in the world did she think having this awkward—and vulnerable—conversation at her place of business was a good idea?

Was it the fact that she felt like she had the home team advantage?

When Harmony had asked for Dominick’s number, Morgan had been so caught off-guard, she hadn’t spoken for a full minute. She’d told Harmony she was crazy. But Harmony already knew the whole thing was crazy. He was so completely not her usual type. There was no other explanation for it, other than she’d really enjoyed her time with Dominick. That is, after she had a chance to process everything that had happened.

Pax was her usual type. He was everything she thought he would be, and she’d felt nothing.

But Dominick, the shy guy who’d beaten her at a stupid painting contest and talked so fiercely about wanting to provide for his future family? She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. So she’d texted him before giving it too much thought.

And then texted him again.

And again.

She’d texted him until she looked like a crazy stalker. At one point she’d even texted that she wasn’t a crazy stalker.

She took a deep breath and a sip of her latte, thankful that Morgan wasn’t behind the counter today. Harmony could just imagine all the sly looks she’d be sending her way right now.

A male voice cleared his throat, and Harmony looked up to see Dominick standing next to the small table she was sitting at. The entire scene gave her a strange case of déjà vu, but this time, she was the nervous one.

Dominick looked more tired than anxious. Even behind his glasses, she could see the dark smudges beneath his eyes—dark eyes she’d been too busy wishing were blue during their date to truly appreciate.

She smiled and stood up, and a small line appeared between his brows. She was just so excited he’d showed up after their horrible date, but realized how strange it was to greet him that way as soon as she jumped up. After a few seconds, she sat back down, and he followed her, not bothering to ask for permission like he did for dinner.

Harmony smiled. “Hey.”

The returning smile was cautious. “Hey.”

Finally face-to-face with Dominick, all of Harmony’s words left her brain. She pressed her lips together and looked down at her drink. It gave her an idea.

“Can I make you a drink? On the house.”

Dominick shook his head and chuckled to himself. “I think I’ve had enough coffee for a lifetime.”

Harmony nodded, but wondered what that meant. Did his words have some kind of double-meaning? Did it mean he had had enough of her in his life?

Ugh, this was a disaster. And now she knew exactly what it felt like to be on the other end. She didn’t like it. She’d put all her hopes into this meeting, and it wasn’t going well.

He cleared his throat again. “So…”

“Yeah,” she replied lamely.

Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one who had practiced a speech. She was just the only one who couldn’t remember hers.

“Listen,” he started, playing with his watchband. “I’m really sorry about running out on you the other night. I…uh, borrowed those pants from my roommate and freaked out.” His cheeks showed a hint of red. “I was worried about replacing them, because my bank account is mostly empty. Honestly, Harmony, you should know that date was way out of my price range. I should have known there was a mistake as soon as I read it.”

He stopped and regarded her. “You were meant to be with Pax. Our match was the mistake after all.”

Harmony reached over the table and took his hand. “I know. Morgan told me.” She paused before adding. “And I went out with Pax.”

He pulled his hand out from underneath hers, and set it in his lap. He sat up straight as a board in the chair across from her.

“It was horrible,” she said.

Dominick snorted, his shoulders relaxing a millimeter. “Worse than ours?”

“It was worse for other reasons.” Harmony sighed remembering how wrong Pax had been for her. He was good-looking, but that was all he had going for him. And even now, the more she looked at Dominick, the more she realized he was also attractive—just in an understated way. She’d been too obsessed with Morgan’s match and the accompanying photograph to see it before.

But it was more than the good looks she now appreciated. Dominick was kind. Harmony knew this was rare in a guy, and she wanted to persuade him to give them another shot. She’d seen so many silent girlfriends next to their rude but hot boyfriends at the coffee shop, that Dominick’s sweetness was a breath of fresh air.

“Dominick. I’m not saying we’re soulmates, but I am saying Morgan’s system can make mistakes, and I think my match with Pax was the biggest mistake of all. And I don’t think I would have realized it was a mistake if it wasn’t for our date.” She squeezed her coffee cup tightly.

Dominick shifted in his seat, the line between his brows deeper than before. “So what are you saying?”

She took a deep breath.

“I’m saying I’d like for us to try again. I want to go out on a date with you. I want to give us a fair shot. I won’t be a jerk, and you won’t run out before the date’s over. We can do something cheap or free, I don’t care.”

“Why?”

She hadn’t expected that. Of course he wouldn’t jump at the chance to be rejected again, who would?

“I don’t want to let you become the ‘what-if’ in my past. You seem like someone really special.”

When his eyes went to the table and he started shaking his head, she added a soft “Please.”

His head snapped up. “No, no, no, no. I’m not saying no to another date. This is just so weird. You’re not the kind of girl who makes a fuss over a guy like me.”

“Well, I want to be that girl.” She paused and looked off into the distance, before giving her head a little shake and returning her gaze to Dominick. “I think. I’m not making any promises for forever, but I think we should try.”

There was another silence before Dominick responded.

He stuck his hand out across the table. “Hi, I’m Dominick.”

Harmony felt the corners of her mouth curve into a smile as she extended her hand to meet his. “Harmony.”

“So…” he said, looking at the front register. “Come here often?”

She laughed and shook her head. “Nope. First time.”

“Really?” He said the word slowly, an eyebrow cocking up in a very cute way.

Harmony nodded solemnly. “But I’ve been told I’m a natural. Want me to see if I can whip you something up behind the bar?”

“You don’t think they’d mind?”

She winked. “I’m feeling rebellious.”

This time, Dominick let Harmony make him a drink. He wanted something fancy, with white chocolate. When Harmony raised an eyebrow at him, he shrugged it off and said he wanted to try something other than his usual. You and me both.

She’d made it in record time, and hurried back to the table eager to get to know Dominick better. The two of them spent the next several hours talking about everything and anything, learning they had much more in common them they could have ever realized from that first date.

In fact, they were only pulled apart from their date when Harmony realized it was time for her shift. They reluctantly said their goodbyes—even managed a parting hug—and promised they’d do it again.

Soon.