“Miss? Miss? I’m ready to place my order.” The nasal high-pitched voice of the customer in front of Anna pulled her attention away from her phone. Away from the email that she’d just received. She swallowed against the emotional lump which had formed in her throat from the one little sentence she’d read twenty times in the last minute.

We went with another candidate.

Those words had become a constant in her life. Ever since she’d been fired and dumped on the same day. She cleared her throat, and smiled up at the hippie with blue dreads and earring spacers who was staring at her with a disgruntled expression.

Even customers at the Jumpy Bean could sense her complete lack of guidance.

Anna sighed. Her current life situation had been her fault. At least that was what her mother seemed desperate to remind Anna of every chance she got.

“You never date your boss,” her mom constantly told her. Why had Anna thought she might be an exception? Oh, right. Because she trusted everyone. She had a Masters in Public Relations, and yet couldn’t figure out her own relationships. Go figure.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she said, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Whenever you’re ready.”

The man stared at her, and his expression grew annoyed. “It’s rude to be on your phone at work.” He glanced behind her. “Where’s your boss?”

“Is there a problem here?” Betsy asked, stepping up from behind Anna and adjusting her glasses. Anna glanced over at her co-worker, grateful that she wasn’t going to have to face this upset customer alone. In the two months since Anna had started here, Betsy had quickly become a good friend.

“Are you her boss?” He narrowed his eyes.

Anna shot Betsy a worried look. If James, the manager, got another complaint about her, she just might lose her job. Apparently, from her last review, her attitude didn’t best portray the Jumpy Bean philosophy. It wasn’t like she didn’t try. Who knew that there were so many complexities to a coffee drink?

Besides, if she was honest with herself, working at a coffee shop hadn’t been her dream. She was valedictorian of her high school class. Voted most likely to succeed. Serving caffeine to pushy customers had never been a part of the plan.

“Y-yes. I am,” Betsy said, straightening and turning to the man.

“Well, you should know that your employee was on her phone instead of serving me.”

Betsy narrowed her eyes. “I see. Well, she’s here now. Ready to take your order.” The man raised his eyebrows as if he’d expected her to do something more. Betsy just smiled. “You still want to order, right?”

The man huffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll take an Iced, Half Caff, Ristretto, Venti, 4-Pump, Sugar Free, Cinnamon, Dolce Soy Skinny Latte,” he said as he pulled out a wallet from his back pocket.

“That’s totally normal,” Betsy said under her breath, but then shot him a smile. “Great choice. Anna will ring you up.” She patted Anna on the shoulder and moved to start on his order.

Anna stared at the buttons in front of her. How the heck was she supposed to ring that up? She tried her best to remember the things he said. Once he paid, she grabbed a cup and marker. “Name?” she asked.

“Rob.”

Anna nodded as she wrote it under the rim and handed it to Betsy’s waiting hand. When she turned to tell Rob to wait at the pick-up area, she stopped. He’d already pulled out his phone and was heading in that direction.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. She really wasn’t in the mood to talk to him anymore. With no other waiting customers, she turned to lean her back against the counter.

“I know that face,” Betsy said, nodding toward Anna. “It’s your: I’m thinking about my life and what’s happened to it face.” She smiled as she finished Rob’s drink.

Anna brushed down the front of her apron. “I got another rejection.”

Betsy shot her a sympathetic look. “Sorry.”

Anna swallowed. “It’s just hard, you know? I was supposed to do something with my life, but look at me. I’m serving coffee to caffeine-addicted people. And no one wants me.” That statement stung. She was striking out in her love life and her professional life. Man, all she needed right now was for Patrick to come walking in to see the mess she’d made of her life since he kicked her out. All the things he’d said about her, never rang truer. That she was holding him back. That he couldn’t soar with her behind him.

Anna’s stomach twisted as she forced back the tears that threatened to spill. She couldn’t think about that right now. Why couldn’t she get him from her mind? He was a jerk. That was all there was to it.

Betsy glanced over at her and, thankfully, didn’t see Anna’s near breakdown. “Just think of it as job security. Americans are overworked. The need for coffee will always be there. I’m fine with staying here,” she said as she moved to the freezer to pull out some ice.

Anna studied her nails. But it wasn’t what she wanted. Not at all. Not only was her professional life a mess, her love life was also in shambles. Which was okay. She wasn’t looking for a relationship right now, but still. She groaned and rested her forehead on her hand. This was never good. She needed to think positive. Right?

“Oh, my gosh,” Betsy breathed next to her.

When Anna glanced up, she saw Betsy staring at someone behind her. “What are you looking at?” she asked, turning around. As her gaze fell on Michael Jones, she nearly choked on her spit. What was McKenna’s brother doing here?

The coffee shop’s door shut behind him. All six-foot-three glorious inches of him stood there like a Greek statue. Just with clothes on. Every emotion that had raced through her at McKenna’s wedding two years ago came flooding back. This was not what she needed right now. Not when she was hanging onto her sanity by a fraying thread.

Desperate to protect herself, she dropped her gaze and ducked down behind the counter. As she stared at the bottles that were lined up under the cash register, she closed her eyes. The image of Michael seemed burned in her mind. The way his blond hair swooped up in the front, and his bright blue eyes that seemed to pierce her soul. Or the way his lips had felt on hers two years ago. . .

She shook her head. There was no need to go down memory lane right now. She needed to prepare herself for why he was here. Secretly, she hoped it was just to get coffee. But this was Madison, New Jersey. There were more than one hundred coffee shops between here and New York City.

“Why are you hiding down there?” Betsy asked.

Anna snapped her eyes open as she glanced up to see Betsy peering down at her. “Is he gone?”

“Are you talking about the incredibly handsome New York Ranger?” Betsy’s cheeks flushed pink as she glanced toward the door.

Anna nodded. “Yes.”

“You know him?” Betsy had an approving expression on her face.

This was a history that Anna didn’t want to get into. She wanted him to leave and never come back. He was good at walking out on people. After their spontaneous kiss, he’d called her Rebecca and passed out.

She should have known better than to believe that a party-boy would have ever cared about her. He was only interested in himself. At least that was what the tabloids seemed so happy to report on.

“Something like that.” Anna grabbed a rag and started wiping down one of the shelves. She wanted to look. She wanted to see if he was still in the shop. But she couldn’t do that. She was such a mess at it was.

“He’s coming this way,” Betsy squeaked.

Anna’s heart began to pound. Was he here to see her? What was happening? Fate had a cruel sense of humor.

“Good morning,” he said.

Anna closed her eyes. His voice was so familiar. Growing up, Michael had been such a constant in her life. Being there for her through all her highs and lows. Maybe that’s why what happened at McKenna’s wedding had hurt her so much. She’d trusted him.

“Morning,” Betsy breathed out. “You’re Michael Jones.”

“Fan of hockey?” The richness of his voice sent shivers down Anna’s back. Maybe she should check herself into a mental hospital. She must be having a nervous breakdown.

Betsy nodded. “Who isn’t?”

“I’m wondering if you could help me.”

“Sure.”

“I’m looking for Anna Short. I was told she works here.”

Butterflies erupted in Anna’s stomach. He was looking for her. Why? Was she dreaming? She reached down and pinched her leg. A searing pain shot across her skin. Yep, she was awake.

“You’re looking for Anna?” Betsy nudged her with her shoe.

There was probably no chance that she could sprint to the exit now. Taking a deep breath, she counted down from ten and then stood up.

Michael’s eyes widened when his gaze fell on her.

“I found it!” she exclaimed, holding up her hand. How else was she going to explain why she had ducked down there for as long as she did?

Michael glanced over at her hand. “What were you looking for?”

“A—contact. Betsy’s contact.” She reached over and pretended to drop something into Betsy’s hand. “You can go put it in now.”

Betsy stared at her, and then over to Michael. “I have really bad eyesight,” she said as she pushed her glasses higher up her nose and then turned and slipped into the back room.

“She wears contacts with glasses?” There was a playful smile that hinted on his lips. His perfect lips. Gah! Why couldn’t he have turned into a troll? Why was he only more good looking? He was no longer the scrawny kid next door. Not when his white t-shirt struggled to contain the muscles underneath.

Heat burned her cheeks as she forced her gaze upwards. He was studying her. She wished she could read his mind. The day after McKenna’s wedding, he left, and she never saw him again. Did he remember their kiss as vividly as she did?

Standing in the coffee shop, he didn’t look like he was torn apart from the mind-bending kiss they’d shared. And she didn’t want to bring it up if it wasn’t even on his radar. So, to save her sanity, she was going to go with—he didn’t remember.

“It’s good to see you, Anna Banana,” he said. He leaned against the counter as if he wasn’t here for just an overpriced drink. She winced at the ridiculous nick name he’d given her when they were kids. But the familiarity of his voice washed over her, rendering her speechless for a moment. Why did he have to come in here at this moment? Right when she was at her lowest low.

He was studying her as if he was expecting her to speak. Right. That’s how a conversation went. She was going to have to talk to Michael. She just prayed that her voice would come out normal.

“Michael,” she squeaked out. Well, there went her plan of not looking like an idiot.

He cocked his head to the side. “It’s been awhile.”

“I’m good,” she said and then stopped. Had he asked her how she was? From the playful smile on his lips, she realized that he had indeed not asked her how she was. Desperate to save herself, she decided to move the conversation forward. “You’re in town. Funny. McKenna didn’t mention that.”

Michael unfolded his arms and rested his hands on the counter, against which he drummed his fingers. For a moment, she thought she detected an uneasy look cross his face. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared. She shook it off. It must have been her imagination.

He shrugged. “Yeah. Thought it was time to come and visit the family.”

Family? Of course, he thought of her as family. Hadn’t he always called her his pseudo-sister? Proof, yet again, that the kiss had meant much more to her than to him.

“That’s nice. McKenna’s going through a rough spot. She definitely needs some more support around her,” Anna said.

After two years, McKenna was losing hope of ever getting pregnant. It didn’t help that the infertility put such a strain on her and Sam. As much as Anna wanted to be a supportive friend, she just didn’t know what to say or do to help her. Anna was so far from even thinking about having kids, that she worried she just irritated her friend instead of helped.

“She’s been telling me,” he said.

Anna studied him. There was something in his countenance. Almost like he was worried. His normally cocky persona was slipping. What was going on?

“Is she okay?” It had been a week since Anna had talked to McKenna, but she couldn’t imagine that anything had happened.

“She wants to talk with the two of us.” Michael drummed his fingers on the counter again.

“She does?” What would McKenna need to talk to the two of them about?

“Yeah, she wanted me to come get you.” He shrugged. “Do you have a break coming up?”

Betsy emerged from the back room. When her gaze fell on Anna, she raised her eyebrows. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Anna glanced back at Michael. “Give me a minute.”