Rosie leaned against the counter and glanced at the only customer in her cafe. Charlie had taken off her glasses and put them next to her plate while she hunched over her phone. They obviously weren’t reading glasses then. That was the extent of her knowledge about this stranger who had waltzed into Mark & Maude’s for the first time three days ago. Strangers represented a big part of the cafe’s business, of course, but Rosie found it hard to take her eyes off this particular one. There was something in the way she held herself and in how, every few minutes, she looked up from her phone and stared in Rosie’s direction.

Charlie hadn’t glanced up in a while. Rosie assumed that whatever she was reading on her phone must be extremely interesting because it had held her attention for much longer than before. Rosie hoped that meant Charlie would give her a good long look next time she cut her gaze in the direction of the counter.

Rosie suppressed a sigh. Did she really not have anything better to do than entertain thoughts like this? Like come up with a cunning plan to pay for Paige’s university fees, and have an equally bright idea to help Gina pass her citizenship test.

But no, at the moment, it seemed she had to keep her attention on her only customer, bracing herself for when their eyes would meet again. Charlie was responsible for a small uptick in turnover after all, what with her having shown up for breakfast every day this week.

Ah, there it was. Charlie put her phone down and ran a hand through her short, curly hair. Rosie tried to keep an eye on her whilst at the same time trying not to come across as though she had been spying on Charlie.

Charlie sent her a smile along with a lingering look this time. Rosie smiled back and sprang to attention. She would much rather be summoned by a customer by means of a smile than a dismissive hand wave or, as preferred by a certain kind of people from out of town, a haughty “Waitress!”

Rosie walked over to Charlie’s table. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Goodness no.” Charlie rubbed her belly, drawing Rosie’s glance to it. She looked as though she had one of those annoyingly flat stomachs, even though the woman surely didn’t appear to count calories — especially not when eating at the cafe. “You’ve overfed me once again.”

“I do apologise,” Rosie said. “Even though it is kind of our unique selling point.”

Charlie chuckled. “Well, you did say you wanted to bring some Americana to Otter Bay and you’re definitely on point with your portion sizes.”

“Thank you.” Rosie nodded. “I’m so glad to have met someone who really gets what this place is about.” She noticed Charlie’s plate wasn’t entirely empty.

Charlie must have seen her looking. “It was delicious, by the way,” she said. “Please send my compliments to the chef.”

Chef. Rosie never really thought of Gina as a chef. Did cafes even have chefs? She didn’t think so. “Will do.”

“I’m serious,” Charlie continued. “There’s a reason why I’ve been coming here for breakfast three days in a row.”

Rosie nodded in appreciation. Most people didn’t come to Mark & Maude’s for the snazzy decor. If it weren’t for Gina’s magic touch with food, the cafe would probably have been on the edge of going bust much sooner.

“And here I was thinking it was the charming, personable service,” Rosie half-joked.

“There’s that, of course.” Charlie had left a generous tip the previous two times she’d stopped by.

“How about a coffee on the house?” Rosie asked.

Charlie regarded her from under her long, dark lashes. “That would be lovely, although I do have a request to make.” She narrowed her eyes. “Only if the owner joins me.”

Rosie’s lips spread into a smile. “Let me see if that would be possible.” She cast a dramatic glance about the otherwise empty cafe. “I wouldn’t want to neglect my other clientele.”

“Naturally.” Charlie played along.

“Looks like the owner has some free time on her hands.”

“Lucky me,” Charlie said.

Before Rosie turned around to prepare the coffees, she gave Charlie a quick wink.

“My compliments to the maker of this coffee,” Charlie said. “The standards in this cafe are impeccably high.”

“If there’s one thing you can’t compromise on, in life as well as in business, it’s the quality of the coffee.” Rosie sat opposite Charlie, who hadn’t put her glasses back on.

“I only have instant back at the house where I’m staying, so this is a real treat,” Charlie said.

Rosie let her jaw fall open in an exaggerated fashion. “The blasphemy.”

Charlie cast her glance down. “I know,” she said, her tone demure.

Rosie spotted someone looking in the cafe window and even though Mark & Maude’s could really do with the business, at that moment, she hoped they wouldn’t come in. She was having too much fun with Charlie. Thankfully, the front door remained closed.

“You’ll just have to stop by here every day then.” Rosie tried locking her gaze on Charlie for longer than a split second.

“Invitation accepted.” Charlie stared back at her, then looked away. “I’ll pay for my beverages, of course.”

Rosie waved her off. “I’m just glad for the conversation. Even though we get many of your kind here, I don’t make a habit of having coffee with them.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow. “My kind?”

“No disrespect meant. I love your kind.” Rosie hoped the flush she felt creeping up the back of her neck wouldn’t make it to her cheeks. What was she rambling on about?

Charlie grinned at her and defused the tension by taking another sip from her coffee.

“You don’t seem to need those glasses much,” Rosie said, changing the subject. To her dismay, she realised that her comment about Charlie’s ‘kind’ could be taken in more ways than one. Instigating innuendo about Charlie’s sexual orientation hadn’t been Rosie’s intention at all. She could only guess at how Charlie had interpreted it.

“They’re new. I’m still getting used to them,” Charlie said. “Have you lived here all your life?”

Rosie nodded. “Born and bred in Otter Bay.”

Charlie smiled at her. “What a dream.”

“Yeah right,” Rosie said. Then the front door opened and Aunt Hilary walked in. Rosie looked at her watch. A few regulars would soon come in for lunch and she and her aunt usually worked the lunch service together.

“Hello, Rosie.” Hilary walked up to Rosie to give her a quick hug.

“Aunt Hilary, this is Charlie, our newest, most loyal customer.”

“Delighted to meet you.” Aunt Hilary extended her hand and Rosie witnessed how Charlie shook it in a firm grasp. No limp-wristed handshakes for this posh Londoner.

“And you,” Charlie said. “I was just telling Rosie how delicious the food and coffee are here.”

With that, Rosie’s private chat with Charlie had ended. She looked at her watch again. Charlie would leave the cafe soon and then it would be almost twenty-four hours before Rosie could offer her another coffee on the house. Rosie’s days had a tendency to fly by, but after this chat with Charlie, tomorrow still seemed so far away.

She focussed her attention on the conversation between her aunt and Charlie again, ignoring the silly thought that had just flashed through her brain.

Charlie was just someone passing through — here today, gone tomorrow. And although Rosie’s gaydar — which didn’t get a lot of practice and was anything but finely tuned — was on alert, she shouldn’t be looking forward too much to seeing Charlie tomorrow.