Rosie blew a lock of hair off her face and wiped her brow with the back of her arm. Working in the coffee shop was going to be harder than she thought. Louanne had made it sound so easy, but when it came to the crunch it was a busy place, and Rosie was struggling to keep up.

Breakfast service was in full swing, and Rosie felt like she was drowning in a sea of coffee and fried eggs.

“Here’s another order.” Tania gave her a sympathetic smile.

Rosie internally cringed. Crap. Even the nineteen-year-old college student was feeling sorry for her.

“Sure thing.” Rosie gave her a tight smile and turned back to the coffee machine.

Squinting at the slip of paper, she struggled to decipher Tania’s rushed scribble.

“Is that one latte and one Americano?”

Tania giggled and stepped over to her. “You want to trade for a little bit? I’m kind of sick of heating up muffins and could use a break making coffee for a while.”

Rosie’s eyes narrowed, but Tania just gave her a sweet smile and nudged her out of the way.

Rosie was grateful, but then she started stressing over whether she could remember her brief training about how to work the payment system.

Holding her breath, she stepped up to the counter and was relieved to see no one needed her for a minute. Resting her hip against the counter, she scanned the patrons and enjoyed the sound of murmured conversation and the clink of happy cutlery on rapidly emptying plates.

There was a nice vibe to Lulu’s Coffee Shop. It reflected its owner perfectly. Louanne’s southern charm set the tone and people flocked to it, because no matter how old a person was, there was nothing quite like the warmth and care of a loving grandmother.

Rosie got the impression that Louanne seemed to be that for more than just her.

“Since no one’s up with an order, do you want to deliver these to the couple by the window? Front left.”

Rosie followed Tania’s pointed finger and nodded. “Got it.”

Collecting the tray, she took the two beautifully made coffees and served them with a smile. The people were so grateful and friendly. It made Rosie wonder if she’d been hanging with the wrong crowd. As boring as small-town life had seemed when she was a teenager, there was something very earthy and welcoming about it.

Walking the empty tray back to the counter, she found her lips pulling into a genuine smile. She couldn’t believe it but she actually felt happy. For a second, she’d forgotten about the crap from a few days before and was just in the moment, having a nice, cheerful exchange with a couple of friendly strangers.

Spinning around the counter, she tucked the tray back where it belonged and noticed Tania slip into the kitchen just as two police officers appeared.

Rosie immediately tensed, her heart lurching into her throat as she relived that moment of opening the door to that steely-eyed detective who wanted to search Damien’s apartment.

“Morning.” The first officer stepped up to the counter, tucking his thumbs into his belt as he studied the menu board above her.

His black skin was smooth and a beautiful contrast to the white smile he flashed her. “You look new. Are you new?”

“Uh…yes. I’m just… I just started work here on Saturday.”

“Well, welcome to town.” He raised his eyebrows in greeting while Rosie blinked and then glanced at the officer behind him.

He was staring at her with a smile that seemed to hold more meaning than she thought it should.

“Glad you made it safely,” he murmured, and suddenly she realized he was the officer that had pulled her over a few days earlier.

She let out a nervous laugh and then checked his nameplate.

And suddenly she forgot how to breathe.

Officer Hartford? No way. It couldn’t be…

She nearly whispered Blaine’s name, but licked her lips instead, gripping her hands beneath the counter to stop them from shaking.

Blaine Hartford?

She glanced up to make sure she wasn’t imagining things and knew for certain that the tall, broad-shouldered man in front of her was in fact the skinny boy she’d talked out of suicide.

Holy crap. He’d changed so much.

His brown eyes creased with a soft smile as he approached the counter. He was searching her face, silently asking if she remembered him.

Of course she did!

But did she want to admit it?

It would connect them somehow, break that “stranger” barrier, and then he’d want to ask her questions, like What’ve you been up to? What’s brought you back to town?

She’d rather die than admit the truth to a guy who’d had the strength to keep pressing on and make something of himself.

They kept staring at each other while her brain wrestled with what to do.

“So, can I grab a cappuccino to go, please?” The black officer caught her attention and she jerked her head to look at him.

“Uh…cappuccino?”

“That’s the one.”

“To go.” She scribbled down his order, glancing up to read his nameplate.

Cap. To go. Officer Moss.

“Anything to eat with that?”

The man’s thick lips pursed as he gazed at the luscious-looking food cabinet.

“I shouldn’t.” His nose wrinkled. “But I’m gonna.”

Rosie grinned as he laughed at himself and added an apple cinnamon muffin to his order. She rang it up on the till and gratefully took his cash, glad she could avoid using the machine Louanne used for payments.

“Take a seat, I’ll bring it out to you.”

He nodded at her and then sauntered off to a table in the corner, saying hello to a few people as he passed them.

It seriously was a friendly town. How had she forgotten that so easily?

“So, you got yourself a job.” Blaine grinned. “Looks like you don’t need to hightail it out of town after all.”

She snickered and gave him an embarrassed smile. “Yeah, well, I need to save up for a jacket, right?”

His eyebrows flickered with concern and she shook her head. “Anyway, Officer, what can I get you?”

“I’ll take a medium black to go, and throw in one of Lulu’s granola bars too. Can’t seem to get enough of those things.”

“They look delicious,” Rosie agreed, scribbling down his coffee order and adding it up on the till.

Blaine pulled a credit card from his top pocket and handed it over. Gritting her teeth, she reluctantly took it and scrambled to remember how the system worked.

She couldn’t believe how much confidence she’d lost since living with Damien.

It was a freaking credit card machine. She could do it!

Slipping the card into the bottom, she tensed as she pressed what she hoped was the right key before spinning it around so Blaine could punch his number in.

To her immense relief, it worked, and she expelled her breath as the machine spit out a receipt.

“It’ll just be a minute.” She passed the card and receipt back, daring to catch his eye for the briefest moment.

His gaze was soft with affection, and her stomach pitched.

He’d always smiled at her that way, but she hadn’t realized how beautiful it had been in high school—probably because she’d never taken the time to notice. Probably because he’d been the skinny loser that all her friends made fun of.

But now…

Now that chiseled, clean-shaven face was making her knees want to buckle.

It scared her. No. It terrified her.

She’d always fallen for guys too easily, like she was incapable of living without one.

That’s what Louanne had told her on Friday. She was probably right. After Damien, Rosie knew she should be swearing off men for a good long while. Maybe even for life.

But Blaine’s smile. That look in his eye.

It was different, and pretty damn impossible not to be attracted to him.

Swallowing, she stepped away from the counter, determined not to engage or be swayed by a man’s good looks yet again. But she was stopped short by Tania, who was sneaking back to the coffee machine and almost collided with her.

They both yelped and then laughed, skirting around each other to get the order ready. Tania took care of the coffees while Rosie got the food ready. When it was time to take it over to the policemen, Rosie chickened out and Tania delivered the goodies with a bounce in her step and her ponytail swinging.

Skipping back to the counter, she gave Rosie a swoony smile. “Isn’t Officer Hartford the hottest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Rosie’s mouth went dry, and all she could do was shrug in response.

“He comes in here a lot. Lulu’s is his favorite.”

“So that’s why he sent me here,” Rosie murmured under her breath, staring after the two men as they sauntered back to the cruiser.

Blaine glanced over his shoulder when he reached the vehicle, catching Rosie’s eye and smiling through Lulu’s window.

Her head tipped to the side as she watched him drive away, and she couldn’t help but wonder for a moment if there’d been more than one reason he’d sent her sorry, freezing ass to Lulu’s that afternoon.

He knew Louanne had been Rosie’s next-door neighbor.

He knew.

He knew who Rosie was, and he’d sent her into a pair of loving arms that would embrace her without question.

He knew.

And he hadn’t said anything.

Why?

Because he hadn’t wanted to embarrass her?

Because he’d wanted her to remember him on her own?

Whatever the reason, she didn’t actually care.

Officer Blaine Hartford had looked after her the other day because he was a good guy. Deep down, he always had been.

And he’d become a police officer just like she’d told him to.

A smile tugged at her lips as she quietly hoped that he’d had the satisfaction of arresting some of those asshole bullies who had been set on making his high school days a living hell.

“Well done, Blaine,” she whispered. “You made it.”