A Cuppa Trouble

by Angela Ruth Strong

  Tandy hugged Greg’s arms closer. As this was only the beginning of many sweet moments to come, she didn’t mind sharing. “Yes, Greg was enjoying your pink cocoa, Marissa, but there’s plenty left for you guys too.”

  Marissa strode toward the side of the counter, but Connor snagged her hand and swung her toward a stool. “You sit,” he said. “I’ll make our beverages, while you tell Tandy what we’re drinking.”

  Tandy glanced back and forth between the couple. Marissa sank sheepishly onto her seat as Connor headed toward the espresso machine. She did a double take. “I know what Connor likes to drink, but what are you drinking, Marissa?”

  She covered her face then peeked between two fingers. “Coffee.”

  The smile started on Tandy’s face then spread through her whole body. Had she heard correctly? “You’re drinking coffee?” She checked on Connor again, who was indeed making two Black Eyes.

  Marissa pulled her hands down and pointed. “You drink tea.”

  So she did. She even drank pink cocoa on occasion. She picked up her glass mug. “This calls for a toast. Though words cannot espresso how much Marissa’s coffee drinking means to me.”

  Marissa narrowed her eyes. “How brew-tiful.”

  “Wait.” Connor looked over his shoulder from where he stood at the grinder. “Tandy, help me finish these drinks first, then we can toast.”

  He’d already ground the beans and poured the shots. She surveyed his mess as she squeezed behind the counter next to him. “What do you need?”

  He dipped his head and lowered his voice. “I’m looking for the spoon.”

  She pivoted to point at the stir sticks. “You can use—”

  “No, I want a spoon.”

  Weird. The only spoon she had was…

  Her eyes widened. Her heart tripped. She wanted to giggle and jog in place and clap her hands. The giggle escaped but Connor stopped the rest with a warning look.

  “What’s so funny, Tandy?” Marissa asked.

  Tandy peeked over her shoulder to see if Marissa suspected, but her business partner kicked her feet from her seat on a stool and gazed into space like she was half asleep and, thankfully, oblivious. “I must be on a sugar high from the hot chocolate.”

  Marissa rested her elbow on the counter to prop up her chin. She gave a relaxed smile.

  Tandy pinched her lips together to keep from any more giggling as she pulled open a drawer and dug behind coffee sleeves to retrieve a metal spoon engraved with the words: Will you marry me?

  She turned sideways so she could wave it for Greg to see while keeping it out of Marissa’s line of site. Greg shot her a thumbs up.

  Marissa almost caught him. “You really are excited to see me drink coffee, aren’t you?”

  Tandy handed the spoon to Connor and hurried around the counter to Greg’s side. She wanted a good view, and she also wanted to share the moment with her own sweetheart.

  Greg slung an arm around her neck and kissed her cheek. “Stop grinning. You look suspicious,” he whispered in her ear.

  She shivered at the warm brush of breath on her skin and kept grinning.

  Connor stirred the coffee, picked the mug up with both hands, and ceremoniously turned to set the cup in front of Marissa.

  The bride-to-be looked at the mug and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m drinking coffee. You know this will keep me up all night, don’t you?”

  “I propose it will,” Tandy said before she could stop herself.

  Greg pinched her side.

  Connor’s head jerked her way with a semi-scowl that he barely wiped off in time. “I’ll stay up with you,” he said. He picked up his own mug. “Now let’s toast. Here’s to a Valentine’s we’ll never forget.”

  Tandy lifted her cup to her lips but didn’t tilt her head back because she didn’t want to miss Marissa’s big moment. Connor and Greg did the same.

  Marissa pulled the spoon from her mug and stuck it in her mouth. Probably to lick it clean before she set it down. Tandy hadn’t expected that. But when sliding the utensil through her lips, her gaze caught the rest of them watching her.

  She held the spoon to the side and looked down at her shirt. “Did I drip? I should have put on George’s brown jumpsuit before trying to drink coffee from a mug.”

  Tandy and the men held their breath collectively.

  Marissa shook her head at the silly people she now considered her best friends. Had they never seen anyone drink coffee before? Well, okay, they’d never seen her drink coffee before. She might as well give them what they were waiting for.

  Setting the spoon down, she reached for her cup handle. She raised the mug, smiled at the weirdos still not drinking their own drinks, and sipped the bitter concoction that would give her enough energy to bake crumpets all night if she wanted to.

  Blech. So nasty. It was weird that Connor had served her mug with a spoon when there wasn’t any cream or sugar in it. Even if there was, Caffeine Conundrum usually used stir sticks. But he’d specifically asked for a spoon, hadn’t he?

  A thought struck her. A thought so delicious and creamy that it might as well have been pink and only served on Valentine’s Day. But it couldn’t be.

  Connor had been planning to propose in the carriage, not over a cup of tea. Though he had gotten so upset during The Dating Game when Greg mentioned the spoon he’d fallen out of his chair. Could Connor have been the one who brought it into the shop?

  She lowered her mug, her eyes zeroing in on the inscribed utensil. It was inscribed! Did she mention that it was inscribed?

  She picked up the spoon so she could read the four little words again and again and make sure she wasn’t imagining things. More coffee dripped to the floor, but she didn’t care.

  Will

  You

  Marry

  Me?

  She spun her stool to face Connor who had dropped down on his knee and pulled out a ring box. Had he been carrying it this whole time?

  He gave his famous half smile. The one that melted her like a marshmallow—even when she’d been intent on never dating him again. “I’m going to set another boundary, Marissa. This is the last time I propose.”

  The thrill of surviving death didn’t compare to getting to spend the rest of her life with this man. “This is the last time I say yes.”

  Marissa held out her left hand, and he slipped a familiar vintage ring on her finger. It had a round solitaire in a square setting. It wasn’t the one he’d given her before. No, this one looked like the one her grandmother used to wear.

  She exhaled in awe. “Where did you get this?”

  “Billie bought it at your grandmother’s estate sale and saved it for me. Do you like it?”

  She covered her mouth. Grandmother’s estate was what had torn their first engagement apart. But now it was uniting them together. A true symbol of how they could overcome any obstacle. And of Connor’s love for her. How could she possibly reciprocate in kind?

  “I love it.” A tear streamed down her cheek. She wiped at it then laughed and waved her hand so her friends could see the ring. “Did you know he got me my grandmother’s ring?”

  Tandy held her hands to her heart. “That’s one secret I wasn’t keeping.”

  Greg shook his head. “Way to set the bar high, Connor. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to top a proposal like this.”

  Marissa’s cheeks burned from a smile her face couldn’t contain. She reached down to grab Connor’s hands and pull him up with her.

  Connor rose into a lunge and stepped his back foot forward to come closer. Only that foot slipped on a wet spot from the coffee. His leg shot past her and he pitched forward, sure to send them both to the ground.

  Marissa braced herself, planting her feet, closing her eyes, and wrapping her arms around Connor’s waist, hoping she didn’t break a leg and would still be capable of walking down the aisle on her big day.

  Nothing happened. The ground didn’t rush up to meet them. She didn’t even b
ump into the stool. In fact, she was still standing.

  She peeked one eye open to find Connor leaning against her. Her boots had held their traction. She’d caught him.

  Tandy’s eyebrows arched. “Did that just happen?”

  Greg wrapped an arm behind Tandy’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it.”

  Connor righted himself, as sheepish as he was elated. “Shall we make it a fall wedding then?”

  Tandy chuckled. “That’s appropriate.”

  Marissa laughed along and leaned into Connor, wrapping her arms around his neck. She’d marry him anytime, but autumn on The Farmstead would be perfect. She might even wear cowboy boots, since boots were working out so well for her. “Pumpkin spice and everything nice. That’s what fall weddings are made of.”

  Tandy lifted her mug. “I’ll start practicing my toast.”

  Connor swayed with Marissa like he wanted to practice for their first dance. “You girls and your beverages.”

  Greg sipped from his mug. “They’re both a cuppa trouble, aren’t they?”

  Marissa grinned over at Tandy. What mattered on Valentine’s Day was not that they lived happily-ever-after, but that they knew the important people in their lives were committed to working through their troubles with them.

  Author Note

  Dear Reader,

  As ridiculous as this story is, I hope you’ll hear a ring of truth in it. I really wanted to use the holiday of Valentine’s to take a closer look at the importance of communication in building healthy relationships. When we’re wounded, it’s so easy to try to protect our hearts with unhealthy behaviors that only cause more pain, but since we’re responsible for our own actions, it’s up to us to focus on what we should be doing to create connection.

  With help, I pondered the basics of communication and came up with understanding, vulnerability, and equality. Think about how our whole world might change if we all made these our goals.

  I wanted to take this even farther into the idea of communication with God. Think about how we might change if we make time to speak to our Creator and listen for His voice.

  I’m thankful God helped me finish this book. I had to research more than I’ve ever researched to make the plot work, and I got really stuck, but I’m thrilled with how unique the ending turned out.

  The most interesting thing in this book is that these grand theft auto stories are all true. There really was a ten-year-old who stole a car from a car lot. There really was a carjacker who got stuffed in a trunk. There really was a vehicle that the owner chained up to keep from getting stolen, and he found the vehicle chained up backwards the next day with a note from the thieves. It really is illegal in Ohio to leave your car running when it’s not locked. Not even authors can make that stuff up.

  Tandy and Marissa’s adventures will continue in two more books. As you know, there’s now a wedding to plan, and it might get just a little more complicated if, say, Marissa is sent to a safehouse or Connor is arrested right before the big day.

  Find my other stories at www.angelaruthstrong.com or join me for discussing all these crazy characters on my fan page at www.facebook.com/groups/1557213161269220/.

  Thirsty for more,

  Angela

  Now, A Sneak Peek at Book Three

  A LATTE DIFFICULTY

  Chapter One

  “Black is a good color for coffee, not bridesmaid dresses.”

  Tandy Brandt turned away from the bride-to-be in order to hide her smile while grinding more nutty-scented coffee beans. She knew Marissa Alexander, a reformed Midwest beauty queen, would never use black as a wedding color, which made it all the more fun to suggest. “Black will be my wedding color,” she declared.

  “Ugh.” Marissa pulled yet another wedding magazine out from under the counter at their shop, Caffeine Conundrum. For the last five months, she’d spent every free moment obsessing about her upcoming wedding.

  Their shop was finally starting to clear out after a morning of pouring iced coffee and sweet tea. Customers trickled out to the street for a parade that would kick off the weeklong Americana Festival leading to Independence Day.

  Besides Greg St. James and Connor Thomas, who were at the shop to assist their girlfriends, only Randon, the local hipster millionaire, remained at a table, waiting for his order.

  “Greg,” Marissa addressed Tandy’s childhood sweetheart with a huge sigh. “Please tell me you won’t let Tandy make me wear a black dress when you two get married.”

  “Can we talk about this after there’s an actual engagement?” Greg suggested, though it was hard to take him seriously when he was dressed like Abraham Lincoln. He tugged his fake beard low enough to sip from a straw then grimaced. “Though I can tell you that if I let Tandy dress me like this to hand out coupons during the parade for your Red, White, and Brew booth at the fair, then I’m not going to have much say in wedding planning.”

  Things were getting more serious between them, but there was no rush. Especially since Tandy would never want to overshadow Marissa’s time as the bride-to-be.

  Tandy grinned over her shoulder from where she filled the espresso machine with fresh grounds. “I didn’t really think you’d wear that costume, Greg. I suggested it as a joke.”

  Greg stood taller and straightened the lapel on his long black suit jacket. “Oh, I don’t joke about our 16th president. He’s the reason I decided to become a lawyer in the first place.”

  Connor casually sipped from his mug. “You wish you were wearing a shirt like mine though, don’t you?” He puffed up his chest to better display the image of Captain America’s shield screen-printed on the front of his t-shirt.

  “So badly.” Greg replaced his beard with a snap of elastic.

  Marissa waved away her fiancé’s interference. “Don’t listen to him, Greg. You look fabulous and should really get some pictures of yourself in costume.”

  Tandy combined two shots of espresso with steamed coconut milk. “He’s already been in your photo booth, Marissa.”

  Connor crossed his arms and leaned against the counter to face Greg. “I’d think after what happened to President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, you’d want to avoid Booths.”

  “Not cool, Captain. Not cool.”

  While Connor was taking the Lincoln jokes too far, Marissa was taking the photo booth thing too far. Just because she’d gotten a good deal on renting the booth for her wedding reception in the fall by advertising it in their shop during Americana Week, that didn’t mean she had to force everyone to use it.

  Tandy grinned at her friends and left them to their banter so she could deliver Randon’s latte. It warmed her fingers. He’d ordered a hot beverage despite the fact the temperature was already into the 80’s. Not to mention the guy had grown a full beard. Not the best way to keep cool during the summer.

  She set his mug on the stainless-steel table with a clink. “Aren’t you going outside for the parade?”

  He didn’t glance up from his laptop. “Nada.”

  For a know-it-all, he’d been unusually quiet today. Probably designing another phone application. One of these days she’d get him to make her an app for their business where customers could pre-order drinks.

  “Working on something important?” she asked.

  “Always.” This time he did glance up but only to make sure she wasn’t looking at his computer screen when he angled it away from her.

  Fine. If he didn’t want to talk, she wouldn’t waste her time. She rolled her eyes and turned back toward her friends, but they’d all disappeared.

  A light flashed from inside the photobooth set up next to the stairs leading to the tea loft. Had all three of them crammed inside? Marissa’s laughter spilled out. Yep.

  Tandy changed directions and pulled back the photobooth curtain to get a peek. Marissa sat in the middle of the bench, wearing the Statue of Liberty crown and holding Lady Liberty’s torch. She’d somehow gotten Connor to put on sunglasses and hold a sign on a sti
ck that read “All American Dude.” Greg, of course, was already in costume.

  Grinning, Tandy tugged a little flag from a jar on the prop table and squeezed in to sit on Greg’s lap.

  The group grunted and shifted to make room for her while the camera snapped shots at the most awkward moments then flashed their images on the screen. The whole booth shook with Marissa’s laughter.

  Greg wrapped an arm around Tandy’s waist to keep her from sliding to the floor. “This really isn’t very presidential behavior.”

  Marissa wiped at her eyes. “But it’s so fun. Aren’t you glad we got one of these for our wedding, Connor?”

  Connor shook his head but couldn’t keep from smiling. “As fun as this is, we should probably head out to the parade or we’ll miss the float I built for The Farmstead.”

  Tandy clicked her tongue. “I hate to tell you this, Marissa, but Randon isn’t planning to leave the shop. We’re not going to be able to close down.”

  Marissa frowned and pulled back the curtain to see for herself. “I’d kick him out, but I’m hoping we can get him to build us an app one of these days.”

  “Me too.” Tandy arched an eyebrow. “Plus, I’m a little scared of him. Do you remember when he mentioned the Ohio Power outage like he had something to do with it?”

  “I remember.” Connor slid his glasses to the top of his head, messing up his messy do. “I’ve also been wondering if he’s had anything to do with the new computer virus that everyone’s talking about.”

  Marissa looked around the crowded space in confusion. “What virus?”

  Greg stroked his beard. “That could be how he’s making his millions.”

  Marissa turned to Tandy, eyebrows pinched. “He’s making money off a virus?”

  Connor wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “No. Though if you don’t know about the virus, you might be spending a little too much time planning our wedding.”