CHAPTER ONE

It was only 30 more minutes until my coffee shop could officially close and my two other baristas had abandoned me. They had left early to complete other errands in their busy family life. My family was a little less complicated than theirs, since I only had my sister Juliet. However, because my sister is Juliet, my family life was probably more complicated too. Ever since we were young, she always had the tendency to get into trouble. Lucky for her, I was always there to get her out of it. This new mess she was in was weighing heavily on my mind.

Pregnant and blackmailed, how can it get any worse than that for my poor little sister? But as usual, I am determined to help her out, no matter what. I let out an exasperated breath as I wring out a wet sponge, since I am getting ready to clean up the dirty tables.

I can hear the tinkle of the wind chimes I had placed by the entrance to notify me when a new customer enters the store. I can hear him, before I see him as he's talking loudly on his phone. His voice has a deep timber and it sounds tense as he barks orders to the other person on the line. I look up from the table that I'm wiping down to check out the new customer. He's very tall, well-dressed and drop dead gorgeous. It was the type of impossibly gorgeous you would see in a men's fashion magazine, he actually looked like he just walked straight out of the pages of GQ.

He has dark brown hair, striking blue eyes, a strong square jaw and beautifully shaped lips. I couldn't help it, but my eyes are drawn to his sensuously shaped mouth. Quickly, I rub my wet hands on my apron and hurry behind the counter to wait for his order. Then our eyes meet for the first time and his gaze is piercing. I don't know why, but I feel like the atmosphere between us is thick with tension. Which I find odd, since I've had many handsome male customers before in my shop and I've never had such a strong attraction to them as I do now. But there's something about him, something very magnetic about his deep blue eyes that I can't stop staring at. I can see him scan every feature on my face and it is unnerving. I force a friendly smile to hide the uneasiness simmering inside of me.

"Hello and welcome to my little and humble coffee shop. How can I help you?" I ask him, my voice sounding breathy to my ears. That nervousness of mine is hard to quell in his presence.

He still keeps his vivid blue eyes on me as he hangs up on his phone call and shoves his cell into his pocket. He gives me half smile before he peruses the chalkboard menu behind me.

"I'll have a small expresso, black." He responds and then looks at the baked goods that are kept on the counter.

"Anything else for today?" I automatically say out of habit.

"The biscotti actually looks good, I think I'll take one." He replies, looking at the glass jar filled chocolate dipped biscotti with keen interest.

"They are so good. I should know, since I baked them myself," I brag with a smile, my nervousness fading.

"I thought you said that this was a humble coffee shop?" The customer retorts with a teasing smile, revealing a dimple in his left cheek.

"My baking skills are one of the things in my life that I'm confident about and I'm not afraid to flaunt it," I reply with a small laugh as I pull out one biscotti with silver tongs and drop it into a small paper bag. He takes the paper bag from me with that half smile I'm beginning to know so well.

"I'm looking forward to trying it," He says with a soft chuckle.

"Your expresso will be ready in another minute..." I tell him as I search for a paper cup.

I can feel his eyes on me as I scurry around hunting for the stack of small paper cups. After I finally locate the cups, I bring one to the expresso machine. Then I start to carefully pour fresh ground beans into the porta-filter and begin making his expresso. The pleasant fragrance of coffee fills the air and I like I always do, I inhale it deeply with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" The customer enquires as he places both of his palms flat on the counter and leans forward. His muscular frame is now the only thing I can see as it takes up my entire view.

"I don't think we have, sir." I breathe out with a nervous grin. As if I could forget a face like that if I had ever met it before.

"It's just that you seem so familiar," He wondered aloud while scratching his chin. "I just can't put my finger on it..."

"Maybe I just have one of those ordinary faces?" I offer as an explanation with a shrug of my shoulders.

"No, that's not it. Also, I'm sorry if my comment insinuated that I think you have an ordinary face," He replies, his lips twitching with supressed laughter. "I find your face quite beautiful, in fact."

I feel a blush rising in my cheeks from his statement and I swiftly place a cap on his cup of coffee.

"Here's your small expresso, black. With the biscotti, your total is $3.75," I inform him, giving him his beverage. Our fingertips touch when he takes the cup from me and I can feel a tingle of electricity pass through us from the mere contact

"Thank you so much...Rose" He says as his eyes squints at my name tag and he hands me a 20 dollar bill. "Please keep the change."

"Thanks for the tip," I reply and the cash register rings loudly as I put the twenty in.

"So, Rose... I notice that this shop in closing in 20 minutes. Thus, I was wondering what you were up to afterwards?" He asks after taking a long sip of his coffee.

I'm gonna to throw my fuzzy pajamas on, stuff my face with left over lasagna and brainstorm on ways on how to help my sister, I thought to myself.

"Uh... Not much really, I suppose," I answer as I tuck a stray curl behind an ear. "Just a night in."

"So, how hard would it be for me to convince you to get dinner with me tonight?" He invited with that half smile of his.

"Well, I don't typically go out to dinner with customers." I retort as I tilt my head to one side, taking his handsome physique in. "Especially when I don't know their name."

"Fair enough. How about we remedy that?" He said and then he placed his coffee cup back onto the counter so he could hold out his hand for a handshake. "My name is Dominic Crossfire and I would love to take you out for dinner tonight, if you'll have me."

I stare at his outstretched a hand for a second before I flick my gaze back up his face. His face looks honest and kind... And of course I already know how badly I am attracted to him. Do I actually take a chance and go on a date with this stranger?

"Dinner sounds lovely, Dominic," I answer by placing my hand in his. A shiver runs up my spine from the sensation of his rough palm against mine own.

"Really? Just like that?" He ensures that he heard me correctly.

"Really, just like that." I confirm with easy smile.

What has my impulsiveness gotten me into now?