Page 12 of A Heart of Little Faith
“So what?” Anne lowered her voice, but not by much. With her strong New York accent, everything she said sounded loud. Except for when she modulated her speech at a business presentation. But here in Starbucks, with the sudden opportunity to see Lily’s man, all hope of vocal refinement evaporated.
“He’s the last person I want to see.” Lily paused to let another customer go in front of her.
“Well, I for one want to see what your mystery man is like.” And with that, Anne strode up next to him at the counter and ordered a Double Grande Half-Caf Latte.
Lily searched for a place to hide. Other than retreating to the bathroom like a chicken, there was no place to go. She tried to gauge the timing and hoped he’d be gone when it was her turn to order. Of course, how she would escape his notice was anybody’s guess. A barista placed Anne’s order, while another one placed Gideon’s—Espresso. “Right, likeheneeds any more caffeine,” she muttered. Unfortunately, her mutter carried to Gideon’s ears and he turned around.
“What was that?”
His voice was gravelly and the sound of it did weird things to her stomach. The guy knew how to show off his physique. A shock of hair fell over his forehead and he brushed at it impatiently, one eyebrow raised as if daring her to be rude again. Cut a little longer than what Lily was used to, it curled slightly over the collar of his brown leather jacket. An olive green polo-style shirt emphasized well-developed pecs and brought out the color of his eyes behind his glasses. Legs encased in khaki pants and feet in brown loafers rested on the foot pedals of his chair. Meanwhile, Anne sized him up like she would a prime piece of meat.
Lily’s face heated as she ordered her coffee. “I’m sorry, it was just a joke.” She attempted to deflect any other comments as she faced Anne.When in doubt, resort to manners.“Anne, this is Gideon, my best friend’s brother. Gideon, this is my boss and friend, Anne.”
She reached for her coffee and gazed at the door, hoping to escape. Although Gideon hadn’t responded to her comment yet—he was busy shaking Anne’s hand—she figured her window of opportunity to escape before he commented, or she exploded, was slim. Unfortunately, Anne had other plans.
“Why don’t we all sit and chat,” she suggested, her voice higher pitched and her eyes shining brighter than usual.
Great.“Oh, I don’t know if there’s time—” Lily began to answer, tapping her foot, but Anne interrupted.
“Of course there is. It’s early still.” She ignored Lily and plowed ahead of them to grab a table.
Seizing the opportunity, Gideon focused on Lily. “I’m glad I ran into you here. I wanted to apologize for my behavior Sunday.” His words came fast, as if he couldn’t wait to get them out. “I meant to call you, but things have been hectic and I was waiting for the right moment so I wouldn’t be rushed. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was angry with my sister and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”
He was good at apologies. Chastised expression, sincere tone of voice, direct eye contact; the guy had it all. And somehow, no matter how angry she was, it evaporated when he said he was sorry. “Thank you. Let’s forget about it.” And she meant it. She moved closer.
“Come on, guys, here’s a table,” Anne called, startling Lily. As they continued toward her, Lily stopped short again, forcing Gideon to swerve to avoid running into her.
“Uh, Anne?” Anne didn’t respond. She was too busy putting her stuff down.
Gideon wheeled over to another table, and Lily followed. Anne flushed—she’d chosen a table on the upper level of the store, without a ramp for Gideon.
“Oh what a goof. I’m sorry,” she bellowed. Lily cringed at the looks people threw their way, but Gideon appeared not to notice as he quietly moved a chair away and made space for the women.
“Lily, sit and drink your coffee before it gets cold,” he commanded. She could swear his eyes twinkled with merriment at her discomfort, lightening his expression, but maybe it was the light reflecting off his glasses.
The three of them sat and immediately Anne monopolized the conversation.
“So, Gideon, what do you do?”
“I’m a marketing executive for a pharmaceutical company.” He pushed his glassed onto the bridge of his nose.
“Have you been doing it long?”
“About ten years.”
Anne paused for a drink of her coffee. “Where are you from?”
“Outside of Chicago, originally.”
As the barrage of questions continued, Lily winced. She loved Anne, but knew how focused she could be when she set her mind to something. And right now, she set her mind on Gideon.
“Have you always been in a wheelchair?”
Lily choked on her coffee, and Gideon reached over to pat her on the back. His actions made her more embarrassed, and she ducked as she dried the spilled coffee. Until his pats changed to a brief caress. When the warmth of his touch permeated through her shirt, she didn’t know whether to kiss Anne for putting her in this position, or slither to the floor and die for having such a reaction to a man’s hand on hers. She stiffened, and he pulled away, making her miss the contact.Ugh. “Anne!” Lily interrupted, when she could catch her breath.
“It’s okay, Lily,” Gideon said. “I was waiting for her to get to the crux of it.” He turned to Anne and answered her question, while Lily contemplated sinking to the floor.
“No, I was in a car accident three years ago. I have an incomplete spinal injury that just affects my legs.” He winked at her. “I’d be happy to go into more details if you’d like, but I don’t think the middle of Starbucks is the place.” Lily didn’t know what to say. He didn’t ever act as if he wanted sympathy, but he must have gone through a difficult time. Her throat ached with all the things she couldn’t say, especially in front of Anne.