Читать книгу Celia's Shadow - Sandy Levy Kirschenbaum - Страница 6

Pete’s Market was next to the bell-ringing church at the bottom of the hill at the end of her street. The store was famous for its freshly brewed coffee and homemade muffins. For Celia, Pete’s was the only place to shop. It didn’t matter their prices were higher than other markets. She didn’t need a big superstore for her staples of lottery tickets, eggs, cheese, chicken, potatoes, onions, garlic, bananas, ice cream, and cigarettes.

Celia was surprised when she found several Sunday papers still stacked by the cash register. She took a paper and walked to the back of the small store. She ordered a large coffee with cream and three packets of sugar. With the paper tucked under her arm, she took a quick gulp of the coffee. The paper was too large to be handled this way; it slid down to her hip. As she reached to stop it from falling further, she bumped into someone standing to her right. In front of her stood a well-built handsome man with deep, dark eyes. She glanced down and saw a massive brown coffee stain on the front of her sweat shirt. She felt the heat from the coffee seep through her shirt and the hot blush of embarrassment on her face. She had never seen this man at Pete’s before; she would have remembered if she had.

“You okay?” He reached around to the counter, grasped a cluster of napkins, and then handed them to her.

“Yes, I’m so sorry. Did I spill any on you?” The flush intensified on her face.

“I’m all set. I think you got the worst of it.”

“Thank you.” She turned and walked toward the cash register. She left the store as fast as humanly possible.