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Luau Cafe was a modern-themed coffee shop with smiling attendants and lots of leis

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Luau Cafe was a modern-themed coffee shop with smiling attendants and lots of leis. The shop's setting was beautiful; bar chairs were set up right before a counter at one end and another at the other, with an array of tables in the midst of it all. They had large bright lamps hanging from the ceiling and a fairly cool atmosphere.

Yet, the only thing I could focus on was the fact that Parker was holding my hand, and he had a side of him pressed to me. For the briefest of seconds, I shut my eyes and muttered a prayer.

Parker inhaled deeply and sighed, "I like it here."

Feeling as though this was my cue to speak, I replied, "me too."

I did. I really did, but his presence made all my hairs stand on end.

He guided me to a table and gestured for me to sit when I kept looking around, searching for something else to look at apart from him. With a nervous chuckle, I did.

"So, what would you like?"

"Anything, as long as it's coffee," I told him. "And I'm paying for my drink."

Instead of replying, Parker laughed and went to fetch our drinks. Once he was gone, I let out a breath and rubbed my palms together.

You got this. You totally got this because you are a strong woman. You've survived five years without him, so you can go on. It's just a crush. It's going to leave soon.

"One Kona mocha for you and black coffee for me," Parker announced, cutting through my thoughts and setting the cups of coffee on the table. He settled into the opposite seat and dropped a napkin on the table next to his cup.

I looked at him. "Thanks."

My hands wrapped around my coffee mug, my gaze flickering down to the napkin. Someone had scribbled a phone number there. Even though it seemed a bit blurry, I could swear it was a phone number.

He goes to get coffee, and someone has already tried to flirt with him.

Promising myself that this wasn't my business, I removed my gaze from the napkin and lifted my drink to my lips. Immediately the chocolaty liquid reached my tongue, and the caffeine in it went to work, alerting every cell in me. I brought the cup back down and exhaled before running a hand through my hair, ruining Mida's efforts.

"You seem stressed."

My gaze caught Parker's, who had already been watching me, curiosity in his eyes. He held his cup in front of his face in a way that informed me that he'd just taken a big sip of his coffee. The way he was looking at me, those brilliant green eyes peering up from his coffee mug, for some reason, made me uneasy.

I nodded.

"It's just..." I paused to think about what to say. I couldn't exactly tell him that I was affected by him. "Everything's tense. I think it's the wedding."

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