Meant to Be (Sweetbriar Cove #1)(12)

"Refill?"

She looked up. The server was clearing a table nearby and nodded to her empty mug. Poppy snapped back to reality. "Thanks, but I shouldn't," she said reluctantly. "Any more caffeine and I'll never sleep tonight."

The server moved off, but the woman at the next table caught Poppy's eye with a smile. "Lucky you. I'm immune now, it takes me at least four espressos to get a decent hit."

Poppy smiled. The woman was about her age, with curly blonde hair, wearing a funky print skirt and boots that laced up to her knees. "Not so lucky," Poppy said. "All it takes is a slip-up from the barista, and I'm cleaning the kitchen at three a.m."

"I'm Mackenzie," the woman said, friendly. "You're June's niece, right?"

"How did you-?" Poppy stopped herself again. Of course, small-town news travelled fast. "Did she put out a news bulletin before she left?"

"Not quite," Mackenzie smiled. "But actually, I heard about it from Riley at the pub. He said you and Cooper went a couple of rounds last night."

"And this morning." Poppy sighed, then caught Mackenzie's eyebrows shooting up. "Not like that!" she yelped, blushing. "He's working on the house next door, and it's like he's trying to get in my way."

"Cooper can be . . . stubborn," Mackenzie said. "But he's a good guy, really."

Poppy's doubts must have shown, because the other woman laughed. "Really!" Mackenzie insisted. "When my roof was leaking last year, he came out and fixed it for me, in the middle of a snowstorm. He likes to act tough, but really, he's a sweetheart."



       
         
       
        

"We'll see about that," Poppy said, but she wasn't convinced.

"So how long are you in town?" Mackenzie asked.

"I'm not sure yet. A few weeks, maybe?"

Or longer, if she didn't get her book written and needed someplace to hide from her editor's wrath.

"Great," Mackenzie beamed. "This place is always so quiet before tourist season starts up. We could use the fresh blood."

"You make it sound like you're secretly vampires," Poppy joked.

"Who needs blood when you've got caffeine?" Mackenzie cracked back. She nodded to Poppy's laptop. "Are you working on the final book? Sorry," she said, looking embarrassed. "I didn't want to be a total fangirl, but I love your series. I started reading them when I got food poisoning last year, and they made it almost bearable to be vomiting on the bathroom floor."

"That's high praise," Poppy laughed. "Thank you."

"So, can you tell me what happens?" Mackenzie asked, her eyes wide. "No, wait, don't. I want the surprise. Or maybe just a hint?"

"I'm afraid not," Poppy lied. "My editor would kill me if I let anything slip."

Not that she had anything yet to reveal.

Mackenzie sighed. "I totally understand. I'm just impatient. I'm always reading spoilers online about my favorite shows, and then I get disappointed that it's not a surprise."

"I promise, this book will stay a surprise," Poppy swore. To the both of them, at this rate.

"You know, if you have the time, you should come by our book club," Mackenzie suggested, brightening. "We get together every month at the bookstore. It's basically just an excuse to sit around, drink wine, and gossip, but I know the others would be thrilled to have an actual author come chat. Marcie Bringham self-published a children's picture book about her cat," she added. "But it's not exactly the same thing."

"Maybe . . ." Poppy hesitated. She loved meeting book groups and readers, but wasn't sure what she'd have to say right now, when she was deep in a creative crisis.

"No pressure," Mackenzie reassured her. "Think about it. If anything, you should come for the food. We put on a mean dessert potluck."

"Well in that case . . . let me know when the next one is, I'll see if I'm still in town."

"Perfect." Mackenzie beamed. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I won't interrupt your work anymore." She got to her feet and wrapped a long patterned scarf around her neck.

"You too, see you around." Poppy watched her leave, glad to have made a new friend. Aunt June was always saying how friendly everyone was in Sweetbriar, and she was right. All the people Poppy had met so far had welcomed her with open arms. 

Except Cooper, of course.

She flushed, remembering their run-in that morning. All the cold water in the world wasn't enough to cool her down after how infuriating Cooper had been.