Liesl entered the coffee shop and made her way to the counter. “I’ll have a large mocha, full fat, an extra shot of espresso and extra whipped topping please.”
A warm voice echoed the heat of the body of the man leaning over to whisper in her ear, “you like creamy things. Good to know.”
She giggled at the flirty voice and turned her head a fraction to meet the dark eyes she’d been fixating on for the last several days. “Isaias, nice to see you in the flesh again.” She eagerly ogled said flesh from head to toe.
“I can arrange for you to see my flesh in full,” he teased boldly. “Bring the whipped cream. Not the hot coffee though. It could burn me. I’m not into pain.”
She laughed as he winked and ordered a large black coffee and then paid for both of their drinks. Leaning against the counter as she waited for her coffee, she stared at him. She had seen him enter the restaurant the week before and had noted his height but standing this close to him, he was indeed a tall man. He was also very well put together. His suit was tailored to his frame and knowing Merlin’s penchant for expensive suits, she knew the one he was wearing put all the ones in Merl’s closet to shame. This man was on an entirely different plane altogether. Poised and polished, this was the version of a man Merlin was striving to achieve and he’d missed the mark altogether. She wondered how he would feel to know for the last several days he had been her muse.
“You are ogling me, Liesl.” He called her out with a smirk. “Don’t stop though. I like it.”
She gave him a bold once over and sighed wistfully, “I’m an artist, Isaias. I appreciate the finer things in life and you sir, are fine.”
He threw his head back and laughed loudly at her comment, drawing stares from other patrons of the coffee shop. “Liesl, you are too much, and I love it. Come, lets go sit and have a chat, you sweet, wonderful flirt.”
He extended his hand and she put hers into it and discretely put a thumb drive between their palms. He raised an eyebrow at her actions but didn’t release his hand until they sat down.
“How old are you?” she asked him as they took their seats, and she palmed her coffee cup. The warmth of it had nothing on the way he was studying her. She knew she had her hair in a messy bun and her clothes were appropriate for nothing more than dabbling in her paints yet, he was staring at her as if she were naked and he was enjoying the view. For the first time since she’d met Merlin McGrath, she had a strong desire for another man, and it was titillating.
“Thirty-nine,” he answered.
“I’m twenty-eight.” She smiled as she looked happily at her coffee. She swiped her tongue out and licked the topping off.
“I know.” He grinned as he leaned back in the chair opposite her and stretched his legs out under the table, catching her feet between his calves. “I checked.”
“Do you have kids?” she asked.
“No.” He made a face, “I haven’t met anyone I wanted to have a family with. I’ve had relationships which have run their courses but never felt the urge to procreate. I do like to practice though.” He stared hard at her and smirked when she wriggled in her seat.
She tried not to imagine how he practiced and gave up deciding she liked the imagery in her head. “I don’t have kids either. I wanted a big family. At least three or four kids. My ex said no kids until he made CEO. He agreed if it didn’t happen by the time, he was thirty-five, we could start.” She shrugged, “I’m incredibly grateful now we waited.”
“Perfect family? How many boys and girls do you want?” He diverted her from the topic of Merlin.
“I’d like two boys and two girls but really, it doesn’t matter to me. I will be a mom. I need to find the right guy first.”
“Why be with a man who forces you to put your dreams on hold for his?” Isaias asked bluntly.
“I loved him.”
“Why?” he sneered, “he’s got a rat face and he’s got the personality of a rock.”
“People fall in love for all kinds of reasons, Isaias.”
“How did you meet him? Did he save your life? Did you save his? Gratitude? It had to be pity for you to sleep with him.” He teased her as he sipped his coffee.
“Elsie, Janka and I,” she paused with the retelling, “they’re my best friends, went to dinner to celebrate Elsie getting into law school. We were twenty. She’s gifted and had her BA complete and had gotten accepted. We celebrated by going to this fancy-assed restaurant we couldn’t really afford. We didn’t know the soup spoon from the salad fork.” She laughed at the memory. “Merlin was at the next table, and he gave me instruction and by the end of the night, I had given him my phone number. He was a perfect gentleman and nothing like the guys in college. I hung out with artists and musicians, and he was refined and polished. He took me to gallery openings which were far fancier than anything I had ever seen and would tell me things such as how it would be me someday with my art on the fancy gallery walls. Eventually, I was putting my goals on hold. Once he made his dreams come true, we could focus on mine. He had an image to present, and he would buy my clothes and taught me manners far better than my mom ever did. He used to say we helped each other be the best versions of each other. The truth was, he was molding me into his perfect wife, and I was nothing more than arm candy. But” she admitted quietly, “I loved him. I would have done anything for him because that’s who I am as a person. When I love, I’m all in. I don’t only love the best parts of someone, I love all of them, the good, the bad, the ugly.”
“You’re very passionate,” he said, his dark eyes boring into hers. “It’s not a bad trait but it can be dangerous because it can make you blind.”
“My dad.” She nodded. “I am very much like my dad. He died when I was young. He jumped into life with both feet. The family always said you knew you were loved by him from a glance. He could make you feel special with a carefully worded comment. I always wanted to be as loving as he was.” She felt her lips curl, “but if you pissed him off and crossed him, you did not want to suffer the consequences. He was an all-or-nothing man. If you crossed him, you were done. I also inherited this trait from him. I will not tolerate being made a fool. His family too is very much like this.”
“They must be thrilled with your sister then.”
“They’ve all shunned her. She and Merlin got married on Saturday. My mom was the only family member in attendance. Not one of my many aunts, uncles or cousins showed up. She blamed me but they know how my dad would have reacted.”
“Your mom went?”
“My mom feels bad for her because she’s all alone now, but she knew what she was doing. She cheated on her husband on her wedding day with my husband and got pregnant.”
“No! You didn’t tell me it was at her wedding!”
“It was,” she shook her head. “Morals of an alley cat.” She looked to his pocket meaningfully, “anyway, like my dad, I burn bridges. I’m done with him, but I want him to pay. He wants to make CEO by thirty-five. I hope you find a way to make it so he can’t make it to manager of a fast-food joint by sixty.”
He laughed, “Liesl, you and I are remarkably similar. I too am a highly passionate person. I love with ferocity. My family means everything to me. I would do anything for them. Cross me though, and I’ll rip your heart out and feed it to you while keeping you alive just for the fuck of it.”
“Yikes,” she made wide eyes at him. “I promise not to get on your bad side, Isaias. I only want to be friends not foes.”
“Oh, Liesl, I feel we will become much more than friends.”
She blushed as he maintained eye contact and smiled wolfishly at her. Her heart skipped a beat as she considered she too, wanted much, much more. Their subject turned to other mundane topics, but her mind was stuck on his comment and all the different possibilities. It was the best coffee date she’d ever had.
