First things first, I needed to eat. My face felt warm and my head was starting to throb, an indication I needed food…quickly. I had been unable to eat much the previous night due to the anxiety building up from the interview, and my body was giving me a warning sign. Recalling a coffee shop I had been to in the area, I decided to head in that direction, since I didn’t have to be back to work until after lunch. A warm muffin and coffee would surely hit the spot.

Pacing down the sidewalk, I inhaled a deep, cool breath. Many pedestrians were walking on both sides of me, but I didn’t pay attention to them. I was too busy focusing on the location of the coffee shop and the soothing warm sun I wanted to be under for a while longer. As I neared the delicious smell, I peered through the shop windows as I walked by. Then finally, I spotted what I was looking for two buildings down…Café Express.

Entering the double glass door, I quickly noted it was filled with customers, but many of them were leaving; I must have just missed the morning rush. Since the line was short, it put a smile on my face as I stood behind a man. Peering up, I looked at the breakfast menu, and everything sounded delicious. Decisions, decisions…what do I order? I thought to myself as I laced my hair back with my fingers.

The guy in front of me was taking so long that I decided to gaze around the room, looking at the small unique fixtures on the wall. Small paintings and cute little mugs of different sizes and designs added a nice touch to the ambiance.

I was just about done looking at every fixture when I suddenly froze. Heat zapped through my whole body. Sitting under a fixture of a butterfly mug, I saw him. I hadn’t thought about him for days, and there he was, all dressed up in his work attire of a suit and tie. His eyes were beaming as they pierced through me, but he looked surprised, and radiated an irresistible smile. Surely he wasn’t smiling at me, so I glanced behind me; there was no one there, except for the painting I was admiring earlier.

Without thinking I turned back to him. He lifted his cup of coffee at me with a flirty twitch of his eyebrows. I gasped inwardly and took a step to my right, knowing that the man had finished paying, and I suddenly felt something scorching hot and wet, brushing against my hand. My eyes followed my workbag as it fell straight to the floor and landed on top of a pool of brown liquid.

“Watch it, lady!” the man snapped, cursing beneath his breath, brushing off the soon-to-be stain on his light gray suit.

“Oh…I’m so sorry,” I apologized sincerely. Without a care for my bag or the rude man, I brushed the wetness that burned my skin. Frowning, I brushed it harder as if I could make the pain go away.

Then I heard a male voice I didn’t recognize. It was deep and soothing, and beckoned me to awaken.

“Excuse me, but I think you owe this beautiful lady an apology.” His tone was strong and demanding.

I peered up to see him standing in front of me, blocking half of my view, as if to protect me with his body. Silence filled the air in the coffee shop; most likely, everyone felt the same tension I felt as we waited for the guy to apologize. If he didn’t, what would he do? Thank goodness there was no one else behind me in line.

“I’m sorry,” the guy said quickly, though not sincerely, and walked out the door.

He turned to me. “Are you okay?”

“I…I’m okay. Thank you, but it really was my fault. I wasn’t looking,” I said softly. I really wanted to tell him that it was his fault for distracting me, but I didn’t.

Surprisingly, he grabbed my hand and examined it. His hands on mine felt light as a feather, but his warmth penetrated through my skin, making me hot all over.

“Ice,” he said to the cashier, still holding my hand. At his command, one of the cashiers blinked and went to the back room. “It’s not bad, but you should put ice on it just in case.”

Feeling myself crumble from his touch, I slowly pulled my hand away and peered up at his beautiful soft brown eyes. I swallowed a nervous lump down my throat. “Umm…thank you, but I’m really fine.”

The cashier came back with a bag of ice and placed it in front of him. “Thank you,” he said, and without asking for my hand, he snatched it and placed the bag of ice on top of it. Smack in the middle of the shop, there we stood, attracting attention. By now, most of the customers were minding their own business, but I could still see a few looking at us curiously.

Not knowing what else to do, I accepted his help by placing my other hand on top of the ice bag, so he could release my hand. “Thank you. You’ve been too kind.”

He took several napkins and started to wipe the liquid that had clung to the bottom of my workbag, and some that had splashed on the sides. Has he been holding it all this time? He was so sweet, yet I didn’t even know him.

“Oh…thank you, but I can do it.”

When I leaned toward him to retrieve my bag, my heels slipped on the wet floor that hadn’t been cleaned yet. Before I could make a fool out of myself, he caught me with his arms. In his hold, I didn’t want to be let go. Seeing his eyes at my eye level, I knew he had bent down somewhat to catch me. As I stared into his eyes, time stood still. The coffee grinder, the cash register, the voices from the conversations people were holding in their small groups, were all muted. I heard nothing but the sound of him breathing, and I felt nothing but his hot breath on my face and my own heart beating erratically.

Then…unwanted…I saw nothing but Luke’s face. With a great amount of effort, I released myself from his hold, recaptured my bag, thanked him once more, and strode out of the shop as fast as I could, without looking back. Hunger was no longer on my mind or my stomach. All that echoed inside my head was that he called me beautiful, and his kindness had fed my heart and my stomach.