Free Exception by Patty Maximini Page A

they came to a stop in front of her Prius. “They fight about pretty much anything. You saw Gabe last night. He has no regard for other people; he simply does what he wants. Penelope hates that, and in all of her bossiness she tries to fix him, which is stupid and hellish for whoever is around.”
    Emily leaned on the front of her car and smiled widely. “Was Penelope very angry about him bringing Sonia over?”
    “Very angry doesn’t even cover it.” Taylor was chuckling as he settled himself next to her. “Let’s just say that there were screams coming from both bedrooms, and the poor woman left without breakfast this morning.”
    She laughed at the mental picture as she untied her hair and combed it with her fingers, working through the knots. Satisfied, she tied it back again in a messy bun. “Has he always been like that?”
    “Like what? Horny and inconsiderate?” he teased with a smirk, making her laugh again. “Yeah, ever since we were kids. It used to drive Mom crazy—actually, he drove all of us crazy.”
    “I really miss that,” Emily’s statement was more to herself, than to him. With the corner of her eye she saw his curious look and her lips parted into a smile. “Fighting with my sister. She has an uncanny ability to drive me crazy and I love it.”
    “You two aren’t close?” Taylor’s voice was a mixture of concern and curiosity.
    She answered with a small nod. “Yes, we’re very close, but she lives with her husband in California and fighting over the phone isn’t half as much fun.”
    “I see.” Taylor nodded and took a deep breath, before continuing, “I was thinking about getting some coffee. Why don’t you join me and tell me more about your sister?”
    “Sure.” Her reply and how quickly and easily it came out of her lips surprised the daylights out of her. Despite this, her already existing grin grew bigger. If Emily were to be honest with herself, something she wasn’t inclined to be, she’d have to admit that she was working up the courage to invite him to join her for coffee herself. She was glad he made the first move and they agreed he would follow her in his car to the Starbucks she always went to. He walked to her driver’s side and opened the door for her to get in.
    The drive to the coffee shop took less than ten minutes. They parked their cars side by side, and once again Taylor was there to open her door and help her out.
    They walked together into the shop, talking pleasantries. As they waited in line, the barista waved at Emily, who responded in kind.
    “I take it you come here a lot?” Taylor asked, mildly amused.
    Emily giggled and nodded as the woman in front of them paid for her order and moved out of the line. “You could say that. Hi, Josh,” she greeted the young Asian man behind the counter.
    “Hey, Emily. How’s your Saturday?” He spoke so fast his words nearly jumbled together.
    “So far it’s been great, how about yours?”
    “It’s been all right, but it’s definitely better now.” The young barista, who was clearly an undergrad student, did a poor job of hiding his obvious infatuation with Emily. Though she seemed to be completely unaware of it, Taylor was not. His amusement turned to annoyance quickly, and his eyes rolled all the way to the back of his head with irritation before returning to the barista dirty look. Josh cleared his throat before continuing. “Your usual?” he asked Emily.
    “Yes please, Josh. And I think I’ll have an oatmeal cookie, too.”
    Josh picked a venti cup from the stack by the register and marked it with her order. As she moved to retrieve her card from the tiny pocket, Taylor shook his head. “It’s on me.”
    Emily looked at him with questioning eyes and he shook his head again. “Don’t even start. I freeloaded yesterday, now it’s your turn,” he said good-naturedly, then turned back to Josh with a smug smile on his lips. “A venti Americano and a piece of banana nut loaf, please. The