Free Lila's Thunder: The Almeida Brothers, Book One by Trevion Burns

clear her throat to catch his attention.  Jack and Lila both looked to the blonde barista at the same time and only Jack’s smile remained as she handed him the dark roast coffee that she’d taken the liberty of making him.  “Good morning Mr. Almeida, here’s your usual, on the house.” She winked.
    Jack took his coffee and smiled brilliantly at her.   “Thank you, Jessica.”
    “Wow, you run a pretty tight ship around here don’t you?”   Lila asked, forcing herself to shut up when she heard the jealousy lacing her voice.
    Jack could obviously hear it, too, because he was now giving her a look as he handed over his credit card.   “What do you want to drink?”
    “Triple-tall soy hazelnut latte, extra foam, half the sweetener, cocoa powder on top.”
    “Are you serious?” Jack asked, before looking back to Jessica.   “Did you get all that?”
    “I got it.”   Jessica winked, again, dropping his receipt before proceeding to make Lila’s drink.
    “Are you positive?   Because I’m not even sure that was English.”  Jack looked back to Lila.  “You’re something else, Lila James,” he said, softly, leaning down to sign his receipt.
    Lila watched him sign.   “Did I mention that I get homicidal when I don’t have my coffee and that I work in a school full of young children ?  I like my coffee the way I like it.”
    His eyes widened as he completed his signature before sliding it across the marble counter.
    Lila turned the receipt toward her, eying it softly.  “Explain to me how this signature says Jack Almeida in any way, shape or form.  And you’re talking to me about my English skills?  You can’t even spell your own name.”
    “The weirder your signature is , the harder it is to fake.”  Jack said matter of factly.  “There are some instances where it’s actually an advantage that people not be able to recognize your name in your signature.”  He tapped his temple.  “Think about it, baby.”
    “So I guess they did teach you a thing or two at Harvard.  Worth every penny, that degree of yours.” She thought for a moment, and added, “don’t call me baby.”
    He looked into her eyes and smiled.
    Lila’s knees took on that all too familiar Jell-O texture and she had to place her hand on the counter to steady herself.
    “Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked.
    “I’m a nice guy.”
    She laughed out loud, again, throwing her head back as the cackles overtook her.
    “Okay, ”  Jack said, dryly, staring off into space and snapping back to reality to take Lila’s drink from Jessica.  “Why do you always have to bust my balls?” he asked, following Lila out of the Starbucks and into the parking lot.
    “I’m sorry, I’d hate to have to embarrass you in front of Jessica ,” she said the poor girl’s name with distain.
    It was Jack’s turn to laugh.
    “You just piss me off,” she said, leaning against the side of his truck and crossing her arms.  “And I have no idea why.”  Her eyes traveled across the lot and caught sight of a blue pick-up truck with the window rolled down.  The man sitting behind the wheel was leaning out of the open window, watching she and Jack intently.  At first Lila gave the man in sunglasses just a passing glance, but when she saw he was staring at them, her eyes immediately snapped back.
    The man behind the wheel jolted at Lila’s sudden and, clearly unexpected, attention.  He immediately started the truck and raced off.  Lila watched him go, confusion covering her face. 
    Jack leaned next to her, unaware of what had just transpired, and held out her coffee.  Lila took it, absently, still watching the blue truck as it disappeared down the street.  Weird, she thought.  With a shake of her head she brought the coffee to her lips and wrapped them around the plastic opening, sucking softly as her long eyelashes tickled her cheeks.  She kept her eyes closed for a long while, savoring it, and Jack drank her in,