Her slender fingers punched in the rest of the transaction and tipped the iPad toward him to pay. “I’ll just get this started for you.”
Jace pulled out his wallet and swiped his card before he forgot how to use it. Tara seemed to float across the floor, graceful and unhurried, almost like a dance. How did she do that?
“Here you go.”
He took the steaming mug she offered. “You aren’t from around here.”
She tipped her head in question.
“I’d remember if I’d seen you before,” Jace clarified.
“You haven’t been in for coffee in a year and a half? I know all the regulars.”
“Grad school at Mississippi State,” he explained. “I’ve been having my caffeine directly by IV drip.”
Her lips curved a little, and Jace found himself wanting to see her full smile. He’d bet it was stunning.
“Home for the holidays, then,” she concluded, friendly but not exactly a green light to his flirtation.
“I am indeed. A full month until I have to go back. I’ll be one of those regulars before you know it.” Jace grinned, hoping she’d respond in kind.
But Tara wasn’t quite paying attention. Her head angled slightly, her eyes unfocused and heartbreakingly sad.
The sight of it struck a deep, painful chord in him, reminding him of another pair of somber eyes. He wanted to reach out and stroke her cheek. Don’t be sad. The music on the sound system had shifted to The Nutcracker. Not exactly a melancholy tune.
Before he could work that out, she shook herself, plastering on a smile that was stiff around the edges. “You have a merry Christmas.”
It was a polite brush off with an underlying message of hands off.
“You, too,” Jace murmured, lifting the coffee in a toast and heading back to his friends.
“Need a fire extinguisher?” Eli asked.
“Huh?”
“Because you just crashed and burned, brother.”
Jace glanced back at Tara, who was helping another customer. “What’s her story? Is she seeing somebody?” Which was only half what he wanted to know. He wanted—needed—to know what had put that look in her eyes.
“Oh no, the Snow Queen shoots down all comers,” Eli said. “Many have tried. No one has succeeded.”
“Snow Queen? Isn’t that kinda harsh?” Jace felt offended on Tara’s behalf.
“She’s never rude, just kind of holds herself apart. More important things to worry about than dating.”
“You’re taken,” Jace reminded him. “By my cousin.”
“I’m off the market. I’m not blind,” Eli protested.
Zach picked up the thread. “She’s been here a bit over a year, I think. Not sure where she came from, but she’s got guardianship of her two half-siblings.”
“She’s young for that isn’t she?” Jace didn’t think she was more than twenty-two.
“Got them at nineteen.”
“Holy crap. Why?”
Zach sipped at his coffee. “Mom left for parts unknown a few years back. And their dad is in jail on burglary charges. Tara’s the only other family they’ve got.”