Project Love (Cascade Brides Series) (6 page)

Daniel straightened. “Um, wait. Would..you like to go
out to lunch? I know of a great deli not far from here.”

Charity studied the tops of her shoes before giving an
answer. She could admit she'd like to get to know Daniel better, but
there were caveats. One, she doubted he did anything halfway. From
what she'd seen so far, he just wasn't the casual, thoughtless type.
So if he was intent on bringing her to church, or even dating her, he
was all in—as in he would probably consider such behavior more
courtship than dating.
And I'm not sure I'm ready for anything
serious
. He seemed very sweet and she didn't want to hurt his
feelings. So if she was out, she needed to handle this quickly. She
looked up at him.

Daniel regarded her with a mute look of appeal that went
straight to her heart. Had he been memorizing the puppy dog
expressions from the animal clinic poster?

Maybe I should lighten up. It's lunch, not a marriage
proposal. Any twenty-seven-year-old man wouldn't crumble if a girl
changed her mind down the line
. And maybe she could leverage his
offer to her favor. “I'll tell you what, Daniel. I'll go to lunch
with you if you smile at me the way you do to everyone else.”

His face reddened at her words. “Charity...” A look
of chagrin crossed his features. “It's just that I knew about
your...goal—”

“
What goal?”

“
The one at the coffee shop about getting me to
smile.”

Now it was her turn to blush. “Yeah, well, everyone
smiles at me and you were the lone holdout.”

He cleared his throat. “I know this is...silly, but I
had this notion that if I returned your smile, you would lose
interest in me.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“
I was worried I'd be just another customer.”

Charity mashed her lips together. It was silly. Stupid
even. But...but if she was brutally honest, she could see he had a
point. A
teeny tiny
one. His lack of smiles
had
held
her interest, had made him a challenge. But would she really have
dismissed him if on that first day, he had smiled back?

A lot of people came in the shop. She knew their first
names and usual drink orders, but wasn't really keen on them beyond
that. Would she have treated Daniel the same way? Sure, he was
attractive, but so were many of her male customers—customers she
hadn't given a thought to beyond recalling their drink orders from a
previous visit. Ugh.

Daniel stepped away from his car and took one of her
hands in his. His gentle smile, bracketed by the slightest of
dimples, felt like a kick in the guts. Seeing it from the side was
one thing—having the direct impact, quite another.

“
Charity, would you have lunch with me?”

That smile should be illegal. In, like, every
country
. “Um.”

His smile deepened as his thumb brushed her knuckles.
Before she knew it, she was sitting in his car. Which meant her
answer must've been
yes
.

***

By the time Charity walked in her door, she still wasn't
quite sure what had happened. The time spent over turkey sandwiches
and pickles had passed by in a daze. She couldn't be certain she'd
even eaten anything.
I was too stunned seeing Daniel relaxed and
even laughing—laughing that involved definite smile muscles
.
She blinked.
I hope he doesn't go into politics, because it just
wouldn't be fair.

I'd so vote for him
.

After lunch, he'd almost gone back to normal. His lips
had eased their upward arch and she'd come back to earth. A little.

Charity remembered him glancing at his wristwatch and
saying, a little abruptly, that he had an appointment. He'd also
insisted on taking her home. Which was probably a good thing.
I
could've ended up lost, walking in circles by that point
.

And even as he offered a parting smile before pulling
away from the curb, she'd noticed the action didn't reach his eyes.
Wonder if he was called into work or something
. But he never
checked his phone.

Giving herself a small shake, Charity headed to her room
and flopped onto the bed, too exhausted by the events of the day to
wonder what else she could do for her community.

***

Daniel concluded his appointment, fighting the sting of
tears behind his eyes, all remnants of any smiles long gone.

Chapter Five

Monday morning found Charity anxious. A part of her knew
why but at the same time, she didn't want to admit it. Luckily, they
were busy. The cooling trend was hanging around, which drove more
customers into the shop looking for hot drinks. She didn't mind a bit
especially because the iced coffees people favored when it was warm
took forever to make.

Jessie was dumping grounds during a lull after the first
rush. “Do anything fun over the weekend?”

Charity looked over and saw the question was directed at
her. “Fun?”

“
You know, like saving baby animals or something like
that.”

She rolled her eyes.

“
I went to a party Saturday night,” Amy said,
tossing her golden hair over one shoulder. “It was awesome.”

“
So what did you do, Jessie?” Charity asked,
wondering what kind of hair product Amy used to get her hair that
shiny.

“
Oh, you, know, just family stuff. You wouldn't be
interested.”

“
Droll, J. Very droll.”

“
No, really. I took my nephew to see that new Pixar
movie. It was cute.”

“
You told me it made you get all misty,” Amy said,
snickering.

“
You're fired,” he said, sounding like Donald Trump.
“Rule number one, never repeat your assistant manager's secrets.”

“
Sorry!” Amy said, starting to giggle. “I swear
I'll never do that again.”

Charity would've added something to the conversation but
Daniel was suddenly walking in the door. Her hand automatically
smoothed the front of her apron even though she wasn't entirely sure
how she felt about him.

When he reached the counter, he smiled. “Good morning,
Charity.”

“
Daniel,” she returned. To her horror, she sounded
all whispery. Her face heated knowing Jessie and Amy could see
everything. She cleared her throat. “The same?”

He nodded.

When she turned to complete his order, she caught
Jessie's arched brow. Ignoring him, she filled a large cup with black
coffee and returned to the counter.

Daniel gave her a five, telling her to keep the change.
She nodded as he took the coffee and went to his usual table.

“
Hmm, I sense a shift in the wind,” Jessie said
quietly, suddenly appearing at her elbow. “You finally got a
smile...without even trying.”

Charity gave a quick shake to her head. “Shh,” she
said before heading into the storeroom for...
something
.

Jessie was on her heels. He put a hand on the wall,
blocking her way. “Spill, girl.”

She lifted her chin. “I don't know what you mean.”

He tapped his fingers on the wall. “Aren't you glad
you've met your goal? Instead you seem awfully quiet to me.”

Amy peeked through the doors. “Omigoodness, that man
is yummy. He has the
best
smile.”

Jessie dropped his arm and motioned for Amy to go back
to the counter. “What was it you did again this weekend?” he
asked after Amy left the room. “It wouldn't happen to be anything
with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Suddenly Smiley, would it?”

A reluctant grin broke through her reserve at his apt
description. “Jessie, go reread the corporate manual on harassing
employees about their weekends.”

He laughed. “So, that's a big fat yes.”

Charity pushed past him, shaking her head.
And I
thought people at church were nosy
. When she returned to the
counter, she caught Daniel's eye. Her face grew hot so she began
organizing the stock beneath the counter. When she finally was brave
enough to peek over the top some time later, Daniel was gone.

She got to her feet and began wiping down the counter
while Amy waited on a customer. Jessie emerged from the back room.

He glanced over at the empty table where Daniel had been
and sent her a quizzical look. “You didn't chase him away, did
you?”

“
Very funny,” she said without looking up.

“
He's a regular...who works in an office where people
order in coffee. He's a keeper. Don't mess that up.”

A keeper
.

But despite the strange pounding of her heart, Charity
wasn't so sure.

***

Daniel stared at his boss in baffled annoyance. “I
don't understand. I'm an
engineer
. Not a PR guy. They're like
exact opposites of the other.”

Nate Haversham, the CFO of Applied Innovations, put his
hands at his waist and gazed out the large plate glass windows to the
city streets below. “I'm well aware of that. We hired you based on
your degree and skills, but with this new contract with Metro, we
need to be nimble in a political climate.”

“
Why can't you hire a public relations firm who knows
what they're doing? I'll only botch it.”

Nate turned and faced him. “I don't think so. We feel
it's important that we have an actual employee—an
engineer—interfacing with the public and press for the duration of
this project. It will lend a credence unattainable by some smooth PR
guy.”

“
I'm happy you're implying that I'm not smooth,
because that's exactly my problem.”

“
And yet I have great confidence in you.” Nate
approached the conference room table where Daniel sat in one of the
chairs. “You have a bright future with this company and we'll
remember your above and beyond service, have no fear.”

And there's the leverage
. “Mr. Haversham, what
I fear is failing to represent this company in the way it deserves.”

“
Bottom line, Tabor, you have an honest face, and
that's what we need most at the moment. This isn't our first project
with Metro and we don't want it to be our last. But contracting with
the city also means getting in the dirt with all the represented
agendas of the political realm. No matter how open and honest we play
the game, there are those who will use every action to polarize and
further their own goals. We just need you to smile and give friendly,
vague answers to the press while we hammer out the details on the
side.”

Smile. As if that was ever enough
.
Even for
Charity
.

Daniel stood, fighting down a feeling of dismay. “Of
course I'll do whatever the firm needs.”

Mr. Haversham shook his hand. “I never doubted it.”

As Daniel returned to his cubbyhole office, he sank onto
the chair and stared at his blank computer screen.
Lord, I'm going
to need You with me on this. I have a feeling it's going to be a lot
harder than some people think
.

***

Charity wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not when
Jill poked her head in the door.

She greeted them from the door. “Hey, all, how's it
goin'?”

“
Good,” Jessie said. “I hope you ain't here trying
to sneak up any non-approved posterage on my shop windows.”

She grinned at the mock anger in his tone. “Charity
approved that last poster, honest.”

“
Uh huh. Last time I looked she wasn't the assistant
manager.”

“
Oh, brother,” Charity said.

Jill put up her hands. “Today I'm here to actually
wash the windows.”

“
Well, it's about time is all I can say.” Jessie
winked and went into the back room.

“
Are there any new posters?” Charity asked.

“
Nope. And I'll be taking down the one for the play.
The last show was Sunday.”

“
Oh, okay.”

After helping a few more customers, Charity watched as
Jill soaped up the outside windows, then carefully squeegeed them
clean. It was fascinating to watch the blurry become clear. If only
that was the case in her own life. Just because she was attracted to
Daniel didn't mean she wanted to start anything.

Jessie would ask why, nosy-parker that he was.
And
what would my response be? If Daniel were interested in beginning a
dating relationship with me, would I feel the same way?

But the answer to that question was as smeared as a
soapy window.

People are supposed to bring something to a
relationship.
What do I have? Half-answers about my faith, a job
that pays minimum wage, and no real plans for the future. Daniel
might be a keeper, but I certainly am not
.

She walked over to the window covered in soap. Charity
could see her reflection is the sudsy glass. As Jill pulled the
squeegee down with a steady hand, a swath of the city street could be
seen and her reflection disappeared.