The Espressologist (19 page)

“Then what do you need me for? You should be able to figure out what goes with a medium toffee nut latte all by yourself.”

“I can,” he says again.

“Well?” I ask.

“A medium toffee nut latte goes PERFECTLY with a large iced nonfat mocha, no whip,” he answers, looking awfully proud and smug.

“Huh?” I say, momentarily confused. I quickly flip through my notebook and then it hits me—that's my favorite drink. I look back up at him. “It doesn't really, you know,” I start, not able to stop the smile from spreading across my face.

“Jane,” he says, taking my hands and pulling me up from my seat, “it does. Trust me.” And then he kisses me. Right there in front of the customers, the baristas, and Derek. I feel the force of his warm lips press against mine and I don't want him to move. I want to stay right here kissing Cam forever. I can hear customers whistling and clapping, but I don't pull away from Cam. It's finally my turn—I found my match. Or really, he found me.

With many, many thanks to
: My fabulous agent, Jenoyne Adams, for her never-ending energy, time, and dedication to all my books; my incredible editor, Janine O'Malley, for loving this novel and the main character, Jane, as much as I do; the rest of the FSG team (Jill Davis, Irene Metaxatos, John Nora, Karla Reganold, and Nancy Seitz) for their awesomeness; Deena Lipomi and Emily Marshall, for their endless support, cheerleading, and friendship; all of my critique partners, Deena, Emily, Julie, and Mandy, for always having amazing insights and suggestions; the supercool baristas at my local Starbucks, for letting me write the entire book from the same table in their store and letting me study them without thinking I was a freak; my mom, dad, brothers, and the rest of my great family for their continuous love and support; my four fantastic kids, Teegan, Maya, London, and Gavin, for making my every day sweet and fun and not holding it against me when I hit the cafés to write at night; and, most important, my wonderful husband, Athens, who always believed I could and would do this.