Cha Junhee was positive she was getting fired today. After a lot of mishaps early in the morning – waking up at 8:00AM on the dot, losing one of her shoes, her stubborn car which wheezed to life then coughed to its death seconds later multiple times, the hunger games-esque bus stop struggle – to mention a few, she was still stuck in the middle of the coffee shop’s long winter morning rush queue, which she could’ve easily skipped if not for the fear of her boss’ nagging for not getting the morning coffee.

          She glanced at the clock, 8:51AM. Junhee was doomed. She was not only late, but was terribly so – and that had never happened before. She swore she set the alarm to her usual 6:00AM, but somehow ended up waking two hours later. She even skipped her morning hygienic bathroom routine in an attempt to save some meager bit of time.

          Her priorities were seriously questionable in this aggravating moment. First of all, why was she even bothering to get her boss’ morning coffee when she knew she’d get yelled at either way, whether or not she had the coffee, for being extremely late on an important meeting day? Also, would it be better to tender a resignation letter before she could even get fired? That’ll save her face and she actually contemplated doing so, if not for the lack of a decent pen and paper to write on as of the moment.

          After 20 grueling minutes, she finally had two cups of coffee in hand: one espresso macchiato for the boss and one café mocha for herself. Barely hearing the cashier utter the usual goodbye phrase with the shop’s tagline: “Love at first sip. Thank you for coming”, Junhee dashed out of the shop, embarking on a two-block journey towards her company building looming just ahead.

          They say some things happen faster than you could even realize they were happening. In a blink of an eye, Junhee found herself slipping ungracefully on the ice-covered pavement, the two cups flying out of her hand, her company folder’s papers becoming confetti – all in slow-mo. Closing her eyes, she braced herself for the hard hit on the cold concrete, but it didn’t come.

          Instead, she felt awkward yet strong arms around her, which was peculiar because she doesn’t remember seeing anyone else before she slipped. Relieving herself from her panic and shock, she instinctively looked up. What she saw made her think she saved the world in her previous life. Heol, that face is ethereal. Such chiseled features, eyes alluring and jaw clenched—Damn, am I dreaming?

          Her inappropriate trail of thought was cut short when the man spoke, “Are you alright, miss?”

          Realizing their awkward and uncomfortable position, Junhee jumped out of his arms, mumbling something incoherent which sounded like a gargling giraffe, before she finally uttered a “Thank you” while avoiding eye contact as her cheeks flushed beet red.

          “No problem,” his voice was deep and gruff which did not match his image that stuck on her mind from when she looked up at him seconds ago. “Let me help you pick your things up.”

          Her papers were back in her folder, though no longer as straight and neat as they were before, in no time. Only when she saw him holding two now-empty cups of coffee did she finally look straight at him and noticed the stark coffee stain on the right side of his coat all the way to his shoulder.

          “OH MY GOSH. I’m so sorry! I didn’t even realize the coffee got spilled on you,” Junhee said as she frantically tried to wipe away the stain which only made it worse, her mind going haywire from all the trouble she had experienced and caused this morning especially to the kind stranger.

          “Don’t worry. It’s okay, it’s just a coat.” The man gently pried her hands off, and gave her a reassuring smile. “It didn’t reach my shirt anyway, it’s fine.”

          “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I’d wash the coat for you, it’s the least I can do.”

          “You don’t really have to, it’s fine. This’ll be gone in no time.”

          “Please? You’ve done quite a lot for me and this is the only way I can repay you, at least.”

          “Well, if you insist.”

          Just as the man was taking off his coat, Junhee’s phone rang and she immediately knew who it was. Bracing herself for her coming doom, she pressed answer and put the phone in her ear, only to be greeted by her boss’ calm yet menacing voice, sending chills down her spine, resonating from the speakers. “Where the hell are you?”

          Junhee tried to come up with the best-fitting excuse, but her brain was processing to many things at the same time that she thought of none, only mindlessly uttering: “I’ll be there in two minutes tops, I promise.”

          Before she could even hear her boss’ fired up reply, she ended the call and faced the stranger again who handed her his coat. “Thank you so much and I’m really sorry for causing you trouble. I’ll definitely return this coat to you washed and clean within this week, but for now I really have to go or my boss with kill me. Good bye and thanks!”

          With a small wave and an apologetic smile, she turned and started running to her office like her life depended on it.

***

“It’s so weird that you’re here on a Wednesday evening. You only ever come visit me when it’s Saturday,” Chansung, the tall guy who works at the laundry shop Junhee frequently goes to, gave her a suspicious look as she was preparing the machine.

          “I don’t exactly visit you, Chansung. I do my laundry,” Junhee rolled her eyes at the male.    “Ouch. I’m hurt. Did you just throw away our friendship like that?”

          “You really should try applying for acting gigs. Seems like they fit you really well,” Junhee turned to face the male, ready for a round of dissing each other. The shop’s bell chimed signaling the arrival of a new customer which left Chansung with no choice but to ignore her and attend to the old lady who just came.

          Junhee sighed. Luckily, she still had a job—though her boss was making it hell for her, obviously as revenge for coming late on the day of the Marketing Department’s first meeting with the new Chief Operations Officer. Her schedule was already hectic before, now she also had to deal with a lot of paperwork for the boss and she had no right to complain.

          “I really should return this to him on Friday,” she muttered to herself and then it dawned on her: she didn’t even know his name or how to return it to him. How could you be so stupid, Cha Junhee?

          As her mind thought of different ways she could probably meet the handsome man again, she gave the coat a final pocket inspection. Before she could place it inside the machine, a thin sheet of paper fell on the floor – and who would have thought that small paper would save her life? It was a calling card. More specifically, it was probably Mr. Handsome Man’s calling card.

          Junhee’s breath hitched as she stared at the card that contained a few words that meant everything.

Ok Taecyeon

Assistant Finance Manager

HVK, Inc.

+82-X-XXX-XXXX

[email protected]

          “Wait, he works there too?!?” Junhee exclaimed in a volume that startled other customers, which she immediately apologized for in her shame. She didn’t know whether she should be relieved or worried that he works at the same company as her. One thing’s for sure, the coat will be back to its rightful owner. The new problem she has to deal with is how to approach him at work, especially with his position, which then led her to another puzzle: How come I don’t remember seeing him at work?

          The machine’s timer ticked as the spinning came to a stop. Junhee now had a clean coat to return to a handsome man named Ok Taecyeon.

***

“You’re up extra early today, unnie. What’s up?”

          Junhee was in the middle of organizing documents into her company folder when her younger cousin, Nayeon, came out of her room, rubbing sleep off her eyes.

          “I’m leaving early for work. I’ve got something to do,” Junhee barely spared her cousin a glance as she gently placed the folded coat in a paper bag.

          “Oh, okay. Don’t forget to lock the door when you leave, you left it wide open yesterday.” Nayeon then strode quietly towards the restroom but not missing how her cousin had put extra effort in her hair and makeup today, saving her queries for later.

          When Junhee was done, she called out “Breakfast is in the microwave! Good luck on your test! Bye!” and dashed out of her apartment.

          The clock just struck seven, and Junhee had plenty of time in hand before she had to be at the office. She stared out of the bus window, admiring the snow-caked surroundings before she remembered the calling card. Should I call him? Contemplating for what felt like forever, she finally gathered the courage to type the number on her phone, her fingers lingering on the last digit as she took a deep breath and pressed call.

          It didn’t take long for the other line to pick up, his voice deeper than what she remembered. “Hello?” he said in perfectly crisp English.

          “Oh—annyeong haseyo. It’s me—err, from the coffee incident.”

          “Oh hey, Spilt Coffee! I’m surprised you actually found a way to contact me,” the seriousness in his voice was gone and was replaced by a light teasing tone.

          Junhee couldn’t believe he just gave her a nickname, which would have been endearing if it wasn’t ‘Spilt Coffee’. The urge to counter with another nickname was strong, but then she remembered he was one of the superiors in the company so she definitely shouldn’t make a bad record. “Your coat seemed ready to be taken by someone else, do you always have a calling card stored in its pockets?”

          “Well, you never know when someone would spill their coffee over you so it’s better to be prepared,” he mocked. With how this conversation was going, Junhee was sure he would get along with Chansung really well.

          “Ha-ha. I’m going to pretend you did not just mock me,” a smile was slowly creeping to her face. “Anyway, I was wondering if I could meet you to return the coat.”

          “Finally! I miss my favorite coat.”

          “You’re seriously having fun with mocking me, Mr. Ok. Anyway, can I meet you at the coffee shop?”

          “Coffee’s good, thanks. See you!”

          “Wait, I did not—”

          Before Junhee could complain, Ok Taecyeon had already ended the call. Looks like I’m buying three cups of coffee today.

***

          “Here’s your coffee, ma’am.”

          Looking up from her phone, Junhee was greeted by the waiter with a small smile as he carefully placed three cups on her table. She smiled back, “Thank you, Junho-ssi.”

          Taking a small sip from her cup, she continued scrolling down her phone as she sorted hers and her boss’ emails. For the first time in a while, she actually sat down on the comfy seats of the coffee shop and drank her coffee there, instead of dashing out right after getting two cups. It was kind of refreshing. Maybe I should do this more often.

          “Good morning, Spilt Coffee.” Ok Taecyeon, in his ethereal glory, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and sat across her, all smiles.

          “Good morning, Mr. Ok,” Junhee smiled at him.

          “You sure you’re drinking three cups of coffee today? Last time you had two,” Taecyeon gestured towards the cups on the table.

          “I’m not a caffeine addict, ahjussi,” she rolled her eyes and pointed at the left-most cup, “that one’s yours.”

          “Well, you look terribly sleep-deprived though.”

          “I’m going to pretend you did not just insult me because I might spill the coffee again, only this time, intentionally.”

          Ok Taecyeon was more playful than she had expected, especially given that he was so kind in their first encounter. She was relieved however, that he wasn’t some jerk who’d let her pay for their expensive sweater. They talked over coffee for a while before it was almost time to leave for work.

          Junhee was about to start walking when he caught up to her. “Hey, Spilt Coffee. I hadn’t asked your name yet.”

          “Thought you’d never ask,” she laughed recalling that he had called her Spilt Coffee the whole time they were talking. “Junhee. Cha Junhee.”

          “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Cha Junhee.”

***

          Barely holding up all the folders containing presentation documents for the meeting, Junhee lifelessly followed her boss, Lee Sunmi, who was walking down the hallway like a model, towards the conference room. The marketing department just closed several deals this week and they were to discuss all of them thoroughly before putting all the plans into action.

          By the third turn, Junhee had effectively lost sight of her boss who didn’t seem to notice that she was lagging behind. Urgh, why does she need this many files again? My arms are dying.

Luck was on her side today though, as two co-workers from the Marketing Department, Wooyoung and Minjun, happened to pass by and offered to help her with the load. The three of them had a casual exchange of how-have-you-beens and did-you-hears as they strode to the meeting’s venue.

“Since this is probably the largest marketing department meeting in a while, I heard the new COO is attending along with the heads of the Finance,” Wooyoung said in a hushed tone, as if it were some confidential information.

“Whoah, are you serious? This is big time, man. I heard the COO’s kind of strict,” Minjun added.

While the two were busy exchanging gossips they heard from other people, Junhee’s mind was stuck with the words heads of Finance going on-repeat in her head. Her heart started beating erratically, for some reason she does not recognize at all, and started mulling over how weird it would be to meet the man she met twice outside of the workplace because of coffee. He can’t be there, can he?

Soon enough, the whole marketing department was seated around the conference table and Junhee was seated just beside her boss who was oddly seated at the right hand of the boss’ seat and not on the boss’ seat itself. Fidgeting nervously with the documents she hand in hand, continuously thinking of finally meeting the man who calls her Spilt Coffee in their common workplace, Junhee was one mess of nerves. Her usual calm and composed demeanor, which matched really well with her boss’ confident side, was nowhere in sight.

Lee Sunmi cleared , immediately silencing the room and focusing attention on her. “Since this is our last major meeting of the year, we will be joined today by the Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Nichkhun Horvejkul, and the heads of the Finance Department. I hope you all do well in the presentations, and let’s not disappoint them, alright?” she said.

Junhee would admit, no matter how much of a handful her boss was, she was a great team leader and was really great at doing her thing – an exceptional speaker at that. The crowd murmured as soft affirmative response, before submerging into a nervous silence.

Without further ado, the double doors opened and in walked three people: the foreign looking man who would no doubt be Mr. Horvejkul, the head of the Finance Department Mr. Lim whom Junhee knew by face as he always paid her boss a visit, and of course, the handsome man from the coffee shop—Ok Taecyeon.

It was like she forgot to breathe. For who knows how long, Junhee gaped in both shock and awe at the three males who came, her attention more specifically panning the tallest. Ok Taecyeon scanned the room and sent everyone a small smile before he caught sight of her. His smile grew wider—a cheeky grin—as his stare lingered at her before politely bowing to her boss.

Junhee felt blood rush to her cheeks and came to a resolve that it was a bad idea to look at Ok Taecyeon in such a serious environment. She kept her head low, eyes focused on the presentation across the room, for the whole duration of the meeting. Nonetheless, his presence was too distracting even with limited interaction, the only being the eye-contact they shared.

***

When you’ve been doing something for a while now, you get so used to it that it becomes part of your routine. After a week of commuting every day, Junhee was finally getting used to bus rides and liked the fact that it gave her some time to actually admire the beauty of Seoul in winter. Getting off at her usual stop, Junhee slowly made way to get the morning coffee, it becoming more of a need to combat the cold.       

“Good morning,” smiled Junho the waiter as soon as she got in. “The usual?”

“Yes, please,” Junhee nodded as she made way to her usual window seat. Nonchalantly placing her folder and coat on the table, she pulled out her phone to check early emails, which surprisingly were only few.

“Fancy seeing you here, Spilt Coffee,” a familiar deep voice spoke from behind her, which caused her to turn around, only to see none other than Ok Taecyeon.

Rolling her eyes and shifting her attention back to her phone—ignoring the involuntary heating of her cheeks, she curtly nodded at him saying, “Good morning, Mr. Ok.”

“Mind if I join you for coffee?” Taecyeon didn’t even wait for her answer and immediately took the seat right across her.

“Why did you even bother asking though,” Junhee gave him a quizzical look, finally directing her attention to him.

“Well, I knew you’d say yes, anyway,” he grinned. “And oh, you can call me Taecyeon. You washed my coat even before we knew names, so no need to be so formal here.”

“If you say so,” she smiled, a giddy feeling bubbling inside, though she didn’t want to admit it.

Their cups of coffee came and a casual conversation flowed seamlessly between them. That day, they had coffee together. That day, they walked to work together. That day was the beginning of routines Cha Junhee and Ok Taecyeon do together.

***

Junhee was keeping her things, ready to go home when her phone buzzed with a new message.

From: Taecyeon

Want to grab some donuts after work?

            A smile slowly crept up her face. It was nice to receive a random text about food after a long day of mind-numbing appointments. Food can indeed brighten someone’s day. She and Taecyeon had officially become morning-coffee buddies three weeks ago which is inclusive of a walk to the company building together and an occasional bonus after-work coffee, that is, if their schedules matched for the day. Typing a quick reply, she grabbed her belongings, slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the elevators.

          Christmas was only nine days away and the thought of it effectively made the environment at work positive and excited, which was a great thing because employees were getting really eager to get their jobs done as soon as possible and take an early holiday. Unfortunately for Junhee though, she probably had to work on her holidays.

          Ding! The elevator doors opened and everyone slid out to head home. Junhee got off and trudged wearily, feeling a terrible stiff neck coming.

          “Hey!” Junhee turned and saw Taecyeon waiting for her near the exit wearing his usual gummy smile.

          Returning the gesture, Junhee waved as she approached, “Hey.”

          “Ready to go get some good donuts and some hot coffee?” Taecyeon started walking alongside her, both of them going with the small crowd heading to the exit.

          “Of course, nothing beats the donut and coffee tandem after a tiring day,” she smiled.

***

          “Should I wear this, or this?” Nayeon was holding up two dresses: a peach one and a white one, which could’ve been mistaken as the same dress if not for the difference in color. “What do you think, unnie?”

          Junhee hummed in response, occupied by Harry Potter that was playing on TV and not really paying attention to the younger one.

          “Unnie!”

          “Yeah, what was it again?” This time, Junhee finally shifted her attention to her aggravated cousin.

          “Wow, you weren’t even listening,” Nayeon pouted. “What should I wear: this one or this one?”

          “You look good in any one of those, Nayeon.”

          Before Nayeon could even complain that she wasn’t really answering her question, Junhee’s phone rang which made the latter jump from her seat and instantly pressing answer—a smile automatically plastered on her face. “Hello?”

          “I’m having my third cup of coffee, right now. Just wanted to let you know,” Taecyeon stated as a matter-of-factly.

          “You called me in the middle of the night to tell me that?” Junhee, currently closing the door to her room to keep Nayeon from eavesdropping, said.

          “Well, I’d feel like I cheated if I didn’t tell you I drank another cup.”

          “Oh okay, I don’t understand but why are you even drinking coffee at night?”

          “Gonna be pulling an all-nighter for a report that I apparently forgot about and have to submit tomorrow.”

          “Would you look at that, I thought you were more organized than that. I’m deeply disappointed, Mr. Ok.”

          “At least I don’t sulk over the stuff I’m supposed to do, unlike someone I know-“

          “Are you trying to pick up a fight? ‘cause bring it on,” Junhee challenged, her smile growing wider by the second. An endless banter sparked between the two of them, talking until midnight until Taecyeon remembered the report he was supposed to be doing.

          “This is your fault.”

          “Well, I’m not the one who called in the first place, so how’s that my fault?”

          She heard Taecyeon sigh and what came after had her holding her breath. “You’re a terrible distraction, Cha Junhee.”

***

          Lee Sunmi had been making Junhee run errands all day and her feet were sore from going up and down different floors. It was only at three o’clock that she finally got to sit on her office chair, which she most of the time hated but genuinely thanked for at the moment, for more than ten minutes.

          Her eyes scanned her disorganized desk – the random piles of folders which she never had time to sort and arrange, the pens that lay scattered instead of staying on the pen holder, the different colored sticky notes and reminders on the table itself, on the folders, and on a cup of coffee—wait, where did this come from?

          Junhee didn’t even have time to get herself vending machine coffee, but the cup was weirdly from her usual coffee shop. She gingerly picked it up and read the sky blue note attached to it.

I’ve never seen a marathon runner in heels before. You must be the first. Hahaha

Anyway, you look like you’re about to pass out so have some coffee. (Aren’t I a lifesaver?)

P.S. Don’t spill it.

          “Psh, such a narcissist,” Junhee was now smiling from ear to ear, her stress dissipating even before she had a sip of the coffee.

***

          “Bye, Junhee-yah,” Wooyoung waved at her before turning to leave with Minjun. With the two of them gone, Junhee was now officially alone in the office. She basked in the empty silence of the floor, which would’ve scared her but her determination to finish the task in hand was overpowering the eerie silence.

          It was the 24^th of December and everyone trickled out of work earlier than usual to celebrate Christmas with their families. Junhee, the unlucky one, was an exception. If she wanted to enjoy her holidays, she had to finish everything by now so that she won’t have to think about them until the new year – which was the main reason she was staying. She won’t be going home to Daejeon till the 26^th anyway, and no one would be waiting for her at home since Nayeon had already left to celebrate Christmas at home.

          It was getting darker outside and Junhee was still halfway done. I guess I’d be spending Christmas Eve at work.

          She was so engrossed in typing that she didn’t even notice the door opening.

          “I never knew you were such a workaholic that you’d choose to spend Christmas here. How un-classy,” Taecyeon grabbed himself a chair and sat down in front of her.

          “What are you doing here?” Junhee said, shocked at his sudden appearance.

          “Well, someone was spending Christmas alone in the office, I just had to come,” Taecyeon teased.

          “No one asked you to, though. But if you find watching someone work fun, then feel free to do so,” she said, and then realized she was typing the same line over and over again. Urgh. He is distracting me. Did he really come to accompany me?

          “Oh, don’t mind me. I’ll be silent like a feather. But here, have some ramyun before you continue. Judging by your appetite, I know your stomach must be grumbling now.”

          On a normal day, Junhee would’ve felt insulted and immediately retort, but she’ll let it pass for today. She was starving and he was right, too.

          After finishing her cup of ramyun, she continued working, focusing her whole attention on her laptop screen and barely noticing Taecyeon moving around or playing with the stuff on her desk.

          It was already past 10 o’clock when she finally closed her laptop and stretched her back as her sore fingers. Scanning the dark room, she saw Taecyeon fast asleep while slumped on one of the desks. He must have gotten really bored while waiting for me.

          She stuffed her things inside her bag and threw away their empty cups of ramyun before walking towards Taecyeon to wake him up.

          “Hey, I’m done. We should go home now,” she lightly tapped his shoulders, which didn’t really work. “Taecyeon, wake up,” she nudged him this time, which increased in force every second.

          Taecyeon shot up from his slumped position, “Yeah, yeah. I’m awake.” Still disoriented from sleep, he looked around before finally spotting Junhee and smiled.

          “Sorry I took too long,” Junhee felt bad. His sleeping position might have been uncomfortable.

          “It’s okay, Junhee. No big deal,” Taecyeon gave her a smile.

          “Shall we go now?”

          “Alright, let’s go,” Taecyeon finally felt pumped up as he grabbed his coat. “Where to?”

          “Wanna grab something to eat before heading home?” Junhee asked him as they both made their way to the elevator.

          “Definitely.”

          The restaurants that lined at the ground floor of their building all closed early because it was Christmas and their last resort was the coffee shop that seemed to be the only establishment open. The two of them were seated at their usual window seats, eating cake and drinking coffee as they both exchanged their Christmas experiences when they were kids, that led them both boisterously laughing every now and then. Luckily, the shop was close to empty with only three other customers and the two employees.

          “If I were your mom, I would’ve disowned you right at that moment,” Junhee exclaimed, still giggling.

          “Well, I’m surprised they hadn’t disowned me yet even after years of my mischief,” he said and smiled.

          Junhee was still catching her breath after her long laughing fit – she can’t really control it and just keeps on laughing until it dies down on its own, when she noticed Taecyeon staring at her. She raised her eyebrows at him, picked up her coffee and took a drink.

          “I like you, Cha Junhee.”

          Shocked, Junhee’s coffee cup fell to the ground and spilled on the floor and she almost spit the coffee that was in . Her eyes were wide, as she stared at him, overwhelmed, her heart beating erratically against her ribcage. Am I hearing things right? What did he just say?

          “Yes, you’re hearing things right,” Taecyeon’s smile was still plastered on his face. “And you just spilled coffee again.”

          “Oh, yeah I spilled coffee again,” Junhee couldn’t believe she actually said her thoughts out loud and broke eye contact, not wanting to do something foolish and weird, resorting to picking up her cup from the floor.

          A waiter came to her rescue and helped clean up the mess. Junhee excused herself, running to the restroom saying she had to clean the coffee stain on her shirt. Well, she didn’t really have a stain on her shirt.

          “I like you, Cha Junhee.”  Facing the mirror, she tried to calm her racing heart, but every time she closed her eyes his confession repeats like a broken record. Her face was red and she was smiling like she never smiled before.

          When she finally regained composure, she opened the door only to reveal Taecyeon leaning against the wall adjacent to the restroom door. “I almost thought you flushed yourself down the toilet,” he mused, holding out her coat and bag to her.

          “If I did, I would’ve been at the Pacific Ocean by now,” Junhee replied and proceeded to walking ahead of him. As if in silent agreement, they both walked towards the door to leave. The waiter held out the door open for them, and wished them a Merry Christmas.

          They basked in comfortable silence for a while as they walked in the cold streets of Seoul. The people on the streets were scarce as most were celebrating in their homes. The lights that hung on the trees twinkled in an unending alternate pattern, as they passed by them.

          “What time is it now?” Junhee asked.

          Taecyeon, glancing at his wristwatch, answered, “It’s almost midnight.”

          “Oh.”

          Just before she can continue her sentence, a string of fireworks started lighting the sky above them and they both looked up in awe. Bursting in an array of bright colors in different shapes and patterns in the sky, the display lasted for some time.

          Junhee turned to look at Taecyeon who was busy staring at the sky. She watched how his face was lit with different hues but maintained the same gummy smile she loved the most. His eyes turned into crescents, his manly facial features accentuated really well by the lights. Above all, she saw the kind handsome man whom she spilt coffee on when they met and the playful one who understands her sarcasm and sense of humor all too well, at the same time. He had this warmth in him that pulled her close, and without thinking twice, she stood in her tiptoes and reached over to peck a kiss on his cheek.

          Taecyeon snapped his head to look at her, seemingly shocked by her action.

          “Merry Christmas, Ok Taecyeon,” she grinned at him.

          “Merry Christmas, Spilt Coffee,” he smiled lovingly at her and pulled her to a tight embrace.