Jiminy & Melissa. I enjoy surprises, which is probably why I’ve never advertised the inclusion of Founders Coffee in Tamiko and the Two Janitors. That way, my longtime readers would enjoy stumbling across the elements I borrowed from one of my fanfics (Froth, Mir/San AU). Mostly setting & the fact that Founders is run by brothers/owners.
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“You’re packing crystals. Can I have a peek?”
He crossed a line by slipping his fingers under the cloth, questing upward. A moment later, she had the offending hand twisted and pinned to cold stone. The angle forced him down, and she reinforced her objection by pushing his head until his cheek met marble.
“Ow.”
Melissa’s face flushed, and she checked to see if anyone had noticed her manhandling the barista. Both Mom and Magda had been thorough and creative in teaching her ways to dissuade unwanted masculine attention.
The other barista stepped up. “I do beg your pardon, miss. Did his antics unsettle you?” Pressing one large hand to the back of Jiminy’s head, his voice deepened to a growl. “He knows better.”
Tamiko and the Two Janitors (Amaranthine Saga, #3)
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Founders Coffee | art by FoxOfTwilight
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Details, Details: Melissa is the biological daughter of Christopher Armstrong, the “Kith handler” who visits Kimiko’s classroom back in Book 2. Chris was raised by the Nightspangle pack, which is why Hanoo, Yoota, and Ploom all knew him (and his partner Cove).
FORTHRIGHT 