Reaching for his cell phone, he speed-dialed Iris, who would have opened her coffee stand by now. Iris Rivera made the best espresso in the city, but that wasn’t what kept Mario coming back. It was more about the whiteness of her teeth against her olive skin and that dimple when she smiled at him.

She was a kind person, so he wasn’t sure if she really liked him, but he thought she might. That was a miracle, that a woman like her could be interested in a guy with more gray than black in his hair and the beginnings of a paunch. He hadn’t decided what to do about his feelings for Iris, so until he did, buying coffee was a good excuse to see her a couple of times a day.

“Sì, Mario!” She always yelled into her cell phone because she couldn’t believe the thing worked in the first place.

He didn’t care if she yelled. He just loved hearing her Puerto Rican accent, which made him think of swaying palms and swaying bodies. “Has Zach come by for his espresso yet?”

“No! But I expect him soon!”

“When he comes by, can you stall him until I get there? I want to talk to him about something.”

“I’ll try! Zach, he’s in such a hurry these days!”

Exactly. That’s why Zach needed a girl. “Sell him a pastelito and he’ll have to stick around to eat it.” Thinking of those pastries made his mouth water.

“Okay! Are you trying to fix him up?”

“I am, but don’t you dare tell him.” The taxi in front of Mario pulled away from the curb, so Mario eased his foot off the brake and coasted to the front of the line. “Gotta go!” Snapping his cell phone closed and throwing the cab into Park, he jumped out and came around to help the redhead with her flowered suitcase.

“Be careful,” she warned. “It’s really heavy.”