The cafe remained packed. Ava and Lorna moved back and forth, delivering coffee orders to the ever-growing crowd of customers. Devon and Alex helped Luke behind the scenes as cashiers and servers taking orders, while Luke and Noel stayed busy preparing the drinks.
"Chime."
The door opened, and a beautiful young girl with brown hair walked in. She scanned the bar as if looking for someone. Suddenly, her face lit up, and she walked straight behind the counter toward a busy Noel.
"I'm here to help, babe," she said.
"Oh, Vanessa? You came?" Noel asked.
"Yeah, I promised, didn't I? Sorry I'm late. My sister wanted to tag along; she's parking the car now and will be in soon," Vanessa answered.
"Oh, who's this, Noel?" Luke asked.
"You wanted to meet my girl yesterday, right? Well, here she is. This is Vanessa Collin," Noel replied.
"Oh... so you weren't making it up?" Luke teased.
"You really thought I was lying, Luke? That's cold," Noel joked.
Luke turned to see Vanessa staring at him, looking a bit stunned. She leaned in close to Noel's ear.
"Um... babe, is that your brother?" Vanessa whispered.
"Yeah, babe. I told you about him. The faces are similar, but the bodies are worlds apart, haha," Noel whispered back.
"You're right about that. (She turned toward Luke) Nice to meet you," Vanessa said.
"Y-yeah, nice to meet you too," Luke replied.
"I'm gonna help out, babe. I feel bad for Ava running back and forth by herself," Vanessa said.
"Okay, let's head to the back for a second," Noel replied.
Noel led Vanessa into the staff room. Luke watched his brother walk away until—
"Hey! Quit daydreaming. Where's the order for table five?" Lorna shouted.
"Oh, right... sorry. Here it is," Luke replied.
He slid a tray with a macchiato and a slice of cheesecake onto the bar. Lorna grabbed it and hurried off to deliver it.
"Chime."
The door opened again. This time, a stunning brunette walked in. She was tall and slender, yet possessed a very striking figure that stood out even though her clothes were modest. Seeing her, Devon immediately nudged Luke.
"Luke, is that her from this morning?" Devon asked.
"Which one?"
"The one you bumped into on the way to campus? The one who got all pissed off. Don't you remember?" Devon pressed.
"Oh... the one whose bag fell? Why is she here?" Luke asked.
"How should I know? Look, she's heading this way," Devon replied.
Luke looked up and saw the girl standing in front of the bar. She was staring at him, her mouth slightly agape as if she were seeing a ghost.
"Can I take your order?" Luke asked.
"Um... no. My sister just came in here. Do you know where she went?" the girl asked.
"Your sister, huh," Luke noted.
Suddenly, "Sis!" Luke and the girl both turned to see Vanessa coming out in the cafe uniform, following Noel back behind the bar.
"Vanessa, why did you change your clothes?" the girl asked, confused.
"I told you from the start I was going to help Noel. Weren't you listening?" Vanessa replied.
"Oh, right. (She looked at Noel) Hi, Noel. How are things?"
"Good, Amanda. Have a seat," Noel replied.
"Oh, so you're Vanessa's sister?" Luke chimed in.
"Ah, yes. My name is Amanda. I'm Vanessa's older sister. Nice to meet you. And you are?" Amanda asked.
"I'm Noel's brother, Luke," he answered.
Amanda stood frozen, staring at Luke in front of her, but suddenly her gaze shifted to Devon as he moved to Luke's side. Her expression instantly turned fierce, and she pointed a finger directly at him.
"You work here too? Where's your friend who ran into me this morning?" Amanda asked sharply.
"Wait, you still remember that? I thought you'd have forgotten by now," Devon replied.
"Of course I remember! My bag got dirty. It was a terrible way to start the morning," Amanda snapped.
"Um... my friend who ran into you... he's right here," Devon said, pointing his finger at Luke's head.
"Wait... y-you?" Amanda stammered, caught off guard.
"Um... sorry about that. This morning was a total accident. Really sorry," Luke apologized.
"I-it's fine. I didn't realize you were Noel's brother. You look so different. This morning you looked like some dusty, middle-aged student who's been failing for years—like a hermit who never leaves the house," Amanda said bluntly.
"Pffft." Noel, Devon, and Alex all struggled to stifle their laughter. Luke shot them a furious look.
"Yeah, well... sorry again," Luke muttered.
"Don't worry about it. What's your major? What year are you?" Amanda asked.
"Business. I'm a sophomore. What about you?" Luke asked.
"I'm business too and a sophomore too. I guess we're the same age and in the same department," Amanda replied.
"Ehem." Luke and Amanda turned to see Lorna leaning against the bar with a wide, knowing grin on her face.
"What's going on here? Did I miss something?" Lorna asked.
"Relax, Lorna. Nothing's going on," Luke replied.
"By the way, Luke, can I have your number? Or maybe your Instagram? Facebook?" Amanda asked directly.
"Whoa, hold on. What's the plan here?" Lorna interrupted.
"Sis! You're moving way too fast. He's Noel's brother, for heaven's sake," Vanessa scolded.
"What? I just want to be friends. Is that a crime?" Amanda countered.
"Sure, here," Luke said, pulling his smartphone from his apron pocket.
But swipe—suddenly, Luke's phone was snatched away by Lorna. She stared intensely at Amanda, though a wide smile remained fixed on her face. Luke turned pale; he couldn't remember if he had closed his banking app or not.
"Lorna, what are you doing?" Luke asked, confused.
"You stay out of this. I know her type," Lorna said, pointing at Luke without ever taking her eyes off Amanda.
"Oh, you know me?" Amanda challenged.
Alex immediately pulled Luke's shoulder toward him and leaned in close to his ear to whisper, leaving Luke a bit dazed. However, Luke's eyes remained glued to his smartphone, which was still in Lorna's hand.
"Dude, she's one of the most popular girls on campus, just like Claire. From what I've heard, she loves to play with guys—especially the wealthy ones. she'll use you for everything you're worth. You'd better watch your back, she's walking red flags," Alex whispered.
"Are you serious?" Luke whispered back, shocked, his gaze shifting anxiously toward Lorna's hand.
"Just look at Lorna—she's literally guarding you. I'm dead serious," Alex said.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Luke replied.
"How come I didn't know that?" Devon asked.
"Because you're an idiot," Alex replied.
Luke looked back at Lorna, who was still holding his phone and smiling broadly at Amanda.
"You really just want to be friends with Luke?" Lorna asked.
"Yes. Why? Is there a problem?" Amanda asked.
"You don't have any ulterior motives with Luke, do you? Like turning him into social media content?" Lorna asked bluntly.
"Of course not! Why are you being so weird? This is my first time here, and I only came because my sister invited me to her boyfriend's cafe," Amanda explained.
"Oh, alright then. (She turned to Luke) Here, Luke," Lorna said, handing the phone back.
"Thanks," Luke sighed, feeling a wave of relief as he immediately checked his screen.
After they exchanged numbers, Vanessa led Amanda to a table. But before Vanessa could walk away, Amanda grabbed her hand.
"Vanessa, you don't have any plans to break up with Noel, do you?" Amanda asked with a smile, though everyone watching could tell she was being serious.
"What?! You're actually wishing for me to break up? No way, Sis. I'm staying with Noel until we get married," Vanessa declared.
"Hmph... what a shame. I guess I can't date the brother then. Because if it were him, I'd actually be serious enough to marry him," Amanda said.
"No, you can't. Noel is mine. Just stay out of it; you've had enough boyfriends already," Vanessa shot back.
"Fine, fine. The big sister yields to the little sister," Amanda teased.
"Good. I'm going back to work. This is exactly why I didn't want to bring you here," Vanessa said.
"Hey, even without you, I can come here whenever I want. It's so close to campus. I might just come every day," Amanda provoked.
"Don't you dare!" Vanessa warned.
"Alright, I give up. Go on, get back to it. Poor Noel is working all by himself," Amanda said.
Vanessa walked away, leaving Amanda to continue glancing over at Luke. She watched as Lorna leaned over the bar to talk to him.
"Hmm, I know that girl. So, you want a piece of Luke too, huh? This could be fun if I mess with her," Amanda thought to herself, a wide, cynical smile spreading across her face as she glared at Lorna.