"Here's your coffee Jerry. That'll be three twenty five," I said, handing it to him with a smile. He was a professor at the college that was one of my regulars.

He handed me a five dollar bill and smiled, saying, "Keep the change Brenley."

"Thank you!" I called out after him, giving him a wave as he headed out the door before putting $3.25 in the drawer and shoving the rest into the tip jar. I wiped my hands on my apron and looked around to make sure our supplies were all stocked up for the evening rush.

I heard the ding of the door bell and there was suddenly a lot of commotion and gasps.

"What is it?" I asked, turning around and I was shocked to see Dylan Chase standing in the middle of my little coffee shop in Iowa.

I gasped and was suddenly overcome with emotion because I had no idea he was coming. I threw down the towel I was holding and rushed around the counter through the tables of customers and threw myself into his arms, hugging him tight. I couldn't believe he was really here.

I held him for a long time, afraid if I let go I would realize I imagined it. I finally stepped back and looked up at him. He was even more gorgeous in person than I remembered and it felt like it had been forever since I looked up into those bright green eyes. Facetime didn't do them justice.

"I can't believe you're really here," I said in awe, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Yeah. I heard this place makes really good coffee so I had to come see for myself."

"You're such an idiot," I laughed, smacking his chest and shaking my head with a smile. I stood on my tiptoes pulling him into another hug.

I took a deep breath in, taking in the scent of his cologne that I had missed and let it out, saying, "Man it feels really good to hug you again."

"That's what I was just thinking," he said softly. He looked down into my eyes and his smile slowly faded as he said, "The truth is, I had to see you. Being so far away from you for months has been killing me."

Hearing that made my heart melt. "Really? It's been killing me too."

"Talking to you over Facetime just isn't the same as seeing you in person." He slowly lifted a hand and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and feeling his touch again sent a shiver across my skin and gave me goosebumps. "So I wanted to come surprise you. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "It's more than okay. I'm really glad you're here," I told him but then I looked around at the coffee shop. "But unfortunately I'm working for a few more hours and I can't leave Dave alone when we're this packed. He'd kill me."

"Ok. Well do you want some help behind the counter?" he asked. "I really don't feel like going back to the hotel and sitting there alone. I'd rather be here hanging out with you."

"Ummmm. Well, I'm sure Dave won't have a problem with that. Imagine the tips we would get with Dylan Chase behind the counter."

"Ha! As long as I'm not the one making the coffee. Then all you'd be getting is complaints," he teased and I laughed, slipping my hand into his and leading him over behind the counter where Dave was.

"Hey Dave. We have a new employee for the day that wants to help us out."

"Who?" he asked, turning towards me.

"Dylan Chase," I said with a smile, stepping to the side and motioning to Dylan behind me.

Dave shouted, "Holy Fuck!", dropping a coffee mug to the floor with a crash, shattering it into pieces. Dave just stood there with wide eyes and an open mouth looking at Dylan like a deer caught in headlights, still as a statue.

I snapped my fingers in front of his face and said, "Earth to Dave' waving my hand in front of his eyes. He blinked and looked over at me.

"What?" he asked.

"Can Dylan stay and help us behind the counter? You won't even have to pay him. He'll work for free and I'll train him."

"Ummm. Yeah," he said, still looking like he was in a daze. He was obviously as surprised to see him here as I was.

"Great. Well we need to get you an apron," I told Dylan with a smile, reaching over and grabbing one off a hook and handing it to him. He took it from me with a hint of a flirty smile and slipped it on, tying it in the back.

"So let me show you how to ring people up. Push the button for what they ordered here and then push the button for how much money they give you and then the cash register tells you how much change to give them."

"Ok. That's easy enough," he nodded.

"If they give you a tip put it in this tip jar. Now I'll show you how to make the coffee."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," he laughed. "I'm terrible at making coffee."

"Well lucky for you I'm an amazing teacher," I smiled, shoving a coffee mug into his hands.

Dylan was a really fast learner and after I showed him something he just instantly got it and I didn't have to show him again. It wasn't long before he was helping me make coffees and he was friendly and smiling at the customers and doing an amazing job. He took selfies with them and signed autographs when they asked without any complaints.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," he told me with a smile.

"Yes you are. You could definitely work here. I mean if you weren't you," I laughed. "I don't think we could afford your salary."

"What, free? Free is too expensive for you now?" he teased, reaching over and poking me in my side and tickling, making me laugh.

Once in a while we would pass by each other as we were working with our arms lightly brushing against each other or he would stand really close behind me, watching what I was doing over my shoulder with a hand on my waist. Being this close to him again and seeing the subtle ways he was flirting had my heart beating faster.

I couldn't help but look over at him and smile from time to time, feeling butterflies in my stomach when our eyes connected and I would look over and catch him looking at me. The chemistry and attraction between us was so strong it was undeniable, but I couldn't help but wonder why he came here. Not that I wasn't thrilled about it, because I missed him like crazy, but I couldn't help but wonder what his intentions were.

Was he here just as a friend or did he still want more? I had already made it clear I wasn't willing to move to California and give up my life in Iowa and there was no way he would move here so where did that leave us? We were at a standstill. Dave was right. Rich, famous guys from Hollywood like Dylan Chase don't end up with a nobody, coffee barista from Iowa and for good reason. I had to remind myself of that or else I might start getting my hopes up for things that would never happen in a million years.

"So Dylan, how long is your visit? Are you heading back to Hollywood soon?" Dave asked. I was actually relieved he asked so I didn't have to.

"No, I think I'm going to stick around here for a while. I decided to take a hiatus and not sign up for any new projects for a little bit so I could take a break. Get out of Hollywood for a while and clear my head, you know? Breathe some fresh air and have a change of scenery."

"Oh," Dave said, sounding surprised and I was just as surprised as he was. Dylan was planning to stick around for a little while? I definitely wasn't complaining. I was just surprised.

"I figured if this town made someone as great as Brenley it must be a pretty good place," he said looking over at me before being interrupted to take a picture with a fan. I fought back a smile as I wiped the counter and threw away some trash.

It wasn't long before word spread that Dylan was helping out at Campus Perk and the place was jam packed. It was the busiest we had ever been and I had to empty out the tip jar several times because it was overflowing. Dylan took so many pictures and signed so many autographs I thought his hand was going to fall off, but he didn't seem to mind. He was obviously used to it.

"Dylan could you sing for us?" one of the beautiful young women sitting on the couch in the coffee shop shouted.

Dylan looked over at me like he was waiting for my opinion.

"We have a small stage over there that we use for open mic nights for people that want to sing or do stand up comedy. Don't feel obligated though. You're used to singing in front of sold out stadiums so if you don't want to sing at a hole in the wall coffee shop I think people will understand," I laughed.

Dylan looked at me, thinking for a second before turning to the crowd and asking, "Does anyone have a guitar?"

The crowd started cheering and clapping.

"I have one out in my car. I'll go get it," a guy said, running outside and a minute later he was back carrying a guitar in his hand proudly.

"I can't believe Dylan Chase is going to play on my guitar," he said in awe.

Dylan walked over to him and shook his hand and said, "Thanks for letting me use it man. I'll autograph it when I'm done if you want me to."

The man's eye widened and he said, "Yeah! I'd love that!"

Then Dylan took the guitar from him and walked up to the small stage. He tuned it for a second first and made sure the mic was on.

"Testing .... testing ...," he said and then he strummed the guitar and looked over at me behind the counter and smiled.

"I want to play a song that I just recently wrote and I want to dedicate it to that beautiful woman over there behind the counter that I wrote it for. Brenley, this one's for you."

The girls in the audience collectively said 'Awwww." and my heart fluttered. I couldn't believe Dylan actually wrote a song for me. It was surreal.