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“That’s okay. I don’t want you driving that late at night. Besides….” I smile as heat fills my core. “I wouldn’t get any sleep after you got there, and I’d be of no use at work for the rest of the day.”
He chuckles. “That’s my specialty.”
I sigh. I could talk to him for hours and not get bored. But I’m at work. “I’ve got to get to the dinner. Thanks for calling.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I won’t be home until late tonight.” I walk to the elevator and poke the up button, waiting for the door to open.
“Babe, it’s okay. I’ll be working all night. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Who would’ve thought Cole would be the type of boyfriend that called out of the blue. Called me out of the blue. My head spins. Cole Thornburg is my boyfriend. I feel like a teenage girl with her first crush. Only better. Cole is my teenage crush, and I get to do so much more with him than hold hands on the bus.
“Are you going to hang up?”
“Yes.” I smile as the door dings and slowly slides open.
“When?”
“Umm…. Now.” I laugh as I step onto the elevator. Thankful that no one else is on the lift with me because I don’t want to hang up.
“But you’re still on the phone.”
“And so are you.”
“Okay. On three. One. Two. Three.”
We both click off at the same time, and I stupidly want to call him back by the time the elevator doors slide open on the top floor.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Cole
Meeting Connor for lunch before I drive to see Harbor has my stomach churning. I don’t want to lie to him, but there isn’t another choice. Okay, there’s another choice, but I’m not going to break my promise to her, so until we decide we’re going public, my lips are sealed.
Connor waves from a booth along the back of Blanche’s Café. His hair is covered by a pulled-down baseball cap. But it’s not low enough to disguise the dark circles under his eyes.
“What’s up?” I slide into the seat and study him. Even though Connor bartends at night, he doesn’t drink on shift and typically looks like a GQ model with a 5 o’clock shadow. The stubble is there, but his cocky smartass grin is gone. “You look like crap.”
He arches an eyebrow, and one corner of his mouth twitches. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Late night?” I snatch a menu out of the holder even though nothing has changed at Blanche’s since high school.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Everything okay at work?”
“Yeah, same old, same old. There were a couple of arguments between the wait staff, with the last one turning into a shoving match, but it resolved itself quickly.”
“Did Sadie go home with Rob?”
“Yes.”
“He’ll never learn.” Not Rob. He’s the lucky one. A couple of years ago, Doug was dating Sadie, and he cheated on her. She dumped him without a backward glance, and she started dating his older brother, Rob. If I had to guess, family dinners are a little tense.
“Someday, Doug will accept that Sadie isn’t coming back to him.” Connor motions Layla to the table.
Will she keep our secret? My head was too far in the clouds to notice she was on shift when I walked in. I swallow hard, straighten my back, and when Connor isn’t looking, I give her a pleading look to keep her mouth shut.
