“What do you think, Will?” I wipe furiously at the sticky residue. “It’s been four fucking years.” My harsh words hang in the air and I scan the bar with wide eyes, making sure there are no families or little ears nearby that overhear my language. “Sorry.” I lower my voice. “I ran into her last night. And this morning.”
William cocks a brow at me. “So that’s what’s got you all twisted up like a damn pretzel, then.”
I throw the rag I’m holding at him and he catches it easily. “There’s a lot of history between us that’s unresolved. It’s just been…tense each time we’ve seen each other.”
“Oh, I remember. The whole town remembers.” William chuckles, not unkindly. There’s warmth in his voice even as he teases me. “You were moping around here for months after Mellie left.”
“It wasn’tmonths,” I grumble under my breath.
“You know, I always thought you two would get your heads out of your asses and get together,” Will says. He pauses to take a drink order before coming back and continuing, “After Mellie left, I figured you’d move on, but you didn’t even date around, did you?”
I tried, sort of. I let my mother set me up on a blind date with someone she worked with, but I canceled the day before. I just couldn’t bring myself to see anyone in that way besides Mellie. And she left, so where had that left me? Spending the last four years pathetically alone, filled with regret of letting her go. And now I’m about to be thirty years old and the ache in my chest at her choice hasn’t dulled. The life I envisioned for myself still sits unfulfilled.
And seeing her again has reminded me how much I justmissher.
“No,” I reply. “I didn’t.” I don’t want to keep discussing this, so I deflect. “What about you, old man? It’s not like you’ve dated anyone since Kate left. What about Mary over at the bakery? She always has a sweet smile for you when she comes in.”
William turns his gaze to me. “Nice try, kid. You can’t fool me into changing the subject that easily. Don’t project your own loneliness onto me.” He scoffs. “And who are you callingold man? I’m not even twenty years older than you.”
“Who are you callingkid, old man?” I shoot back.
Will spears me with another glare, so I back off.
“Fine, fine,” I surrender, putting my hands up. “You know, once you finally sell this place to me, you’ll have all that time for dating. Think of all the places you could take Mary?—”
I’m cut off as he whips his towel at me, stinging my arm. It’s an on-going back and forth between us these days, me wanting to buy the diner and Will not ready to part with it. I’ll wear him down eventually.
The bell chimes as more people make their way in. This rush feels like it’s never going to end. Groaning quietly, I check my watch once more. Only a few more hours and I’ll be out of here.
Pasting a smile on my face, I grab the notepad out of my apron and walk over to greet our new guests.
“I’m taking my break, Will,” I call out, ducking my head into William’s office. Even though I’m off soon, I’m starving after the lunch rush. “Sorry it’s so late. You’ve got the floor ‘til I’m back, okay?”
“I’ll be right out,” William replies from behind his computer monitor, waving me away.
I enter my own office, gathering up my wallet, keys, and phone before heading out the front entrance. On my way, I wave to a pair of our regulars seated in acorner with their laptops, headphones on as they type away and sip on their coffees.
Minutes later, I’m exiting Sal’s Sandwich Shoppe and taking a large bite of my turkey wrap. As I round the corner of the block, my focus hones in on a familiar coat, forcing me to stop abruptly. Mellie stands on the other side of the crosswalk, shopping bags in hand. She’s staring at me with that deer-in-the-headlights daze she seems to wear every time we make eye contact now.
I swallow my bite of food, and lift my hand to give her a small wave. The plastic bag hanging on my wrist moves gently with the motion.
Mellie starts, seeming to snap out of whatever stupor she was caught up in. She crosses the street to me, and we move to the edge of the sidewalk to avoid other pedestrians. I gesture to a nearby bench, and Mellie nods soundlessly before following me over and taking a seat.
“So,” I start before taking another bite. Chewing and swallowing, I look at Mellie from the corner of my eye, lifting a brow. “If I didn’t know any better, Mel, I’d say you were following me around town.”
Her amber gaze follows the smirk I let play across my lips before flicking back to mine. She scoffs, eyes rolling to the sky. “Yeah, right. There’s no hiding from anyone in this small-ass town. You and I know that all too well, don’t we, Ro?”
Her use of my nickname pulls at my heart, a painful tug I haven’t felt in years.
God, I fucking miss this woman.
“True. Avoiding people here can tend to be…problematic.” A memory flashes in my mind, an image from our troublemaking teen years. “Just ask Erica…orMissErica, as she was back then. Remember when she found us hiding out in her greenhouse when you and Bree were fighting?”
Mel’s reserved demeanor wavers and a smile breaks across her face. A true smile—the kind of smile that won my heart. Her head tilts back, and her eyes crinkle at the corners as she lets outa small laugh. “Oh my God, I totally forgot about that day. She was so mad at us. Yelled about disrupting her ecosystem. That was back when Imogen and her were only dating. Imogen had to practically drag her out of there so we could escape.” Her giggle trails off and she immediately sobers.
I ache to hear her laughter again. To see her smile, to look at me with eyes that aren’t replaying our past. To see me, here and now.
“You always did know the best hiding spots around town,” I say instead, anything to fill the silence settling between us like a heavy stone.
