Cassie shakes her head. “I’ve been in a couple of times, but we haven’t met.”
“Amy, this is Cassie, the new wedding coordinator over at Moonlight Lodge. She just moved down from Portland about a month ago.”
Amy’s eyes light up like I knew they would. She and the McBride and Irwin women are pretty much the welcome wagon around here, ready to get newcomers plugged into local life. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Cassie. How do you like it over at the Lodge?”
“It’s a dream location, truly.” She pushes her wavy blond bob behind both ears. “This was just the change I needed.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Charlie Callahan told me how grateful they are to have you managing the weddings now. She said she was going a little crazy trying to do it on her own.”
“Not to brag, but Iama certified Bridezilla handler.”
Amy laughs and takes our orders. “If you need anything, just stop in and ask. I hope to see you around.”
She walks through the diner, checking on customers as she goes.
“Amy’s wife, Jodi, runs the kitchen,” I tell Cassie. “She’s always coming up with new items for the menu. She could have been a chef in some big city, but instead, she blesses Sunshine with her culinary creativity.”
Actually, Jodi used to be a mail carrier before she and Amyopened the diner. Being a cook seems like more of a second-stage chapter than a lifelong dream, but my point stands. The woman makes good food.
“Mm-hmm.” Cassie’s got her mouth tugged to one side as if I’m spreading lies.
“It’s true.” Which is also what a liar would say, but I don’t know what my motivation would be to lie about the diner’s excellent cook. “Everything she makes is delicious.”
Except for the fried pickles, which I forgive her for on principle.
“I believe you about the food.” She leans over the table. “We don’t know each other well, so you can tell me to shove it. But is everything okay with you?”
“What? Of course.” My forced laughter probably isn’t super reassuring.
Her skeptical expression only deepens. “You look like a bride who just walked in on her groom-to-be getting it on with a bridesmaid.”
My fake smile dissolves into a cringe. “You’ve seen that?”
“Four times. I’ve also had two brides left at the altar, one jilted groom, and one very memorable wedding where the brother of the groom stood up and declared his love for the bride. She did not reciprocate.” Cassietsks. “I hate to imagine that family’s holidays.”
“I didn’t know coordinating weddings could be that depressing.”
“Truly. But back to you.” She reaches across the table to give my hand a quick, gentle squeeze. “I might be overstepping. Totally my thing. But I feel like we’re becoming friends. If you need to talk, I’m here for you.”
I can imagine how vehemently my mother would advise me not to emotionally dump on a potential new friend. That’s not very “agreeable and polite” of me. But Cassie’s asking. And I could really use a listening ear right now.
So I tell her everything. Her eyebrows lift to her hairline whenI explain about my dating arrangement with Reed. Her gaze grows soft as I tell her how hard I’ve fallen for him. And her expression becomes shrewd when I relay how I’ve learned I might lose my job at the coffee shop.
Basically, I stuffed my emotions in a blender and hit purée without putting the lid on, and Cassie’s in the blast zone.
“What are you afraid of right now?” she asks as she finishes off her loaded salad.
I’ve babbled through our entire meal. I’m working on my second order of fries and my third tiny tub of ranch. If I’m going to eat my feelings, they’re going to be covered in dressing.
“I might be out of a job soon.” I’ve cycled through jobs that didn’t waste time in replacing me—I should have known better than to get so attached to this one. But I’ve poured so much love, time, and energy into that coffee shop, I hate the thought of losing it. “I will be stupidly heartbroken if he sells the coffee shop.”
“Is that really what you’re scared of?”
My shoulders slump as if my fears are resting on them. “No. I care about Reed so much. But I’ve been dumped out of the blue a lot. I literally never see it coming. I hope too much and do too much, and then it all ends in a snap. And with Reed, I could lose so much more than I ever have before. Like…everything. Selling the shop would be an easy way to cut me loose, too. What if I’m wrong about him?”
I’ve misjudged romantic situations with less on the line. Now, it’s my whole heart that’s sitting on the tracks, waiting to see if the Breakup Express is coming for me. Those fears have less to do with the offer he received today and more to do with my mom’s “encouragement,” but those worries are all tangled together now.
Cassie sits straighter, leveling me with a firm gaze. “If you’re wrong about him, and he breaks up with you, then you’ll pick yourself up and move on. You’re strong, and I can tell you’re an amazing person. You’ll get through it. And youwillfind someone else.”
