Page 21 of Until We Come Home

"'Night, Mia," he says softly into the dark.

Smiling, anchored by the gentle sound of his breathing, I drift off to sleep.

CHAPTER 4

Mateo

Since Mia slept straight through Maren’s early morning bakery run for cinnamon rolls, I end up being the one driving her back into town toward her hotel.

We make a detour at the diner down by the water to grab a quick bite first. It’s an old-school local spot with a chiming brass bell above the door, faded red vinyl booths, and a glass display case overflowing with fresh pies near the register, and the whole place smells like fried bacon and coffee.

Tammy, my usual server, waves the moment we walk in. She knows me well enough by now, given how often I drop by when I’m out here visiting the Midnights during my fire contracts, but she’s never seen me with Mia.

“Well, look who it is! Mateo!” She parks her tray on the counter. “The fire chief was in here just a little while ago talking you up. Said he was sorry to see you wrap your stint out here, especially after that dramatic cat rescue down on Elm Street last week.”

“A heroic cat rescue?” Mia arches an eyebrow at me. “You conveniently left that out of our last phone call.”

“It happened last week while you were tied up in rehearsals,” I tell her with a small laugh.

“Oh, it’s practically all anyone’s talking about.” Tammy leans over the laminate counter like she’s about to dish state secrets. “In a town this size, local gossip is our main export, and that one traveled fast. Word is the Dark River Gazette wanted it for the front page.”

Mia’s eyes go wide. “Did it?”

“Page two,” Tammy says. “Sadly it got bumped when Old Bill pulled a record-size fish off the dock.”

“Well, I’m still going to need a copy,” Mia says.

“Oh my God,” I mutter, praying for a piano to fall on my head.

“You and everyone else, hon.” Tammy drops her voice. “Lots of ladies buying that one up, if you catch my drift. Big photo of Mateo halfway up the tree with the cat. You can imagine the swoons.”

Mia giggles, bumping her elbow against mine. “Hiding your small-town hero status from me?”

“It was a bit overblown,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “It basically just involved climbing a ladder with an open can of tuna.”

Tammy chuckles and turns her focus to Mia. “Look at me, running my mouth without proper introductions. I’m Tammy, sweetie. What’s your name?”

“Mia,” she says, flashing that bright, charming smile of hers. “I flew in with Lark for her video production, I’m one of the dancers on the project. Mateo and I are old friends.”

“Oh, how exciting!” Tammy clasps her hands together. “The whole town is buzzing about Lark’s album. We can’t wait to see the dance pieces shot around town. Aren’t you doing a big night sequence on Front Street?”

“Yep! That one’s for a track called ‘Moonlight,’” Mia says, her hands already sketching it in the air. “They’re setting up fire bars right along the curb, and there’ll be a whole line of us dancing between the flames with the moon coming up over the water. It’s going to look like something out of a dream.”

“I’ll definitely be watching from the sidewalk.” Tammy winks, then glances between the two of us thoughtfully. “So, just to clarify for the local rumor mill... you two aren’t a couple? Just friends?”

I shift at the question, Mia right there next to me. We’re rarely on the same side of the country, much less in the same town. But whenever we are, somebody asks within the hour. I guess it’s natural. Usually I laugh it off without a thought. Today it takes me a second too long, and Mia gets there first.

“No, sadly,” Mia says with a tragic sigh, laying a hand on my arm. “But you can tell them you saw him with a very vivacious and mysterious brunette. Give them something to talk about.”

“Oh, you’re a treat!” Tammy is won over on the spot, laughing. “Go sit, you two, I’ll bring coffee.”

I shake my head at Mia as we walk, and she grins, wide and shameless, running the show like she always does. We take a booth by the window and Tammy drops off menus and two large steaming mugs of coffee. I wrap both hands around the ceramic, trying to push away the strange, heavy feeling in my chest that’s been trailing me since sunrise.

Waking up to Mia curled up beside me felt more intimate than anything I’ve known since Lindsey, even though we did nothing more than share a bed. My thoughts keep drifting back to it anyway. How it felt to just lie beside her in the quiet dark.

Mia’s my best friend, and I care about her too much to mess this up. She only stayed in my room because of a screaming fox. It meant nothing to her, and I’m not going to turn it into something on my end. I’ll shove it down, same as everything else.

I take a long sip of coffee, which does nothing to quiet whatever this is, while Mia leans across the laminate table and nearly presses her nose to the glass.