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Reardon cleared his throat, then rolled his eyes toward me and said, “Twelve.”
“Twelve? You’ve already seen it twelve times? And, you’re here for number thirteen?”
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you a lawyer?” I asked jokingly. “When do you find the time?”
“It’s kind of what I do to unwind,” Reardon replied sheepishly. “Rather than go home and sit in front of the TV, I like to come to the movies.”
“That makes sense,” I replied, then couldn’t help but tease him a little. “Do they give you a punch card or something? Do you get a Wookie for thirteen punches?”
“I wish,” he replied, and he sounded so wistful that I had to laugh.
The lights dimmed, and our conversation stopped for the next two hours and sixteen minutes.
During that time, I cheered, laughed, and cried, and when the credits began to roll, I turned to Reardon with a smile and thought how much I had enjoyed sharing this experience with him, and how I didn’t want it to end.
So, without even thinking, I asked, “You want to go grab a bite and talk about the movie?”
Chapter Five ~ Reardon
Even though she brought out the awkward in me, there was no way I was passing up the chance to spend more time with Chloe. I was enjoying myself too much.
I ignored the voice in my head that said I should just go home, that it was too complicated, and my feelings for her were on a different level than hers were for me. I knew all of those things, I did, but I wasn’t ready to go back to being her son’s father’s lawyer and cousin. I was enjoying being just a man she watched a movie with.
I held the door to the diner open for her, then followed behind, pointing out a booth in the corner, away from the few other patrons who were scattered throughout.
“Evening, Reardon, the usual?” Dolores, the diner’s senior waitress, asked from across the dining room.
“Coffee and chocolate cake work for you?” I asked Chloe.
When she nodded, I held up two fingers to Dolores, who shouted, “Got it!”
“You come here often?” Chloe asked with a chuckle when my attention was back on her.
“Maybe a little too much,” I replied with a grin. “So, did you like it?”
“You know, I really did,” she replied as she sat back against the booth and got comfortable. “I was worried, because I didn’t love one, two, and three, as much as four, five, and six, but this one really hit the mark for me.”
I murmured thanks to Dolores as she set our coffee and a small pitcher of cream down on the table, then poured a healthy dollop into my steaming cup.
“I guess I don’t have to ask if you liked it, since this was your thirteenth time,” Chloe teased, causing me to think about how much I liked this side of her, and how unexpected it was.
“No, you probably don’t,” I agreed. “But, I’m with you a hundred percent in that I was nervous going in, and left pleasantly surprised.”
We talked about the movie until we were both mostly done with our cake and on our third cup of coffee each.
“How’s the house hunting going?” I asked, wanting to know more about how she was settling into Cherry Springs.
“I looked at a couple places, but nothing I fell in love with yet.”
“Do you have a better idea of what you’re looking for?”
“Well,” she began, her expression thoughtful. “I’d like someplace quiet, but that still has kids in the neighborhood. Somewhere safe, where Chris can go out and play football or ride his skateboard, and I don’t have to worry about him. I want a three or four bedroom, I think. It would be nice to have an office…”
“Are you looking for a job? Something like you were doing back in North Carolina? I know Zoey said you’re going back to school…”
Chloe chewed her lower lip as she contemplated my question, and I felt my blood heating as I focused a little too closely on those white teeth worrying her lip.
