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He looked up from his plate and sat up straighter. “Change your mind?”
I peered through the window out into the storm. “Since they’re not beating down the doors...”
“Do people actually come here this late? It seems like this little town probably buttons down at like half past seven.”
I set down my plate and slid across from him. “A few years ago, you’d have been right, but there’s a lot more people moving to the area these days.” I dipped my fry into the ranch and popped it into my mouth. “Ugh, heaven. Mitch won’t let me add it to the menu.”
He glanced down at my plate. “That looks decadent.”
“Better than chocolate.”
His eyebrow did that arching thing. “Now let’s not go that far.”
“I’m more of a mint girl, though I don’t mind some chocolate chips.” I pointed a naked fry at him. “But you can’t beat the perfection of mint ice cream without anything on it.”
“Is that right?”
I nodded. “Especially mine.”
He set his knife down on his plate and hung his fork along the edge. So unlike most of the people who came into the diner. Half the time, they didn’t even use utensils. He lifted his napkin off his lap and blotted his mouth, then leaned forward. “Is this special ice cream?”
I dragged my fry through the cheese and bacon on my plate. “Kind of. My own blend.”
“You make ice cream? How…quaint.”
I narrowed my gaze at him. “How rude.”
He laughed and sat back to cross his arms. “You got me. Sorry. I’m not from around here.”
“Obviously.”
?
?What? I don’t fit in with the sweet Americana flavor of…where am I again?” He lifted his water glass to his mouth. “Crescent Cove, is it?”
“Yes, baby capital of the world.”
He choked on his sip.
I laughed. “Sorry, that was mean.”
“Yes, it was.”
I picked out another fry that was loaded down with cheese and bacon. “It’s not a real moniker for the town, though it might as well be. We’re currently going through a bit of a baby boom. Macy blames it on the water.”
He quickly put his glass down and shoved it away. “Is that right?”
I managed not to give him a cheeky grin. “So much so that she makes the most delicious shakes and drinks to avoid drinking it. But I think she’s just a touch superstitious. Halloween is her favorite holiday after all.”
He shook his head. “This town is odd.”
“No doubt about that, but it’s home and I love it.” I really did. So many people from my class had moved away after college. They’d been dying to get out of this town. Me? I kept finding reasons to stay. Working at the diner didn’t exactly give me a huge savings account, but living with my brother meant I didn’t have a whole lot of expenses. Now and then, I picked up shifts at The Spinning Wheel and The Cove to pad my pockets. I was cute enough to get tips at least.
“So, are you going to give me a name?”
He looked up from his mostly empty plate. “Are you?”
The juke went silent, then the needle hissed before the quiet was filled by The Rolling Stones.
