Page 61 of The Birthday List (Maysen Jar 1)

“Now? I can’t go now.” I was needed at the restaurant.

“It’s now or never. I checked their schedule today, just to make sure we were on track for next weekend, and saw o

n their website that they’re closing early for the summer. I guess there was some sort of emergency in their family and they aren’t showing anything until next summer. Tonight’s their last night.”

“What? No!” The drive-in theater that he had found was the only one in the state, three hours from Bozeman in a small town called Lewistown. If we couldn’t make it to a movie there, then finishing that item on Jamie’s list was going to get a whole lot harder.

“We need to leave,” he checked his watch, “in ten minutes.”

“Shit.” I threw my hands in the air. “I can’t leave in ten minutes. Molly has the kids tonight and I’m the one closing.”

“What about Helen?” Cole jerked his chin to the part-time college student Molly had hired a couple weeks ago. Helen was clearing a table and blushed when she spotted Cole looking her way.

“She’s never closed by herself before.”

“Do you think she can do it?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess so.” I’d trained her to close but most nights either Molly or I were here to help just in case.

“Then let her. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Uh, my restaurant could burn down.”

He grinned. “That’s a risk you’re going to have to take if we’re going to make the previews.”

I sighed, weighing my options: trust my employee, or let Jamie down.

It wasn’t much of a choice.

“Okay, we’ll go. But I need a few minutes to walk her through it all.”

Ten minutes later, Helen was thrilled to be running the show tonight and I’d called in the other part-time worker just in case. The two of them should be able to handle the Friday night dinner rush, and I just hoped that I’d made enough food to last until tomorrow morning.

Walking out of the kitchen, I slung my purse over my shoulder and joined Cole by the counter. He was talking to a man who must have come in while I was in the back.

Not wanting to interrupt, I just smiled, but the stranger pulled me into their conversation.

“Hi.” He held out his hand but his eyes went to my chest. “How do you know Cole?”

Before I could answer, Cole stepped in. “This is Poppy Maysen, my girlfriend. She owns this place.”

The smile on my face faltered as I shook the man’s hand. He said something else to Cole, but I couldn’t hear it. The only thing in my ears was the word girlfriend in Cole’s deep voice.

“We’d better get going. See you around.” Cole nodded to the man, then placed his hand on the small of my back, steering me toward the door. “Asshole,” he muttered under his breath.

Too stunned to speak, I walked straight for the door, while that word just kept on ringing.

Girlfriend.

Was I his girlfriend? No, I couldn’t be his girlfriend. It was too soon. I was married. I was a wife. Wives weren’t girlfriends.

I couldn’t do that to Jamie.

“Poppy,” Cole opened the door to his truck for me when we got outside, “Helen has the restaurant covered tonight. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

I blinked at him but still didn’t have anything to say, so I climbed in his truck.

He thought I was worried about the restaurant. He had no idea the bomb he’d just dropped on me. That with one word, he’d erased all of the comfort and ease we’d found with each other these last few weeks.