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Music played from the jukebox. They’d decorated the place to replicate the fifties from the bright red tables to the neon lights bordering the counter. Signed, framed vinyl records hung on the wall and coin slots bordered the tables for people to pay for their choice of tunes. It felt homely and comfortable and welcoming.
Twenty minutes later, after eating a sandwich and drinking my coffee, I felt in control once more.
“So,” Grace said once she took her break, “what have you done today?”
“I bought some art supplies and a couple of books to read. Thank you for that, by the way.”
“No problem. Delilah always makes sure there’s an excellent selection in there. Whatcha get?”
“Don’t laugh.”
She grinned. “Now I might have to.”
“I got a regency romance, okay? Something about ‘How to Lure a Duke in Ten Days.’”
Grace laughed. “I love those. The dark, brooding hero and the independent woman who defies society’s rules.”
“Me, too!” I screeched, clamping my hand on my mouth. “Sorry. But people are too quick to look down on romance. I love them! The tortured soul who looks upon society with ennui, possessing a title and power to their name but still able to look past the flounce of society and notice the strong-willed bluestocking.”
“I know. It’s a shame people have such a deluded view of them.” She lowered her voice. “Problem is, it sets us up for failure with too high an expectation. That’s what my dad says, anyway. Mom just retorts, telling him he wants to thank himself lucky she didn’t aim higher.”
I grinned, watching Joan—Grace’s mom—from afar. Grace had her coloring.
“You’re going to make me wait, aren’t you?”
“What?” I asked, dragging my attention back to Grace.
“Your date with Donovan. You stroll in here trying to distract me, and I tried. I don’t want to be pushy, but the suspense is killing me.”
“It went well.”
“How well?”
I thought about what to say, not wanting to deceive Grace any more than I already had. “As well as it could go with a guy I’ll soon be looking at through the rearview.”
“You really like him, don’t you?”
“Too much,” I confessed. “I’m meeting him for coffee tomorrow, but …”
“But what?”
I have to kidnap him!I have to deliver him to an evil bastard who might decide to take us all out for the fun of it! And it’s killing me.
But I didn’t say any of that. Instead, I replied, “A guy like Donovan doesn’t make plans with someone like me.”
She frowned. “Now that’s bullshit if I ever heard it. You’re worthy of him, Savannah. And he’s worthy of you. And you can trust him with anything.”
I smiled, nodding to reassure the woman I’d quickly befriended. But the clock was ticking, and if I spent much longer in this town, with these people, with Donovan, I’d falter, and my uncle’s life would be forfeit.
“Thanks, Grace,” I said.
“Sure,” she replied, studying me with knowing eyes. But she said nothing more, and for that, I was grateful.
