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Justin navigates himself to where we’re going as I get a travelogue from his brother in the backseat. There aren’t a lot of lunch options in Conception Ridge, some fast-food restaurants by the highway and a bar called The Roadhouse, but there is a diner close to the college campus that he likes, apparently, and that’s our destination.
It doesn’t take long to drive there, and pretty soon we’re all piling out of the truck again, this time in front of another coffee shop called Brewed Awakening.
And the diner next door is called Yolk’s On Me.
“This town is adorable. It’s like you’re from Mayberry,” I whisper to Justin as his brother and Sienna lead the way.
He catches me around the waist, holding me close for a moment. “The Andy Griffith Show? You know that, but you don’t know potato chips and beer?”
“I only know the reference. I’ve never actuallyseenit.”
“There’s my princess.” He kisses my forehead. “Don’t think we’re not going to loop back to the jealousy when Sienna greeted me, either.”
“Do you have a lot of female friends who smile at you like they want you naked?”
“None. And she doesn’t—”
“I know.” I give him a quick hug. “So this is the real world, huh? Other people and regular restaurants? So complicated.”
He chuckles at me, then pats my ass and ushers me forward.
Lunch is delightful. Ihavebeen in restaurants before, many times, but nothing like this since I was a child. It reminds me of diners my dad would take me to in Hawaii. By the time we moved to D.C., dinners out were more upscale than this, and recently…well, that’s all in the past now.
This is my future. Brotherly teasing and watching the sexually-charged teasing energy between Jacob and Sienna is good fun.
When Jacob excuses himself to take a phone call from a client and Sienna goes to the ladies’ room, I ask Justin the most important question of the afternoon. “So, they’re together, right?”
“Not as far as I know. She’s worked for him for two years, and it’s always been professional.”
“There’s something there.”
“Oh, he’s head-over-tits in love with her.”
I gasp. “You should say something to him!”
“We are not playing cupid.” He shudders at the thought.
“And again, I point out that you are a buzzkill.”
He kisses my temple. “At least this meddling instinct doesn’t break any state or federal laws.”
When they return, Justin explains that we want to get on the road, but he hopes to see them againvery soon, which I notice, and Jacob notices me noticing, and Justin pretends not to notice.
“What was that about?” I ask as soon as we return them to the law office.
“What was what?” He points his truck not toward the highway, and not in the direction of the college campus to the north, but instead to the south of town. “There’s something I want to show you.”
“You said you’d see them very soon.”
“You’re observant.” Then he smiles. “Look ahead. Before we leave, I want to show you someplace special.”
We’ve left the main part of town, and up ahead on the right is a cheerful-looking retirement community, and past that is a lighthouse. Justin pulls into a public parking lot between the two. “Stay there, I’ll come around. It’s rocky here.”
Once he helps me down, he takes my hand.
There’s a viewing platform ahead, looking out at the Pacific Ocean, but instead of going in that direction, he leads me out of the parking lot and up the hill toward the lighthouse.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he knocks confidently on the door.
