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There was that knowing smile again. I had no idea what was going on, but I decided to ask her about it when I got back from lunch. Now that she’d mentioned food, Iwasa little hungry. I’d been so busy working on getting this place off the ground that I’d skipped a couple of meals. It was funny to think that I ate better while I was on the secluded island.
Not that I was still constantly thinking about the place or what happened there. Not at all.
I reminded myself that I needed to get over it as I walked outside and to the diner next door. It seemed like it was usually pretty busy during the lunch and dinner rushes, so I expected to have to wait—
My thoughts ground to a halt as I walked into the restaurant. It was deserted. The booths, the long counter lined with stools, the tables. Not a customer in sight, except one.
Hayden Reid was sitting at a two-person table right in the middle of the black and white tile floor.
He had the nerve to smile at me.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Hayden
I could tell Rylee was shocked to see me when she walked into the diner. Good. That was my plan.
“Hi, sweetheart,” I said, indicating the chair across from. “Take a seat.”
Rylee stayed where she was, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes at me. “What are you doing here?”
Her voice was cold. She was pissed.
Understandable.
I shrugged. “I wanted to see you, and this seemed like a good idea.”
“It’s over the top, which is so like you,” she said, annoyance still radiating off of her. “You should have just called me. Likefivedays ago.”
“I didn’t have your number.”
She pursed her lips, which I found much too adorable. “So, you could track me down here, but you couldn’t find my phone number?”
She arched an eyebrow at me, and there was a challenge in her voice that reminded me so much of the first day we met that I had a nearly uncontrollable urge to go to her, to pull her into my arms and plant a hot kiss on her lips.
But I wasn’t stupid. She was going to stay mad at me until I explained.
“Okay, yes,” I agreed. “I could have found a way to get a hold of you a few days ago, but time got away from me.”
She scoffed at what she perceived as a flimsy excuse and started to turn around to leave.
“My grandpa died two days ago.”
I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that, but she wasn’t making this easy, and I didn’t want to give her the chance to leave the diner. I’d follow her if I had to, but I really just wanted her to sit down and hear me out.
Rylee whipped back around and stared at me with wide eyes. I could see the questioning in her hazel depths. She wanted to know if I was serious.
I nodded, swallowing hard against the rise of emotion at the thought of my grandpa’s passing. “It’s true.”
Immediately, I saw her expression soften and she hurried to the table, pulling out a chair to take a seat across from me.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, reaching out across the table and taking my hands in both of hers. “How are you? Is there anything I can do for you?”
God, she really was a good person. I never wanted to let her go.
“It hasn’t been easy,” I said, finding it exceptionally easy to talk to her, like always. “Like I told you on the beach, we knew it was coming for a while now. I miss him, and I probably always will, but I’m just glad he’s at peace.”
“But you were able to see him before he died?”
