by Elena Aitken
It was the first time that he felt a realistic hope, instead of just a vague wish, that they might be able to make it work somehow.
He pushed that thought to the back of his mind. This was no time to be getting ahead of himself, throwing his thoughts years into the future. Right now, he had to focus on the task at hand: getting Serge home and settled.
After all, this was the first time Luna had asked him for help...pretty much the worst thing he could do was fuck it up.
It was hard to erase a first impression.
As Luna climbed into the passenger seat and Connor shut the car door firmly behind her, Connor was reminded of the hundreds of times he'd done that exact thing before, when taking her on dates, or just to hang out.
He hadn’t done it in over a decade, but it still felt like the most natural thing in the world.
He came back around to the driver’s side and settled in behind the wheel. As he pulled away to make the short trip down to the hospital, he asked, “So, Luna. Are you excited about your grandpa coming home today?”
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he felt a rush of pride in his chest at being the one to turn on those lights inside her, beaming out so brightly.
“Oh my God, you can’t even imagine,” she said. Her voice took on a little breathless quality under the words and his dick jumped in his jeans.
Get yourself under control, dude! This is not the time!
“It must be a relief that he’s well enough to leave the hospital.” Connor heard a rasp in his own voice when he spoke, and hoped she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice it. Or at least that she’d attribute it to emotions and not totally freaking inappropriate horniness.
It wasn’t the greatest sign that he had to make a real, deliberate effort to push down his feelings yet again, in the short time span of just a few minutes.
Not screwing up the one job she’d ever let herself be vulnerable enough to ask for his help with should not have been that difficult a goal, but he was having the hardest fucking time keeping his mind on the task and his eye on the ball when he was alone with her in the close quarters of the car.
He breathed out slowly and focused his attention on what she was saying.
“It is a huge relief. It validates that all of the doctors who’ve been saying that he’s going to be fine haven’t just been blowing smoke. It really is true—he’s going to have a long road to recovery, but he is going to be fine. It’s just a matter of taking care of him until he is.”
“Well, he’s in the best hands.”
“Aww, that’s nice. I’ll tell my grandma you said so.”
He smiled at her. “I meant you.”
She blushed but didn’t respond. After a moment of silence, he continued, “You have a huge heart. I know who I’d want to be taking care of me if I was laid up.”
She elbowed him playfully. “Trained medical professionals?”
He laughed. “Exactly. You know me so well.”
Their laughter died off suddenly at that statement, at the on the nose gut punch it carried, because it was...true. Painfully true. She did know him so well. And he missed that. Missed her.
He pulled into the closest available parking spot to the door and turned to her. She wouldn’t quite meet his eye and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was.
“Stay there,” he said quietly. “I’ll come around and get your door.”
She nodded, and he hopped out and opened it.
She put her hand out and he took it as she stepped out. It was automatic, another relic of their relationship. Still, though, his skin burned fire hot at her touch.
Damn, she was a powerful drug. And not only was he was addicted, he had absolutely no desire to get clean.
He slammed the car door shut and locked it, then turned and took her hand as they walked into the hospital.
She didn’t flinch or pull it away. In fact, she just gave his hand a little squeeze and then left hers there, resting warmly in his.
He hadn’t known how she would react. He’d just had an impulse and gone with it.
It hit him that maybe that was one of the problems with the way he’d always dealt with her in the past—way too much time wondering how she might react to things, and way too little time just living in the moment and following his impulses.
And, hey. If this was any indication, he had some good ones.
She did pull her hand discretely out of his just before they stepped through Serge’s hospital door, but he didn’t blame her. Why invite scrutiny? They were still figuring each other out. That didn’t take away from the three-odd minutes that he’d just gotten to hold her hand walking down these halls.
He didn’t care that no one had seen him, he’d been proud. The way he always felt when she was on his arm. The warm glow of that memory would be enough to live on for a while.
When they stepped through the hospital room door, Connor wasn’t surprised to see that Serge was already fully dressed and sitting in a wheelchair, ready to go. If Connor had just spent days in the place, he could only imagine how freaking eager he’d be to make his escape.
He looked up at them and grinned. Turning to the nurse standing a few feet away jotting notes down on a clipboard, he said, “All right, Jennifer. This here is my ride.”
The middle-aged woman turned around and her face lit up when she saw Luna. “Oh, hey, Luna! How are you?”
“Great, Mrs. Andrews. And you?”
“Oh, just fantastic. I was so glad to hear that you were back in town. Is your grandmother at home?”
“She is. She’s putting the final touches on the convalescent area she set up in the downstairs study.”
“Oh, well, that’s so nice that you both came down to pick your grandfather up.” She turned to Serge. “Now, I’m just going to go make sure your paperwork’s all in order, and then you’re free to go.”
“And not a minute too soon,” he grunted, drawing a smile from Luna.
Connor reflected on how that was small-town life for you. Even if you’d been gone for years, you could count on running into former neighbors/teachers/classmates/church congregants/co-workers/you name it. Anyone you could imagine seeing, at the places you least expected—that was a surefire place for them to show up.
He looked over at Luna. She’d never liked that part of small-town living. He thought it felt cozy and homey. It made him feel like he belonged.
She thought it felt intrusive and stalker-y, and it made her feel exposed and irritated.
Looking at her face now, though, there was none of that. Just a pure smile, with nothing behind it.
Could she be changing her views on more than just asking for help?
The nurse came back in, already giving the room a double thumbs up. “You’re good to go!” she announced in a sing-song voice. “Let’s wheel you out front.”
She pushed the wheelchair to the front lobby, then through the automatic doors to the portico.
Connor jangled his keys. “I’m going to pull the car around.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Luna replied, and brushed her fingertips over his arm as he walked away.
Fuck. Even from that light touch, his brain went haywire. He had to tell himself how to walk to keep his feet moving in the right direction, repeating the words left right left right left right to himself in his head over and over as he moved each corresponding foot.
Yeah. There was no pushing his feelings to the back of his mind, or shoving them down to keep them from developing. They had already developed. They were here.
Now all he could do was his level best to keep a good head on his shoulders so he could avoid making an idiot of himself.
It shouldn’t have been hard. It should’ve been easy, when you thought about it—just don’t behave like a damn fool. Easy!
Still. He wished that he had just a little more confidence that he’d be able to do it.
Chapter 15
Luna
"Are you ready?�
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Connor looked at Luna expectantly as she nervously fidgeted with the ring of keys in her hand.
The truth was, she didn’t know if she was ready. This was going to be her very first time opening up the diner on her own. It was only staffed by her, and by Connor. She hadn’t worked there in over a decade, and it was almost as long since he had too.
It wasn’t the best recipe—pun intended—for a great opening morning.
Not only that, but she imagined it was going to be busy. Not only with people who genuinely wanted to come in and eat, but also well-wishers, and people who wanted to satisfy their curiosity just as much—or more—as their appetite.
Normally, she wouldn’t have stressed this much about a day at “work” that she didn’t feel quite so prepared for.
This was different, though. This was her grandparents’ reputation on the line. Their legacy, for God’s sake!
She had to do well. She had to do them proud. Nothing less was good enough.
She swallowed hard.
Well, opening late would be a terrible start, that was for sure. And she had to face this at some point, so...no time like the present, she figured.
She palmed the keys she’d been nervously playing with and smiled up at Connor. “Yep. Let’s do this!”
He gave her an encouraging shoulder squeeze—which had the unintentional side effect of sending sparks she couldn’t deal with at the moment zooming through her lady parts—and walked out through the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the main dining room.
What she saw stopped her in her tracks.
There were people lined up out on the sidewalk. Not just a few. Dozens!
She just stood there for a few long moments, then looked up at Connor. “Do you know anything about this?”
He shrugged, beaming a smile down at her. “I know these people are cold and hungry. What do you say we let them in and solve both of their problems?”
She grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”
Luna had to work to control her tears as the crowd filed in. Almost every single person was someone she knew. That was Valentine Bay. That was how it was. Everybody knew everybody, and when someone needed support, they showed up.
That used to make her feel claustrophobic. Having so many eyes on her felt constrictive, like a straitjacket. She wanted nothing more than to be anonymous.
Not anymore, though. Now, the attention of so many concerned neighbors made her feel like she was being enveloped in a comforting hug, and she craved that support and warmth.
As she hurried from booth to booth, she was glad—both for Connor’s sake and for her own—that people were keeping the orders pretty simple. Basic diner fare stuff...pancakes, eggs, bacon. And then once it got on toward lunch time, burgers and fries.
When both the breakfast and lunch rush had died down and only a few booths were filled, Gen came through the door, blowing in like a breath of fresh air.
Luna showed her to a booth and then collapsed onto the seat across from her. “Oh my God, I know this isn’t professional, but I don’t care, I’m doing it anyway. I’ve been on my feet since 6 a.m. and I need a break.”
“Cool. Cool cool cool,” Gen replied. “So I guess that means no coffee for me, or....?”
Luna’s eyes widened as she popped back up. “Oh, God! Sorry! I just assumed you were coming in here to talk to me, I didn’t even think you might be coming in here to eat. Sorry!”
Gen burst out laughing. “Oh my God, sit down, I’m just messing with you!”
Luna shook her head and scowled a little as she returned to the booth bench. “You’re cruel. Not to mention unusual. You know that, right?”
Gen grinned. “I’ve been told. And honestly, it doesn’t bother me. So how’s your first day been going?”
Luna rubbed her neck and turned her head from side to side to stretch it. “Exhausting, to be honest. I'm a marketing consultant. I don’t do this kind of physical labor very often.”
Gen grinned. “What, doesn’t jumping through hoops for clients count as exercise?”
“I wish! That would free up a lot more calories for eating every day. Now, I know you said you were just kidding, but are you sure I can’t get you some coffee? For real?”
Gen patted her hand. “I tell you what - you look dead on your feet. I know where the coffee is. I’ll get some for both of us.”
Luna closed her eyes, wanting to rest them just enough to take away the sandpaper graininess, but she was surprised when it seemed like no longer than a fraction of a second later that Gen nudged her hand with a cup full of hot coffee.
Luna opened her eyes. “Whoa! That was quick! I think you’d be better at this whole waitress gig than I am.”
Gen patted her hand again, which made Luna start to wonder, way back in the back of her mind, just how rough she actually looked. Gen wasn’t a natural nurturer, so for her to have given Luna such a caretaking gesture in the space of just a couple of minutes...
Yeah. Probably pretty rough.
“Sorry. I hated waking you up.” Gen’s voice was full of sympathy.
“Waking me...what?” Luna asked.
“But you were snoring. I figured it’s not exactly the impression of the ‘new management’ you’d want to put out there.”
Luna let her face fall into her hands. “Oh, lord. First of all, stop with the ‘new management’ stuff. I’m just filling in.”
“Noted.”
“But, secondly...you’re right. Not the best impression. So, thanks for saving me from myself.”
Gen let out a short bark of a laugh. “Oh my God, Luna. If only I could save you from yourself in a way that’s slightly more meaningful than cutting your booth nap short.”
Luna knew exactly what she was referring to. The same thing that it seemed like everyone was always referring to. Connor. But she didn’t want to get into it.
Mostly because she was coming around to the conclusion that they were all right and she’d been so, sssoooo wrong, and for so many years. So to accept that would’ve meant letting herself feel the full weight of all the time she’d lost, and she wasn’t about to do that here.
So, she did the next best thing. Changed the subject.
“So, Gen, I wanted to talk to you about this Christmas benefit I hear you’re planning.”
Gen’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. You’re not only a waitressing wiz, you’re a mind reader, too. That’s what I came in here to talk to you about.”
“Awesome. Well, my grandma talked to me about potentially having the diner donate some catering. I assume she’d already talked to you about it.”
“She floated the idea, and I loved it. But with everything going on, I knew you’d be taking on the brunt of the workload. I didn’t want to count on it until I talked to you.”
“Well, me and Connor. We’d both be pitching in.”
Gen’s lip twitched. “Ah. Makes sense.”
Luna narrowed her eyes. “What?”
Gen shrugged. “Why you’re feeling so charitable.”
Luna threw a napkin at her friend and they both laughed.
“Listen, seriously, though,” Gen continued once the laughter had died down. “I was thinking that we’d go with something Christmas-y, but also really simple.”
“Like some kind of Christmas dinner casserole or something?”
Gen groaned. “And now we know why you work in marketing and not food service. No. Not Christmas Leftover Surprise or whatever thing you just mentioned.”
“Christmas dinner casserole,” Luna mumbled.
“Yeah, you’re not making it better,” Gen shot back, and Luna had to laugh. God, she’d missed this kind of rapid-fire banter. She didn’t have it with anyone else but Gen.
“Fine, then, Scrooge. What’s your idea?”
Gen just rolled her eyes. “Come to the planning meeting next week. Bring Connor. I know the diner’s doing shortened hours until things are back to normal. You can swing it. We’ll brainstorm the menu t
hen.”
Luna sighed as she got back to her aching feet. “Fine. I’ll do it. You’re just lucky I love you so much.”
Gen grinned as she stood up and dropped a five dollar bill on the table for the coffee. “Yeah. I would be lucky, if that’s why you were doing it. And don’t get me wrong—it’s not that I’m complaining. Anything that gets me donations and volunteers, I’m good with. But I have a sneaking suspicion you’re not doing it because you love me so much. It’s more like, you’re doing it to spend more time with the person you actually love.”
Chapter 16
Luna
Luna shut the kitchen door as quietly as possible as she came into her grandparents’ house after a long day at the diner. It wasn’t super late at night, but with her grandfather still recovering, it didn’t matter what time of the day or night it was, he might be sleeping. And, since he needed every minute of sleep to make him stronger, she wasn’t about to be the one who woke him up.
She leaned back against the door that she’d just closed so gently and let out a relieved sigh, closing her eyes and enjoying the silence. God, it felt so good to finally be home! Her legs were aching, and so was her back…actually, she was hard pressed to think of a part of her body that wasn’t in pain. Every inch of her throbbed in time with the slow beating of her heart.
“Long day?”
Luna’s eyes flew open and she let out a small yelp of surprise as her hand flew to her chest.
Her grandmother, sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of her, chuckled and Luna shook her head as she sat in the chair across from her. “Grandma, it’s not nice to laugh when you’ve just scared the stuffing out of someone. In fact, it’s a little cruel.”
“Sorry, honey,” she apologized, but Luna noticed that the twinkling smile was still firmly on her face.
“Grandma, what are you doing in here with the lights out, anyway? Even with the glow from the stove clock and overflow from the hallway, it’s pretty dreary.”
“Oh, I know. But I’m not reading or anything, and your grandpa’s taking a nap in the living room. I didn’t want it to keep him up.”