by Linda Kage
She wasn’t dating that guy and never had. Thank God.
That didn’t explain her melancholy, though. Confused, he studied her a moment longer. What had happened to her? His Tess had been so adept at smiling. The first moment he’d met her, looking up to see her poised in his hospital room, he remembered how she had smiled at him. He’d always remember the happy curve of her lips.
So, why wasn’t she smiling now? Why did she look so sad? Tess should never be sad.
Frustration gnawed at him as he tugged the order in front of him from its ring and hobbled back to the grill.
He couldn’t see out into the diner at all from his work station, but he kept eyeing the window as he fixed his first meal of the day.
Working in Granton, even on the opposite side of town from the university, he should’ve known she might come in eventually. He’d seen some of his old football cronies a few times, not that they had noticed him, but he’d seen them. He’d grown out his hair and even started a beard in the past few months he’d been out of the hospital. He didn’t look anything like the clean-cut Jonah Abbott he’d been in January.
He glanced over as the waitress clipped four new orders in the window. Hurrying to finish the last order, he piled everything onto a plate, grabbed up the ticket to slip under it and hopped on one leg to the window. After setting the plate down, he slapped the bell, letting Marla know an order was up, and he snagged the new ticket. When he saw it was for table number three where Tess had sat down, he shuddered out a shaky breath.
Three orders were the same, a cheeseburger with fries. But the fourth person wanted a bacon chicken ranch salad. He wasn’t sure which one of them wanted which, but it really didn’t matter. He was going to cook three of these meals. And they would be going to her table.
Unable to help himself, he leaned forward some more to peek out the window, knowing she probably wouldn’t see him even if she glanced over. She wasn’t paying a lot of attention to much of anything, actually, not even Bailey who was telling some kind of story as she flapped her hands madly, making the couple across from her laugh. Tess, however, focused a little too heartily on how she was idly stirring a packet of sugar into her iced tea.
An arrow of pain passed through his chest. This wasn’t right. She should never look this depressed. Not his Tess.
“Hey, Abbott. We got another order or what?” Dale called from his station at the oven where he was taking out a fresh apple pie. “Why do you keep dawdling at the damn window today?”
“Sorry.” Jonah jerked away from the window, hoping she hadn’t heard his name, hoping she hadn’t seen him. After calming his breaths, he glanced at his boss and nodded. “But, yeah, we have a new order. Three cheeseburgers and a salad.”
Dale harrumphed, mostly likely put out because no one wanted any of his baked goods, and pointed to the grill. “Well, get to work then.”
Jonah nodded. “Yes, sir.” With pleasure.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?”
At Logan’s startled exclamation, Tess lifted her face from the salad that had been placed in front of her. Fork in hand, she watched him hold up the top part of his hamburger bun as he gaped in bewilderment down at the beef patty resting on the bottom bun as if it had grown two heads. Which it had. Well, one head anyway.
Tess’s mouth fell open as she took in the smiley face drawn on the melted slice of cheese, ketchup making up its mouth and dots of mustard to create two eyes with a pickle slice in the middle to denote its nose. Even the tomato had been cut and set to either side of the hamburger in order to give it some big red, floppy ears. Just as her mom had always done it.
Gasping, she reached out and jerked the plate across the table, rotating so she could see the full face right-side up.
“Oh my God,” she breathed, popping to her feet. “Oh my God.”
She’d only told one person about her mother’s smiley-face hamburgers.
Suddenly light-headed, she held out a hand to brace herself, but all she caught was air.
“Tess?” Bailey reached for her, but Tess shifted her hand, waving it to stop her.
“It’s okay. I just have to…I have to…” This could only mean one thing. He was here. In the diner. In the kitchen of this very diner. “I have to go.”
Nudging Bailey out of the booth so she could be free, she took off across the black and white tiled floor toward the two-way swinging silver door with a small round port-hole window in it. She’d never—ever—barged into the back of any kind of establishment before. But her brain was so scrambled she couldn’t even think properly about what she was doing. She pushed through the doorway and was rewarded when she found herself in the back kitchen, a grill sizzling and the warm smell of food permeating her skin.
The middle-aged, pot-bellied guy sweating in front of the grill glanced up.
Skidding to a halt, Tess stared at him in disbelief and disappointment. Immediate tears throbbed behind her eyes as she licked her dry lips. “Did…did you cook my hamburger?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “There a problem with it?”
“No.” She shook her head and sent him a tremulous smile. “Not at all. I just…I had a question about it, is all.”
But where in the world had this guy come up with the idea to make smiley faces on his hamburgers, just as her mother had? It couldn’t be a mere coincidence. Could it?
“The kid who made ’em is on his break,” he said. He tipped his head to a door in the back. “You want to ask him, he’s out in the alley there.”
Tess nodded. Yes. Yes, she most definitely wanted to ask “the kid” about Logan’s smiley-face hamburger. But her legs began to tremble. She swerved her attention to the door, almost afraid to approach it.
“Okay,” she said, frozen in her shoes. “Thank you.”
Still, it took her another five seconds to move. At first, she took a single step and then faltered. But with each step after that, she moved a little faster. By the time she made it to the exit, she was nearly sprinting. She shoved her way outside, spilling into the hot, humid alley, only to find Jonah hobbling along with a cane, his back to her while he rubbed a hand down his thigh as if kneading taut cramped muscles.
A whimper caught in her throat, but other than that, she couldn’t speak.
He turned back slowly to shuffle the other way and finally caught sight of her in the doorway. When he jerked to a stop, she forgot to breathe. They stared at each other for a solid minute.
Then she swallowed dryly. “Y-You’re walking.”
He glanced down at his legs as if he just now realized, wow, he was walking.
She let the back door of the diner fall shut behind her and took a step toward him, only to hesitate. He lifted his face again.
“Yeah, I…” He drew in a breath and nodded. “I guess there was never a question of if I could or not. It was just a matter of when.”
His eyes looked bloodshot as if he’d been crying, or maybe he hadn’t been getting enough sleep. And he hadn’t shaved in what looked like weeks. His hair had grown out, showing off some wispy curls that stuck out in places giving him a fashionable just-rolled-out-bed look. She wanted to sink her fingers into it and never let go.
With a forced smile, she said, “Good. I…” The words died on her lips. She didn’t want to talk about walking. There was so much more she wanted to say. “I saw what you did to Logan’s hamburger,” she finally blurted.
He blinked. “Logan?”
“Yeah. Paige’s boyfriend.”
“Oh,” he murmured as if realizing something big. Then he flushed and nodded. “Right. You’ve mentioned him before. I remember.” He shook his head. “Sorry. The smiley face was meant for you.”
Joy filled her chest. “Really?”
Eyebrows crinkling, he nodded again. “Yeah, you—I…” Running his hand through his hair, he closed his eyes briefly. “You looked sad, and I remember how you said your mom’s smiley-face hamburgers always made you smile. I wa
sn’t trying to draw you out here or anything. I just…I wanted you to smile.”
She smiled now. She was unable to do anything but smile. “It worked.”
His expression broke. Sorrow filled his features. “Tess.” Her name cracked on his lips. It was an apology. A curse. A prayer. Thanksgiving. Elation. That one word was everything.
With a sob, she sprang into action, launching herself at him. He dropped his cane to catch her, pulling her tight against him as he buried his face in her hair and swept her off the ground. When his fingers cradling her scalp began to tremble, he turned his face in to kiss her temple.
“I got your letter,” she whispered, clutching him for dear life.
“Letter?” Jonah pulled back to search her eyes, his eyebrows crinkled with confusion. “What letter? You’re not talking about…” His face drained of color as panic flared across his face. “Oh God.”
“The letter Sam made you write,” Tess said, nodding. “The beautiful, amazing letter you wrote to me. Yes. That letter. A…A friend stole it from her for me.”
He opened his mouth, his expression stunned. “You…Who? Bailey?”
Tess grinned and shook her head. “No, but it doesn’t matter who. It matters that I got it, and it changed everything. I looked everywhere for you. Bailey and Paige and Logan and even Sam looked everywhere for you. I needed to tell you there is no other guy. There’s only ever been you. I don’t even know who you were talking about.”
“It was Logan.” When she wrinkled her brow, his lips tipped up in a grin. “I saw you hug him just outside Grammar Hall, so I stayed away. I didn’t even think I might’ve been mistaken until he came into the diner with you today…with that other girl.” His eyes searched her, and his breaths came a little faster. “So, you forgive me? Even after—”
“I forgave you months ago,” she said.
She grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him forward until their lips collided. A groan tore from low in his throat as he ground his mouth to hers. She made a sound against him but it wasn’t any kind of resistance.
Spinning them until he pressed her back against the brick wall of the warehouse across the alley from the diner, Jonah took control, licking his tongue into her mouth and caging her face in his hands.
Tess climbed him, desperate for more, needing this connection more than she needed her next breath.
“I missed you.” He broke away from her only long enough to murmur, “God, how I—”
“Oh…wow.” A stunned voice broke Tess and Jonah’s kiss apart.
Jonah whirled around, keeping Tess tucked safely behind him until they saw who’d surprised them. Then he slumped more against the wall, using his arm to catch himself and prop his weight against the warm brick.
Standing in the doorway to the diner, a guilty-looking Bailey raised her hands. “I…I thought this was the bathroom.” She opened her mouth again, but then almost immediately clamped it shut. “Okay, fine. I was checking on you.”
Tess rolled her eyes and grinned. “Go ahead. I know you’re dying to demand answers.”
Bailey crossed her arms over her chest. “Why do I have a feeling you left out a few details about your hospital visits, Tessie Ann?”
“Um…” Tess bit her lip and gave a guilty cringe. “Because I might have forgotten to mention a few things, maybe.”
“Yeah, I’d say so.” Bailey arched a skeptical glance at Jonah before returning her attention to Tess. “That was so not your first kiss with him.”
After exchanging a silent glance with Jonah, Tess shook her head. “No. It wasn’t.”
“Oh, my God!” Tossing her hands in the air, Bailey began to rant. “How could you not tell me about this! We’re best friends. I spilled every freaking detail to you about the time I lost my virginity, and you say nothing—nothing—about simply kissing him? Un-freaking-believable.”
“Umm…I’m still a virgin if that makes you feel better.”
Jonah tensed beside her. She looked up at him just as he skimmed him gaze down her body, the heat in his gaze making her burn in the most delicious places.
“Hey, stop looking at her like that, buddy,” Bailey snapped. “She’s going to stay a virgin, too. I haven’t sanctioned this reunion yet. You may still be a—”
“Oh, hush.” Blushing, Tess turned in toward Jonah to hide her embarrassment. “You have no authority to sanction anything between us. Butt out.”
When Bailey didn’t argue, but did heartily scowl at her, Jonah curled his arm around her and ducked his head so he could rest his cheek against hers. “You will not believe how much I missed you,” he murmured in her ear.
Tess shuddered and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, inhaling his scent, afraid she might never get another chance to do so again. He seemed just as clingy, skimming his nose up her jawline and curling his torso in to create a little nest for her between him and the wall.
“Hel-lo,” Bailey called from behind them, her voice making it sound like she was waving her hand to get their attention. “I’m still here.”
Jonah’s soft laugh was like a puff of breath on Tess’s cheek. “You described her perfectly.”
“A little too perfectly.” Tess glanced over his shoulder to lift her eyebrows in question at Bailey. “What now?”
“I’m not butting in, but seriously? How can you two just start making out together after not seeing each other for two months?”
Probably because we haven’t seen each other for two months, Tess was about to smart back. But her friend began ranting again.
“He lied. You lied. There’s…stuff…that’s kept you apart. Why isn’t one of you mad, or hurt, or really freaking confused right about now? Personally, I’m riding the confused train over here. But, no, you two just look happy to see each other, which makes no sense. You spent, what, five days together, lying to each other, before you went your separate ways. That’s not enough time for—” she waved her hand, motioning between them “—this.”
“They were five very intense days,” Jonah answered, turning back to Tess to gaze into her eyes with a slight, knowing smile.
Giddy warmth spread through her. Relieved he’d felt the same force of connection during their time together as she had, she grinned back. Her insides stirred with restless anticipation.
“Besides,” she said to Bailey, not taking her eyes off him, “he explained everything I needed to know in his letter.”
“But you didn’t explain anything to him,” Bailey shot back. “Not why you claimed to be his girlfriend when you could’ve just as easily said—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jonah cut in, taking Tess’s hand and smiling softly at her. “She’s here. That’s all I care about.”
“Well, then, I want to know why he stayed away so long, and why—”
“Oh, my God, Bay!” Tess gritted her teeth and set her a sidelong glance. “Can you give us a minute here?”
“Fine.” Arms re-crossed firmly, feet braced in standoff mode, Bailey didn’t move.
Jonah let out a breath. “She kind of has a point. We should probably talk before…” He smiled faintly and ran the back of his knuckles gently down Tess’s cheek. “I need to get back in, anyway. My break should be about up.”
No sooner had he said that than a voice spoke up. “Hey, kid. You coming back to work, or what? It’s the busiest time of the day.”
Tess glanced over, seeing his boss in the open doorway behind Bailey, spatula in hand and irritable expression on his face.
“Yeah.” Jonah cleared his throat and stepped away from the wall.
When he bent in an effort to reach for his cane, Tess darted forward to fetch it for him. “Here you go.”
Their fingers brushed, and he sucked in a breath, meeting her gaze. He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
From the achy desperate gleam in his eyes, she knew he wanted to see her again. “When do you get off work?”
His shoulders sagged. Relief cleared his face. “Six.”
; She nodded. “I’ll be here.”
He nodded too, his eyes igniting with a joyous sparkle that warmed her. “Thanks. I…we both have some unresolved issues we need to clear up for each other.” Then he arched a look toward her best friend. “And for Bailey too, obviously.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
SHE WAS WAITING FOR HIM when he clocked off. Jonah caught his breath as soon as he saw her leaning against the far wall of the alley behind the diner, as if she hadn’t left since he’d last seen her, though she and Bailey had gone back inside after their alley scene to finish their meal.
Stray pieces of red hair, glinting crimson in the waning sunlight, fluttered across her face. She looked picturesque and breathtaking.
“Did you drive?” She pushed away from the building to move toward him.
Every muscle in his body pulled taut with anticipation as he nodded. “Yeah. My truck’s just around the block.”
She reached for his hand. “Good. You’ll have to give me a lift. I took the bus here.”
Their fingers interlaced, and he gaped at their connection in wonder. Aside from Tess, he couldn’t remember ever holding anyone’s hand. Not even his mother’s.
“Where do you want to go?”
Her answer was simple. “With you.”
It tore into him to know she wanted to be with him, really wanted to be with him. Made him feel like shit for how he’d let her leave the hospital without clearing the air between them and for not going back to her these past few months. He’d stayed away for her, to help her, but she’d looked so miserable in the diner today. And now…now she didn’t look miserable at all.
He’d messed up, big time. But he was going to fix this. Somehow.
“We can go back to my place. Aubrey shouldn’t be home until late.”
Color fled her cheeks and made the blue in her eyes stand out in stark color. “Aubrey?” she croaked as if the name physically hurt her to say aloud.
He paused. “Yeah. Did I not mention him in the letter?”
“Him?”
He smiled. “Definitely a him.” Kissing her temple, he tugged her along. “He was the reason Sean finally decided to come out of the closet. He’d fallen in love, and Aubrey was…you know.”