“There you are,” she said, dropping into the seat across from him. She leaned back with a sigh. “If one more seven-year-old glues their fingers to a lantern jar, I’m going to start drinking.”
“You teach elementary art,” Noah said. “I assumed that came with the job.”
“Only on parent–teacher conference nights.” She opened the menu, even though Noah knew she always ordered the same thing. She squinted at him. “What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” Noah said too quickly.
Elsie huffed. “Yeah right. Your face is doing the thing.”
“I don’t have a thing.”
She snorted. “Are you kidding? You havesomany things, you should come with a glossary.”
Janette brought over their coffees—one black, one with caramel syrup and whipped cream. That was for Elsie, who insisted she drank it “for the kids”.
She took a sip, then stared at him. “All right, spill it. I haven’t seen you this twitchy since you tried to build your ‘structurally sound’ gingerbread gazebo.”
“That gazebo was?—”
“Held together with hope and frosting. But back to you.” She leaned in. “Is it because of the bakery guy? Aileen’s brother, Eli?”
Noah inhaled wrong and choked on his coffee.
Elsie leaned across and slapped his shoulder. “You okay, champ?”
“Fine,” he wheezed. “How do you even?—?”
“This town has fewer secrets than a kindergarten cubby.” She sagged against the back of the bench. “And while I knew Aileen in high school, I don’t recall much about her little brother, apart from his name and that he was into art.” She straightened. “Okay, let’s start with Home Depot. You were seen. With him. Holding hands.”
“It wasn’t like that,” he protested.
“Peoplealsosaw you standing too close at the bakery yesterday.”
“We weren’t?—”
“Don’t eventhinkabout lying. One of those people was me. And Janette said you’ve been staring at your phone for the last five minutes like you’re manifesting a text message.”
“Janette,” Noah called out, glaring at her, “betrayal hurts most when it comes from family.”
That earned him an eye roll before Janette went back to serving another customer.
“She’s not your family,” Elsie said with a smile.
“Excuse me? This diner raised me.”
She laughed so loud two old men at the counter glanced over with obvious disapproval.
“So?” she asked. “Do you like him?”
Noah hesitated. He hadn’t admitted it out loud yet—not to himself, not even in the privacy of his thoughts. He’d replayed their Home Depot meeting at least fifty times. The warmth of Eli’s hand. The sly teasing. The way Eli had walked away with a faint smile, almost as if the moment had surprised him too.
“I don’t know him,” Noah said.
“But you want to,” Elsie pressed.
Noah stared into his coffee. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I do.”
Elsie softened instantly. “Oh, buddy.”
