“The people I call family don’t hate you. They like you a lot. Ray sure is on your side more than mine.”
“What about Doug and Keith?”
“Doug is an ass, and isn’t welcome in my shop any longer. His views are not mine, and not the view of most people in this town. As for my brother.” Calvin rolled his eyes. “I stopped taking his sorry-ass opinion as gospel when I was eight. He’s a thick-headed jerk, who hasn’t had to make room for anything in his life except his own ego.”
“I heard you talking to him.”
“I recall.”
“You shared his opinion about me.”
“Nope. No, I did not. I’m sorry if it sounded like I did, and I’d be happy in the future to clarify any and everything I say to him for you. But no. My brother and I do not see eye-to-eye on anything but making sure our mother doesn’t kill herself remodeling that old house of hers.”
“Okay,” she said. “Okay.” She sat back, but seemed even more tense.
“Last question.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it and nodded. He looked like he was bracing for a hit or getting ready to catch someone falling off a cliff.
“Did you really mean what you said? About seeing me and….” She swallowed.
Sunshine opened his mouth.
Lu lifted one finger in warning, just as I said, “Stow it, Sailor.”
He shut his mouth. Waited.
“What you said,” Jo continued, “that you saw me? That you’d remember me?”
He waited a moment, then an extra beat after that. Jo waited too.
“Come on you two. You can do this,” I said. “Take the chance. Leap for it. If it’s love, you’ll never regret a single, stupid minute of it. I promise. I promise.”
Lu tipped her face up, her eyes closed, and turned her hand for me.
I took it in mine, because I always would. Always.
Sunshine walked toward Jo, then he knelt in front of her. He rested his fingers—just his fingers—on one arm of the chair. Not caging her in. Giving her room, giving her space.
“Every word I said is true. I… I don’t know how to make you believe me, but from the moment I saw you… It’s you, Jo. You’re all I can see. All I…hope for. A chance. Just a chance to see if we can be… If there’s something here. Between us. Together.”
“And if it doesn’t work?” she asked.
“We’ll still be friends.” He winced. “Well, after we get done being mad. I think we could be friends.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Look at what we’ve gone through already. Diners with jackasses, brothers who are dumbasses, bossy customers.”
“Hey,” Lu said on a laugh. “Don’t drag me into this.”
I rolled my eyes hard enough it hurt. “Drag you into this. Like anyone could drag you out of it. I know. I tried.”
“It’s been a lot in just two days,” Jo said. “What if it’s all boring from here on out?”
“Have you seen this town?” he asked. “Boring can be kind of nice.”
Jo pressed her lips together, then ran her fingers over her hair again. “Okay. Like a date. Or two. Just to…try.”
