“Do you miss it at all?”
“Just the camaraderie. Being there with a purpose and feeling like I belonged to something bigger than myself.”
He turned to face me. “I get that. You always looked after everyone. Made sure Jodie was okay, your mom didn’t need anything, and you helped your dad.”
“You noticed that?”
He looked away, a small smile curling at the end of his lips. “I noticed everything about you.”
I didn’t know what to say. My actions hadn’t been selfless. Noah hadn’t been totally wrong in his assessment at the bar on my first night back. I’d wanted to be noticed by Tanner, even then. But I’d always known it was pointless to pine for a straight guy, especially one who was dating my sister.
“I think you should take this one,” I said, changing the conversation and the direction my thoughts were taking me.
“Oh yeah?”
“It looks a little like Chip. I think they’ll get along. You could call it Fry.”
"Chip and Fry." He laughed and took the toy from me to pay for it at the checkout desk.
“Hey, do you want to grab a coffee or something? Maybe we can check out the coffee shop that guy mentioned.”
“If you let me pay since you drove us all the way here.”
He held his fist up and I bumped it.
Spilled Beans was full, but someone was leaving a table as we walked in, so Tanner immediately grabbed it.
I didn’t see the guy behind the counter straight away, but as soon as he raised his head above the counter, I recognized the blue eyes. He also had hair so dark it almost looked blue tied up in a bun.
“You’re Tyler’s dad.”
He sighed. “I’m Indy, and I’m so sorry. What can I get you? On the house.”
I laughed. “I’m Jax. He’s a sweet kid. I met him and your husband outside.”
“Did he ask if he could perform a wedding ceremony for you and your friend?” he asked, pointing at Tanner.
“No, he only took photos, but now I’m intrigued.”
He took our order and started preparing the drinks. “He heard recently about how Tate and I accidentally got married in Vegas and now he thinks it’s that easy to marry people.” He glanced sideways at me and raised a brow. “And that everyone he sees needs to be married. If it were up to him, there would be no single people in Chester Falls.”
“You gotta respect a romantic at heart.”
He tilted his head toward Tanner. “You and him?”
I chuckled. “You’re your son’s dad. Nah, we’re just friends.”
He shrugged. “I punched my husband when we met and look at where we are.” He put a cinnamon bun on a plate. “Here, this one’s on me. Best cinnamon bun in the state.”
“Then why do we only get one?”
“Because the best things in life are better shared with someone else.”
I smiled and paid for the coffee. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“What was that all about?” Tanner asked, his brows furrowing a little as he looked at Indy.
“Nothing. That’s Tyler’s dad. You have him to thank for the cinnamon bun. He also said something that reminded me of something else I wanted to ask you.”
