When they walked in the door, Nova knew exactly why this place was so popular. The smell in the air was indescribable but the closest she could come was by calling it heaven.
It had a classic diner feel with red booths and tables that looked like they’d been teleported out of the 1950’s. There was even a counter with chrome stools upholstered with red vinyl. Every single stool had a butt on it and most of the tables were already full.
As Nova looked around, a woman screamed. She jumped and jerked her head toward the back of the restaurant where a small woman with pitch black hair and brilliant blue eyes was moving around the counter, her eyes pointed straight toward them.
Oh, hell.
Hoping she was wrong about who the woman was, Nova tried not to fidget as they watched her wind her way through the tables, practically running. In seconds, she took a running leap at Torin, throwing her arms around his neck.
He grunted and released Nova’s hand so he could grab the woman around her waist.
“Jesus, Aunt Molly. You nearly took out my girl.”
“What?!” the woman yelled. She released his neck, but Torin was careful not to drop her too quickly. “Your girl?”
“Aunt Molly, she’s probably long gone after all your shrieking and antics.”
No, Nova was glued to the floor next to Torin. Not only were they having a date today, apparently it was meet relatives who were so excited to see you that they screamed loud enough to break glass. That suggested Torin was close to his family, and not just his parents, but his aunt and perhaps cousins or other aunts and uncles as well.
His aunt released him and whirled toward Nova. Then, she clapped a hand over her chest. “Praise the Lord!” she yelled. “She’s pretty and she actually looks like she has a heart beating in her chest rather than an ice sculpture where it should be.”
Torin let his head fall back as he stared up at the ceiling. “I’m beginning to regret my decision to bring her here.”
His aunt ignored him and held out a hand to Nova. “Hi, I’m Molly O’Malley.” She threw out a hand so that the back of it hit Torin in the gut. “This one’s aunt and the one who got him started cooking in the kitchen.”
“I had to learn or starve,” he griped. “Mom could burn soup just by looking at it.”
Molly looked like she wanted to chastise him, but she ended up laughing, her blue eyes dancing. “You do have a point.”
Nova shook Molly’s hand. “I’m Nova Eckhart. I work at Gallagher’s for Torin.”
Molly gasped. “You’re dating one of your employees? You?”
Worried that she’d said the wrong thing, Nova tried to come up with a way to fix it, but Torin beat her to it.
“Yeah, Mol. I broke my cardinal rule.”
Molly turned back to Nova. “You must be a really special lady for him to break his big rule.”
“His big rule?” Nova asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Molly said, finally releasing her hand. “Torin has always been adamant that dating co-workers is a huge mistake. He’s never done it. Ever.”
Nova turned to look up at him. “Really?”
He shrugged but didn’t say anything.
“Anyway, Nova, you must tell me about yourself. We’ll just go on back to the kitchen and I’ll make you both something delicious—”
“Molly, no,” Torin interrupted. “We’re not spending our time with you in the kitchen. You can take a little time and sit with us in one of the booths, but Nova and I need to leave after we eat.”
“You do?” his aunt asked, her face falling into lines of disappointment.
“We do. This is our first official date and I wanted her to enjoy your food before we go on our way.”
“Your first date?” Molly asked, her mouth dropping open.
Nova decided that a little payback against Torin for springing this meeting on her would be a good idea. “Actually, this is our second date,” she stated. Molly’s eyes rounded as they came to her. “And our first onereallydidn’t go well. In fact, I’m pretty sure Torin hoped he would never see me again. I thought he was too uptight to be much fun, but he thought I was a complete flake.”
