“Wow, it’s so beautiful here,” Harper said almost wistfully as they crossed the deck toward the café. “You must love getting to look at these mountains every day.”
“It’s the best part of my job, but I’m almost jealous of the guys who get to actually beinthe mountains all day. Even Elle has a great view from her café. I didn’t get so lucky with my office.” No, her office overlooked the parking lot, unfortunately.
Harper bumped her shoulder. “More reason to take extra-long lunch breaks.”
Inside the café, a couple of tables were taken, but the place wasn’t too busy. Elle stood by the counter and a new barista was working at the coffee machine. Elle had admitted that she was finally ready to hire someone to replace Macy, so they’d gonethrough applications and the interview process together. The girl was young but had experience working in cafés, which was what they wanted.
Elle grinned at her as soon as she looked up. “Hey. Here for lunch?”
“Yes,” Tilly sighed. “I’m dying for one of those salmon and cream cheese focaccias.”
Elle chuckled. “I actually had one of them for lunch too.”
“Have you met Harper?” Tilly asked, turning toward her friend.
“No, but I’ve heard about you, what with this being a small town and all. It’s nice to finally put a name to a face.”
Harper cringed. “Good things, I hope.”
“Well, depends if you think ‘can make a mean cocktail’ is a good thing.”
“In that case, the town can talk away.” Harper glanced up at the menu on the board. “Is there anything you recommend?”
“The salmon focaccia’s always a crowd-pleaser, but my personal favorite?” Elle leaned forward. “The Reuben.”
“Oh, I love corned beef. Yes, please. And an iced coffee would be great.”
“Make that two,” Tilly said.
Elle nodded. “Done.”
They paid and chose a table by the window.
“So, tell me how the bar’s doing,” Tilly said once they were seated.
“Really well, actually. Cody’s hired a couple more people, who have been great, and we’re finally able to take nights off every so often.”
“Oh, Harper, that’s amazing.” Since Tilly had arrived back in town, it had been just Harper, Cody, and an older guy named Barry working at the bar. They’d always needed more people, but in the small town of Misty Peak, that wasn’t so easy to find.
“It’s a huge weight off our shoulders, especially Cody’s. Everything’s been so great that I’m almost scared to blink in case when I open my eyes, we’re back to danger around every corner and having no help at the bar.”
Tilly reached across the table. “I think you’ve been through so much that your hard times are over.”
“I’m praying on that being the case.”
Elle set their drinks onto the table. “There you go. Food won’t be long.”
She’d just walked away when Harper tilted her head. “So…I haven’t seen Kayden at the bar the last few evenings.”
Did she know? She couldn’t, right? Tilly certainly hadn’t said anything to her friend yet, she’d wanted to wait and tell her in person. Had Kayden told Cody?
Tilly took a big sip of her iced coffee before speaking. “We’ve sort of been seeing each other.”
“What?”
“Shh!” God, had everyone in the café heard Harper?
“Sorry.” Harper lowered her voice. “Wait, back up, what does ‘seeing each other’ entail, because I know you kissed, but did something else happen?”
