“Dinner,” she agreed. “But then, can we come back? I want to give it another look before I call it a night. Maybe the break will make it all make sense.”
“Of course,” he agreed readily. He might have agreed to just about anything at that point, truth be told. Not only had she agreed to meet him for dinner, but she’d saidwe. She wanted them to come back together.
He felt so hopeful that he even extended his hand to her. She took it.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get something to eat, huh?”
They strolled across the street, hand in hand, as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the street in shades of blue shadows. As they walked into the glowing warmth of the diner,Tyler felt like he was living something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
“Let me guess,” Tyler said, after they were shown to a table. “Your order is going to be the egg salad sandwich on sourdough, with a side of double coleslaw.”
Cadence narrowed her eyes. “Are you implying that I’m predictable?”
“You’rereliable,” he corrected.
“Uh huh. What are you going to get, the thing that nobody ever orders at a diner and never should?”
“Variety is the spice of life, Cadence!”
They both erupted into giggles. They held hands all the way until their food arrived. Cadence did, indeed, order her usual. Tyler ordered pumpkin pancakes.
“Pumpkinpancakes?” Cadence asked after she’d taken a bite of the coleslaw. She’d never had better slaw than what they served here. She couldn’t believe that most people ignored the side in favor of ‘flashier’ things like French fries.
More for her, then.
“Yeah, they’re delicious. Want a bite?” Tyler offered, waving a loaded fork in her direction.
“No way! It’s summer. Pumpkin is for fall.”
He shook his head at her as he ate another bite. “It doesn’t stop tasting good in the summer. This is what the canning process was invented for, Cadence. Deliciousness all year round.”
They bantered and joked and teased just like this all through dinner, then decided to split an order of banana pudding just so they could linger a little longer.
Would Tyler jinx himself if he acknowledged that it felt like a date?
Eventually, however, they ran out of reasons to stay.
“If we don’t get back to the gallery now, we’re going to be there until midnight,” Tyler reminded her.
Cadence made a scrunchy disappointed face that was completely adorable.
“It doesn’t have to get done tonight,” he reminded her.
Her scrunching intensified.
“Yeah, just like I thought,” he said, laughing. He slid out of the booth and held out his hand to her. “Come on. Let’s go deal with those paintings so you can rest easy tonight.”
Instead of taking his hand, she looped her arm through his, which, in Tyler’s opinion, was way better.
“You know me so well,” she sighed.
He thought this might be the best compliment he’d ever received.
They strolled back down the street, making the short trip last a while. They didn’t speak, but Tyler knew they were both enjoying the mutual pleasure of just being together.
He’d been so afraid he’d never had this again.
As they reached the front doors of the gallery, Tyler spun Cadence around so they were face to face. She put her arms around his neck and looked up at him with a smile.
