“I was worried you forgot about me.” Dec pouted.
I put my hands on my hips and stared him down. “I could never forget about you.”
I’d been eating at the diner less, and I knew he missed me coming by. I made a mental note to carve more time for him out of my schedule.
“See how she is, Selene,” Dec said. “She gets a boyfriend and completely abandons us.”
Selene flicked a piece of popcorn at him. “Stop being jealous. I’m happy for Tegan. Atlas is a great guy.”
“You’re just happy you get to work more hours at the bakery,” he huffed, plucking the piece of popcorn off his blanket and popping it into his mouth.
“Oh, speaking of the bakery. I have something for you, Selene.” I hopped off the couch and went to the hall closet. I pulled out a gift bag and handed it to Selene. To thank her for all of her help and encouragement, I’d gotten her a little gift.
She reached inside the bag, pulling out a brand-new apron I’d had embroidered with her name. Even if she didn’t continue working with me at the bakery, she could still use it at home.
“Tegan!” Selene said, holding the apron out in front of her. “I love it.”
“That is so cute,” Dec said. I was shocked he didn’t ask me where his gift was, but I was thankful he was letting Selene have her moment. She deserved it.
“It even has my name on it,” she said, running her fingers over the embroidery. “Thank you so much.”
“I just wanted to show you how much I appreciate your help with the bakery. It’s been nice to step back a little bit.”
“It’s no problem,” she said. “You know how much I love it there.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do when you go back to schoolin the fall.” Her body went rigid. “You are going back, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Oof, Tegs. This is a sensitive subject,” Dec said. He raised his brows and took a sip of his margarita.
Selene groaned. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“I mean, fall semester is pretty far away,” I said. “You’ve got time.”
“I get the impression that Mama and Papa Jimenez wouldn’t be too keen on the idea of their future engineer dropping out of college,” Dec said.
Selene’s parents were accomplished. Her mother was a pediatrician, and her father was a veterinarian. They had high expectations for their children, and they’d already expressed disappointment in her brother’s degree in forestry. Their daughter dropping out of engineering school to work in a bakery would be another devastating blow. But this was Selene’s life.
I shot Dec a look. “I think you should do whatever makes you happy. There’s always the pastry school in Rock Harbor,” I suggested.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Selene said, sounding more upbeat. “Maybe I’ll go check it out.”
I hoped that she would. I’d even go with her to show her around campus.
“All right, that’s enough heavy talk for today,” Dec said, reading the room. “When are we going to talk about you and Atlas?”
I grinned, just like I did every time I thought about Atlas. “Everything is going great.”
It really was. We’d just started dating, but everything between us felt so easy. So natural.
“Have you met his friends yet?” Selene asked.
“I’ve met one in passing. He works at the gym as a personal trainer,” I said. “They want me to come over for game night.”
“Oh, you love board games. That’s perfect,” Selene said.
I laughed and shook my head. “Not board games.Video games.”
“Maybe they’ll playMario Kart.” Dec grinned into his glass.
