At 11:45, Mae appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Your boyfriend is here."
"He's not my boyfriend. We've had one date."
"He spent Monday night teaching you about classic westerns and made you breakfast. That's boyfriend behavior."
"We didn't—it wasn't—" Lucy gave up. "Fine. My maybe-boyfriend is here."
She emerged from the kitchen to find Jake standing by the counter, looking slightly uncomfortable as the Knitting Circle openly stared at him. He was wearing jeans and a dark green henley that made his eyes look impossibly bright.
"Hey," Lucy said.
"Hey. Ready for lunch?"
"Let me grab my coat."
As they walked to the door, one of the Knitting Circle—Mrs. Patterson, who'd taught Lucy in third grade—called out: "You kids have fun now!"
Outside, Jake immediately said, "So everyone knows."
"Everyone knows. Mrs. Henderson is apparently a one-woman news network."
"Marcus told me this morning that I'm the talk of the team. Owen keeps asking if you're going to bake us celebratory cookies."
"Are we celebrating something?"
"According to Owen, we're celebrating true love conquering all."
Lucy laughed despite her embarrassment. "He's very dramatic."
"He's twenty-one. Everything is dramatic." Jake took her hand as they walked down Main Street. "Does it bother you? That everyone knows?"
"A little. I like my privacy. But also..." Lucy squeezed his hand. "Also I don't want to hide. I spent five years hiding from life. I'm done with that."
"Good. Because I'm done hiding too."
They walked to Giuseppe's—the only sit-down restaurant in Timber Falls besides Mac's Tavern. It was run by Giuseppe Marino, an Italian immigrant who'd married a local woman in the 1970s and never left. The pasta was indeed weirdly sweet, but the atmosphere was cozy and warm.
Giuseppe himself greeted them at the door. "Lucy! And Jake Morrison! I heard you two are together now. This is wonderful! True love!" He clasped his hands together dramatically.
"Giuseppe—" Lucy started.
"No, no, I am happy for you. You need someone. You work too much. And Jake, you need someone to feed you properly. Lookat you—too thin!" He ushered them to a corner booth. "I will make you something special. On the house!"
"You don't have to—"
"I insist! For love!" He disappeared into the kitchen before they could argue.
Jake and Lucy looked at each other across the booth and burst out laughing.
"This town," Lucy said.
"I know. But it's kind of nice, right? People caring."
"It's invasive."
"It's both. Invasive and nice in equal measure."
They settled into easy conversation—about practice this morning (exhausting but good), about the bakery (chaotic but manageable), about tomorrow's meeting with Shayna (terrifying).
