“About?” I asked, not moving.
He looked around, as if to say,Right here? In public?“I need to clear the air. We’re going to be neighbors, kind of. I thought it’d be good if we weren’t tense around each other. It would also be good if we kept things under wraps. Right?”
I crossed my arms. “We’re not neighbors. You’re opening a restaurant across from the library. I run a drive-thru coffee shack. This isn’t an episode ofFriends.” I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. “Good God, no, I don’t plan on tellinganyone. I can’t imagine anything I’d want less than to broadcast our little arrangement to everyone I know.” I grimaced, a full-body shiver working through me, as I let the sarcasm drip from every word, hoping he’d finally catch the message.
For a brief heartbeat, the charm vanished, and its place was a flicker of something cooler, like he wasn’t used to anyone denying him in such a way. But just as quickly, he shrugged, masking it with his usual polish, and chuckled. “That sarcasm was always adorable. Good to know some things haven’t changed.”
I rolled my eyes, smirking, feeling the tiniest surge of satisfaction. He could pretend all he wanted, but I knew themoment had landed exactly where it should. I was opening my mouth to deliver a line that would absolutely shut him down when a familiar voice called across the lot.
“Eliza!” It was Tilly.
I turned. Nate and Tilly were coming from the sidewalk, cutting across the corner of the lot on their way to the park. Tilly was holding Nate’s hand, her bright blue jacket zipped all the way to her chin, strawberry blonde ponytail bouncing with each step. Lois trotted alongside them, leash in Nate’s other hand, her tail wagging with what looked like equal enthusiasm and judgment. Dogs definitely could sense evil, or at least jerks.
Of course.
The difference between the two of them couldn’t have been more striking. Nate wasn’t polished, hiding behind a facade of kindness. He wasactuallykind. Nate was real.
Where Graham’s confidence was calculated, Nate’s was quiet and unassuming. He didn’t charm people—he saw them. Heard them. Remembered their favorite pie flavors and the names of their dogs. And when he looked at me, it wasn’t with that practiced gleam that Graham always had in his eyes. Nate looked at me like he was trying to memorize every expression I made—or at least that’s how it had always felt.
Nate slowed when he saw us—me and Graham, frozen in the parking lot. His eyes flicked from Graham to me, and something shifted behind them. Polite. Guarded.
Great.
Tilly, on the other hand, had no sense of awkwardness. She tugged on Nate’s hand and marched straight toward us like she was on a mission.
“Hi, Eliza!” she said brightly. “Lois wanted to say hi, too!”
Lois barked once in agreement and wagged her entire body.
“Hey, Tilly,” I said, crouching to pet the dog because that was less complicated than looking Nate in the eye.
“She’s been asking if you’d be at the Coffee Cabin all day,” Nate said lightly, voice even. “And I told her you would probably be closed. We were heading to the park.”
“Hi, I’m Graham,” said Graham, ever the opportunist. He stepped forward and extended a hand. “Friend of Eliza’s.”
The lie stung like lemon juice on an open cut. He was no friend of mine.
Nate shook his hand. “Nate Winters.”
Graham gave a smooth smile. “You new in town? You look kind of familiar.”
Nate nodded. “Took over the Pennywhistle Pantry from my grandparents.”
Graham’s eyebrows lifted like he’d just realized he was slumming it. “Ah, the diner. I remember it well. Hard to believe it’s still around.”
“Hope to keep it that way,” Nate said, his tone pleasant but firm. He turned to me. “Anyway. Didn’t mean to interrupt. Just saying hi.”
I opened my mouth, ready to explain, to say something that would make it clear Graham was not someone I wanted to be caught standing next to—but nothing came out.
“Nice meeting you,” Nate added to Graham, and then turned to Tilly. “Come on, sweetheart. Park’s waiting.”
“Bye, Eliza!” Tilly called, waving with both hands.
“Bye, sweet girl,” I said, my voice a little hoarse.
I watched them walk away, Nate’s hand back in Tilly’s, Lois trotting happily behind them.
Graham gave a low whistle. “You into him?”
