My words cut off when he cupped my cheeks. The corner of his lips tilted up softly and almost wickedly.
I want to kiss those lips.
No, no, no. I pushed that thought away. It wasn’t the first time the confusing impulse took hold, but like every other time, I couldn’t act on it.
“I know you would, but I hate being a burden to you.”
“You’re not. You never could be.”
Atlas just smiled sadly. “I think it’s time I told you. But not right now. Tonight, after work?”
I nodded, but I didn’t let him go. I knew I should, but I wanted to keep him here where I wouldn’t let anything go wrong, even if it was just for a bit longer. It didn’t help when Atlas looked at me with those soft eyes, like he was seeing a version of me that wasn’t only my hard exterior.
“Why, aren’t y’all just the cutest thing?”
Becca’s voice was a cold splash to our moment. My arms fell from around Atlas’ waist, and my gaze shot to her. Atlas wasn’t as fazed. His lower body was still pressed up against me, but he was facing Becca now with a happy smile.
“We sure are,” he agreed easily.
There went my heart again. I reached between us to rub my chest, but it didn’t help soothe the ache there in the slightest.
“Unfortunately, no more shows for you. Arnold’s waiting, and we need to go,” he said with a sigh before turning back to me. “I’ll be back soon, then we’ll talk tonight?”
“Okay.”
And just like that, he was gone. I watched Arnold chase after him, carrying a gift bag through the large windows that took up the entire front wall of the diner. My gaze didn’t break until Atlas was out of sight, and I was still left with the feeling that something was terribly wrong and I couldn’t fix it.
Atlas was slipping through my fingers, and I couldn’t stop it.
Becca was grinning at me when I turned to her. In fact, I realized my diner had gone suspiciously quiet despite the full tables. Looking around, I saw—yep, the entire fucking town watching me with hawk eyes.
MaeEdgson, RyanEdgson’s mother, more infamously known as the biggest gossip in town, wasn’t even blinking as she watched withferventeyes. Her signature twin braids flopped a little as she bounced in her seat. If it was physically possible, they’d probably be pointing arrows at me as if to say “new target acquired.”
She was a sweet lady, had always been kind to me, and was about a head shorter than me, but she terrified me when she got that look in her eye. Like she’d found a locked treasure chest and wouldn’t stop until she uncovered every single nugget of gold. I’d flown under her radar for years, and it didn’t feel good being her target.
I gratefully tore my gaze from her when Becca clapped me on the shoulder. “He’ll be back, boss. Don’t ya worry.”
I frowned at her sudden comment. Becca was a good hire—one that Atlas had insisted we needed, and he’d been right—but I wasn’t a huge fan of how she was able to read me so well. I was only just getting used to Atlas being able to tell my moods with just a glance at my expressionless face, and now there was another person who could read me almost as well.
It was unnerving.
“Don’t you have work to do?” I said, more harshly than I’d intended to. I frowned at the tone I couldn’t control—the one my mama always sneered at as the nasty attitude I’d inherited from my papa. It was what turned people away from me. Becca only bellowed out a hearty laugh.
She gave my shoulder another hard pat and turned her gaze to the rest of the room. “Alright, show’s over! Who needs a coffee refill?” she called out to them. Half the people in the room raised their hands, which earned another chuckle from her.
Instead of going to feed the coffee addicts, her hand stayed on my shoulder. “We should grab drinks sometime,” she said with a kind smile and a wink that promised no nonsense before finally going to do her job.
I didn’t bother with a reply, instead heading back into the kitchen, since I had a feeling she was going to get what she wanted, whether I was willing or not.
This was something else I was unused to. People didn’t invite me to parties or for drinks. They usually tried to stay as far away from me as possible.
It was the same with The Diner.
The place had never been this busy before. We’d always managed to get by, since this was one of the oldest and one of theonlysit-down restaurants within the town’s limits, but most people who came were quick to eat their food and get the hell out of here.
Now, the sound of conversation and laughter filled the dining area. People stayed long aftertheir meals, just hanging out and chatting about the stupid little things that didn’t really matter.
There were a lot of new faces from the recent migration of people here, but among them were the original Kither Springs folks, too. Some of whom had known me my entire life and never spared more than a sneer my way.
