“Maybe, but you love him,” Atlas said with a smile. He leaned his head against my chest.
I’d come out to the front to say hi to our friends, who’d come for Sunday brunch. The Diner was filled to maxcapacity, something that was more the norm than not these days. Half the room was filled with people we knew and loved, who all greeted me with smiles when they saw me.
“They grow up so fast,” I commented.
“Time really flies,” Russell agreed and made his way to their table.
Atlas met my eyes and smiled. His hand found mine, the matching gold bands on our left ring fingers clinking as our fingers threaded together. We’d had a very intimate courthouse wedding a few years ago with only Rhett and Aunt Polly there as witnesses.
Neither of us wanted any fanfare. All we really cared about was tying our lives together in every way possible.
Of course, our friends refused to let our wedding pass without celebration and threw us a party at the diner. Rhett had cooked up a storm, showing off all the new recipes he’d learned while traveling, and impressing all our friends and family. It was a grand time filled with good food, lots of laughs, and people we loved and cared about.
Aunt Polly had immediately taken a liking to Mae and her gossiping ways. I sometimes wondered if her many visits to Kither Springs throughout the years were mainly to visit Mae, and seeing us was just an added benefit.
Either way, Atlas was happy to see more of his aunt. He never voiced it out loud, but I knew he wished his aunt would move here. She was too settled in her current town, which just meant we had another excuse to travel.
We tried to visit Rhett and Coal and their travelingcircus at least once a year as well. The show was everything Rhett said and more. I’d never seen anything like it. The acts were too spectacular to be anything but magical. The fire danced around Coal as if he were willing it through command.
When I’d asked Rhett about the secret behind how they made the show seem like they were performing real magic, he merely said it was a trade secret and gave me a mysterious smile. Now, when we visited every year, Atlas and I tried to figure out that secret. We were never successful, but we had fun anyway.
“Boss, are ya just gonna keep flirting with your man, or are you gonna actually help me?” Becca said teasingly, with a hand on her hip.
Atlas rolled his eyes at her teasing. Most people still referred to The Diner asHector’s, but I added Atlas’ name to the business a few months ago, so the place now officially belonged to both of us. He didn’t think it was necessary, though, and was perfectly happy keeping things the way they were.
Our lives might have already been tied together, but I wanted him to know that he was a part of everything I owned. Even though we were married, I still wanted to make sure he had the legal security of our home, just in case anything happened. He thought I was being silly, but he obliged because he knew this was important to me.
Becca started calling Atlasbossas a joke, but kept it going because it got a rise out of him. Teasing andflirting like that was her love language, which was probably why Atlas put up with it.
“Hector, there’s an order request I need help with,” Larry called through the service window.
“Be right there,” I answered.
Atlas pressed a kiss to my mouth. “Looks like duty calls.”
I grunted and tried to nip at his delicious lips one more time before he pulled back. “Later, love.”
He hummed happily before skipping off to help Becca with the rush. I made my way back to the kitchen, passing regulars who smiled my way or offered me a pat as we crossed paths, as if needing to include me in part of their day, even if it was only for a second.
At the last table by the kitchen door sat the four men who’d caused a huge fuss in the diner five years ago. Atlas had been serious about having them banned, and even went so far as finding photos of them online to print out. He made aboard he called theoutlawedwith their four faces pasted on it and hung the board by the front door as if to prove a point.
The four had lasted two months before they’d returned with their tails between their legs and apologized for their behavior. Atlas had been skeptical and didn’t want to allow their return, but he’d left the decision up to me.
I didn’t see the point of holding on to a grudge. I didn’t want to carry that negativity when I wanted to live a life focusing on the good. And so I’d accepted theirapologies, and we took down theoutlawedboard and allowed their return.
“You’re a better man than I’ll ever be,” Atlas had told me then. What he didn’t know was that it was all because of him.Hemade me a better man.
“Delicious as always, Hector,” one of the four said. The rest followed with their own compliments to the chef and complaints of gaining a few inches on their waist from how good my food was. I accepted their kind words with a smile, one Atlas claimed had softened over the years, and continued into the kitchen.
Larry was busy at the griddle, frying up a couple of burgers. He glanced up and nodded to the two tickets he’d set aside for me.
“Mae requested some sort of pasta. She didn’t clarify which kind,” he said, shooting a grin my way.
In recent years, Mae had taken to ordering the type of food she wanted to eat rather than what was actually on the menu. She claimed she was merely exercising my cooking talents, but I think she just didn’t want the hassle of deciding what to eat.
I checked what ingredients I had and started on her order. Larry and I moved around each other with practiced ease from years of working together.
Atlas had been right about needing help in the kitchen, and before we could even put up a recruitment notice, Larry practically fell into our laps.He’d been sitting at a booth with Arnold one day, watching himstudy for their finals and chewing on his milkshake straw.
