“You’ll have to share your secret later.” He carefully took my bags. “Behave.” Before I could respond, he turned to Jarrod. “Take care of him, eh? He’s one of the good ones.”
Jarrod met my gaze, then turned to Damien. “I intend to. I know how special Anderson is.”
Chapter Four
Jarrod
Iknow how special Anderson is.
I replayed the words in my head as I drove us the mile to Fifties. The diner sat on the main street in Mission City—a true relic of the past. I’d met friends here for dinner a few times over the years—always hoping to run into Anderson but it never happening.
In truth, I hadn’t been certain he’d come back to Mission City after leaving college.
One day we’d been in love and planning our lives together.
The next he’d been gone without a word.
I never knew what had happened. Why he’d just been gone in the blink of an eye. At the time, I considered trying to track him down. Had even put his name in a search engine.
But I could never bring myself to clicking on the magnifying glass. I had mad programming skills—so I could’ve totally done the search without raising any suspicions. I hadn’t, though. No one mentioned him going missing, so I figured he had good reasons to fuck off and not tell me why or where he was going.
Might I discover those reasons tonight?
Not likely. And I wasn’t going to ask. If he volunteered the information, I’d certainly listen. If not, I’d be content to just bask in the pleasantness of being in his company.
Seventeen years was a long time.
Certainly long enough to heal a broken heart.
Right?
“I haven’t been here in ages.” I cut the engine and unbuckled my seatbelt.
“Adele loves coming here for the milkshakes. I think I’m here once a month. Damien and Shaw take their tuns as well. Our girls really are inseparable. I don’t know what’s going to happen when Adele goes to university next autumn.” He blinked. “But it’s cold out here. Let’s go inside. Hopefully we can get a table.”
We were at almost six o’clock—likely a busy time for the diner. “If the line’s too long, there are about a dozen other places we can go.” Some were fast food, and some were over in Abbotsford, but I didn’t care. Anything to spend more time with this amazing man.
He grinned. “Yeah, we’ll figure something out.”
Within moments, we were out of my pickup truck and hustling over to the restaurant. We made it inside, and I was assailed with the smell of grease, French fries, and something I couldn’t quite identify. Whatever the scent was, I wanted some of that.
A curvy blonde with sparkling-blue eyes greeted us. “Hey, Anderson.” She pivoted to me. “And Anderson’s friend.”
Anderson slid his arm around my waist and tucked himself into my side.
Like he always used to do.
“This is Jarrod. He’s my date.” He gazed up at me. “Jarrod, this is Sarabeth. She’s the heart and soul of this place.”
She laughed. “More like a lowly servant.” She winked. “I love my job. Because I love people.” She tapped Anderson’s chest with her pen. “You’re always big on flattery.”
“I call it like I see it.”
“Well, Carter and Byron just settled up their tab and are leaving. If you give me thirty seconds to clear the booth, it’s all yours.”
“Fantastic.” Anderson waved at two men headed our way. “Carter, the younger one, is a fantasy writer. Byron is an accountant.” He said the words quietly—clearly, so I’d be the only one to hear them. He put on a wide smile as the men approached.
I had to admit, they made an interesting pair.
