She studies me for a second like she’s trying to figure something out.“It’s not that simple, Tucker.”
“But it can be, Lucy.”I challenge back.
After a pause, she shakes her head slightly and walks back toward the kitchen.I watch her go.Not obvious.Just enough to keep her in my peripheral.
The door jingles again and two construction guys walk in, laughing about something.They take a booth near the window and start arguing over whether they want pancakes or omelets.The normal noise of the diner rolls back into place.
But the tension from earlier lingers in the air like a storm that hasn’t fully passed.I finish the last bite of bacon and push the plate away.
Lucy returns with a small notepad.“Anything else?”
“Just the check.”
She tears it off and slides it across the counter.Our fingers brush again when I pick it up.Warm.Soft.She pulls her hand back quickly like she noticed it too.
I glance at the total.Eight dollars.I set a twenty down.“Keep the change, Lucy.”
“You don’t need to?—”
I raise a hand silencing her.“Keep it.”
“That’s too much.”
“It’s not.”
Her brows knit slightly.“People are going to think something.”
I look around the diner.Everyone is very obviously watching us, and I don’t give a fuck.“They already do,” I state.“Man like me, babe, take note, don’t come in a diner for food alone.”
She laughs softly.“Fair point.So why did a man like you come in this morning?”
I slide off the stool and stand without answering her.The movement immediately shifts the energy in the room again.Being big has its perks.Also its drawbacks.
“You heading back to work?”she asks as if she doesn’t want me to leave.
“Yeah.”
She hesitates while still studying me.“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For earlier with Roger and for the other night.”
I shrug.“You handled yourself.Men need to respect a woman’s boundaries”
“I was about to throw a coffee pot at him.”She tells me honestly as relief seems to be settling over her.
“Would’ve been effective.”I smirk, “and I would have enjoyed the show.”
She smiles again.A real one this time.
Then the bell over the door rings and another customer walks in.Lucy automatically shifts back into work mode.
“Morning!Sit wherever you like.”
I head for the door.But just before I reach it, I glance back.Lucy’s writing down an order at the counter, her ponytail swinging slightly when she nods at something the customer says.For a moment she looks completely at ease.Like someone whose life is simple.
I know better.
