She hands the apron over to me and I read it. Just below a line drawing of the backside of a pig with a curly tail it says, “I Like Pig Butts and I Can Not Lie.”
I chuckle. She’s in hysterics. Her laughter draws out mine and we stand there laughing, my eyes on her, soaking up the last drops of what we’ve shared this week.
“I obviously have to buy this now.”
“Obviously,” Hallie says, wiping the tears of laughter from under her eyes.
After we buy the towels and apron, Hallie says, “I’m hungry. Are you?”
“I can always eat. What sounds good?”
We walk the food trucks and end up stopping at a barbecue truck called The Food Pitt, and then we get cheesecake slices from Sweet Emmaline’s.
It’s late afternoon by the time we’re driving back to Waterford.
“Tell the truth,” Hallie says. Her cheeks are tinged withpink from a few days in the sun and her eyes are soft. “Did you have fun—at all?”
“I had fun. The music was good. The food was great. And being with you … that’s what I liked most.”
She pivots and looks at me. “How do you do that so easily?”
“Do what?”
“Just say the nicest things.”
“I just say what’s true. I had the best time because I was with you—the way you compliment the vendors, seeing your eyes light up when you watched the kids in the Kids’ Zone, wiping barbecue sauce off your chin while you devoured those ribs—that’s what made my day.”
She reaches across the console and intertwines her fingers with mine. “Tomorrow, reality smacks us right between the eyes.”
“It does.”
“And …”
“And we’re taking this bit by bit.” I say the words to remind us both.
Hallie nods. I give her hand a reassuring squeeze.
She stares out the side window for a while.
I finally say, “Hallie, I don’t want to be a burden in your life. Your plate is full enough. I love spending time with you. I …” I pause. Checking myself. Then I say what I was about to say. “I would want a lot more. I do. I do want a lot more. But I’m not here to pressure you. You have Mia. And she’s important. You have to do what’s best for her. That’s what matters most.”
“And we work together. And you’re her coach.”
“Those things would iron themselves out in time. We might have a rough patch til everyone got used to the idea, but they would. Mia needs to be your focus. And it’s not my call as to how that goes.”
She sighs. “Thank you.”
“Bit by bit,” I tell her.
Besides, I have an application in to FEMA. I had all but forgotten about that over the past few days. I got so swept up in our time together—in her—that I forgot I was even considering relocating. I stare out the windshield, flexing my jaw to relieve the sudden tightness.
I know what my decision would be if she wanted to take this relationship further. There wouldn’t even be a question. But I’m not bringing my job opportunity into the mix right now. Hallie needs space to figure this out. And I’m going to give her what she needs.
Chapter 23
Greyson
“Why does every one of us laugh at seeing
