Willow sighed and pushed the remains of her food away. She suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. She had to get this right today. If she messed up, Lucas would never forgive her but even worse – she wouldn’t forgive herself. The town could not afford any more bad press.
She had to get this right.
‘I really need you to be friendly.’
Willow was trying to stay calm and keep the pleading tone out of her voice, but it was hard when Lucas was staring at her like that, with that dark glare of his under the soft lighting of The Diner. He hadn’t shaved for a few days and had a shadow of stubble over his chin. Willow hated to admit it, but it really suited him – he looked more chiseled and defined. Also, that stare was so intense, but also kind of sexy. It made her feel wobbly, like she was a silly teenager again.
She gave herself a quick mental shake. This was not the time and Lucas was definitely not the person. He was being a complete idiot. It was clearly lack of sleep and worry about Sapphire’s visit that was making her think like this.
Besides she had only just started her break from Jake. She didn’t need to be thinking about anyone else.
Although surely, thinking these thoughts wasn’t such a bad thing? She was allowed to miss sex, right? And having Lucas right there, all broody, but still very hot, was pretty hard to resist. Had he just got out of the shower? His hair looked damp still … She bit her lip imagining him suddenly turning to her and pressing her up against the counter. His mouth on hers, his hands pulling at the buttons of her shirt, his lips moving down her neck …
‘Willow? Are you OK?’
She shook her head. What the hell was she doing? She couldn’t be having fantasies like this in the middle of the day.
And certainly not about moody-ass Lucas, who couldn’t even be bothered to attempt to be nice to her.
Yes. This was definitely lack of sleep playing tricks with her mind.
‘Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine,’ she muttered.
‘I can be friendly,’ Lucas finally answered with a grunt. ‘To the right people.’
Lucas started cleaning tables and Willow followed him around like a persistent puppy. Sapphire was due to arrive at any moment and Willow could feel the panic begin to rise inside her. Did Lucas realize how important this was?
‘She can turn things around for us, Luc. I promise.’
He stopped cleaning and frowned first and then chuckled softly. ‘I’ll believe it when I see it, Willow. From what I can gather, most of these people are only out to get what they can for themselves. I doubt she wants to help people like us.’
Willow was stung. His barbed words felt directed at her. He knew she had been one of ‘these people’. She was about to snap back, when the door of The Diner flew open and a tall, glamorous blonde walked in. The few customers thereturned immediately to look at her, almost as if a celebrity had just marched in.
Sapphire had that air about her. She was young, glowy and beautiful. She slipped her designer sunglasses onto her head and assessed the room carefully with a perfected pout. Willow already felt small and mousey in front of her, aware that her highlights were growing out and her nails hadn’t been touched up in weeks. She quickly hid her hands behind her back and forced a grin in her direction.
‘Sapphire! You’re here already. I wasn’t expecting you until—’
‘Wow! This is even cuter in real life! Who owns this place?’ Sapphire was already pacing the room. ‘It’s the best …’
Willow watched in shock as Lucas evolved from a grumpy, stern shadow into a beaming Adonis in a matter of seconds. He threw his cleaning cloth to one side and strode towards her.
‘This is all mine. Welcome to The Diner,’ he said brightly. ‘I’m Lucas Dawson.’
Slowly, Willow’s anxieties began to melt away.
Sapphire walked round the town with Willow, taking photos and videos and then more importantly, spending time on the matcha wagon, getting a feel of how everything worked and meeting some of the customers. Macguire in particular was very taken with her and came back for two extra drinks, as an excuse to speak to her again. Willow was relieved to be taking the reins back from Tommy, who – although eager and hardworking – was a messy worker.
‘The locals are very friendly.’ Sapphire beamed. ‘And I swear the air here is fresher, purer somehow.’
To demonstrate her thoughts, Sapphire was taking big gulps of air. It was a warm morning already and the taste of spring was definitely around them.
‘It’s the mountains,’ Willow told her. ‘They make everything taste better. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I came back.’
‘They certainly are a sight for sore eyes,’ Sapphire mused, cupping her eyes and looking behind them at the sweeping peaks. ‘They’re so much bigger than I imagined. I could do some great Pilates classes here. The backdrop would be stunning.’
Willow smiled as she served another new customer a rainbow matcha. Having Sapphire here was working out well; she was obviously liking the town’s vibe and simply having her presence here was drawing customers in. Willow even told her that she might have to stick around longer.
‘Sadly, I can’t do that,’ Sapphire said, pulling a face. ‘But I will run a series of posts about Honey Springs. It’s so quaint here. I think my fans will love it.’
