* * *
“Good morning, and welcome to Main Street Diner. I’m June and I’ll be your—oh, hey, guys!”
June cut off her automatic spiel when she realized that her new table at the diner wasn’t full of anonymous customers but rather Eleanor, Garrett, and Jeremy.
“Hi, June,” Eleanor said, while the men gave her nods and waves of recognition. “Good morning.”
“Aren’t you two going on a hike today?” she asked, looking at Garrett and Jeremy. She was certain that Levi’s hike was today…
“We’re just fueling first,” Jeremy said. “After we grab breakfast, we’re abandoning my poor mom to go do manly things in the woods.”
Garrett nodded solemnly, although good humor flashed in his expression. “Yes. Chopping wood. Building fires. Finding meat to bring home to our wives and children.”
“They will be doing literally none of those things,” Eleanor clarified. “Except for the hiking.”
“Setting a fire in these woods would be illegal,” Jeremy admitted. “Also, none of us have a hunting license. So. Yeah. No crimes.”
“Okay, jokesters,” June said, laughing. “What can I get for you?”
Garrett and Jeremy ordered a standard eggs, potatoes, and bacon breakfast, while Eleanor opted for the eggs Florentine that was one of June’s personal favorites. She was just heading back to the kitchen when Levi appeared so suddenly that she fumbled her pen, nearly dropping it.
“Hi,” she said. “I didn’t expect to see you before your hike.”
“Hi,” he said back, sounding breathless. “I have to talk to you about something. Something good,” he amended. She must have looked alarmed when he said the words that nobody ever wanted to hear from their partner; she was immediately relieved though, and touched that he read her emotions so clearly.
“Okay,” she said. She passed off her order to one of her colleagues, and followed Levi as he tugged her by the hand out of the diner.
“What on earth is going on?” she asked, laughing, as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms, keeping the chill at bay.
“So,” he said. “I just heard from my rep at the record label.”
June’s nerves flared bright, her stomach instantly churning with butterflies.
“Don’t keep me in suspense!” she said, although the happy look on Levi’s face kept any dread at bay. “What happened?”
“They loved it,” he said, his smile beaming bright. “They want us to record a whole album together.”
“I… what?” June was certain that she couldn’t have heard correctly. “Like… they wantmeto sing on it?”
He nodded. “I believe my rep’s exact words were that you’re a great talent, and she’ll be mad if anybody else tries to discover you before she can work with you.”
June just blinked for a few seconds as this sunk in. Then she let out a totally undignified shriek and threw her arms around Levi’s neck. He wrapped his arms back around her in return, lifted her off her feet, and spun her around in a circle.
For a long moment, they grinned at one another. Then June’s practical brain interrupted.
“Wait,” she said, alarmed. “Will we have to move? That’s a big thing to do to Benjamin, and maybe it’s too selfish of me to do that to him for a professional opportunity…”
She trailed off, because Levi was smiling and shaking his head.
“Junebug,” he said. “We are not going anywhere. Honestly, I can’t imagine living anywhere else than Magnolia Shore, not any longer. And one of the things I love most about you is how you’re the kind of mom who would put her son’s happiness ahead of her dreams. But, honey, you can have it all. You deserve it.”
“You really mean it?”
June knew that she was happy, but the happiness she felt was so complete that it was like she couldn’t even feel the full impact of it all at once. Instead, it was trickling into her, then growing and growing, until she felt like her heart might leap right out of her chest.
He nodded. “Yeah, of course. I love our life here. I can’t wait?—”
“No, I mean you… really love me?” she clarified.
