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“I can be,” he replied, his steely gaze burning me up.

“She finishes at two. Pick her up at two thirty?”

His smirk reappeared, and I’ll be fucked. The man had dimples!

He rose from the chair and towered over me. When he stepped in front of me, Emmy’s hand dropped away, and she vanished into thin air. Everyone did. Everyone except me and him.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” he asked again gently.

I didn’t trust myself to answer, so I nodded sheepishly.

“All right then. I’ll be back at two thirty. Promise you won’t disappear on me?” There was a teasing edge to his question, but it made me smile.

“I won’t disappear,” I assured him.

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek in a barely there kiss. It happened so quickly that I doubted it had even happened. I don’t know if it was his words or the scent of his cologne, but my knees almost buckled beneath me.

I stood there and watched him go, and I wasn’t even going to pretend to apologize for checking out his ass.

I waited until I heard the jingle of the bells and saw him climb into his truck before I turned on Emmy.

“What the hell did you do?” I hissed, conscious that we had an audience.

“What needed to be done.” She shrugged. “Come on, Tillie. It’s time to climb back on that horse. I know you’ve been out of the game for a while, but it’s time. Sean was a good man and a great father …”

“You didn’t even know him,” I reminded her.

“True. I didn’t. But I know you and I know River, and only a good man would’ve been good enough for you,” she conceded, and my annoyance at her matchmaking momentarily deflated. “But he wouldn’t want you to be unhappy,” she added.

“I’m not unhappy,” I pointed out. At least I didn’t think I was unhappy.

“Lonely?”

“I’m not lonely!” I defended. “Not all the time anyway.” Even I had to admit there were moments when the loneliness was palpable.

“Look, Tillie. You don’t have to marry the guy. Go out. Have fun. Smile. Laugh. Drink. Get down and dirty …”

“I’m not getting down and dirty with anyone!” I declared a little too loudly for standing in the middle of the diner.

“Honey, if you’re not getting down and dirty with that boy, you’re not living,” the old lady interjected, and I felt a full-body flush of humiliation consume me.

“Just give him a chance. Who knows, maybe you’ll like him,” Emmy offered before walking away, leaving me wondering what the hell I’d gotten myself into.

Chapter seven

Cody

I’d been sitting in my truck for ten minutes, trying not to look too excited about Tillie agreeing to go out with me. From the moment she said yes, I’d been trying to figure out what to do. She didn’t come across as easy to impress. A shopping trip or an expensive dinner didn’t feel right. Probably half the reason I was crushing so hard on her. She wasn’t like the other girls I’d known. The ones who’d used me for my name and bank account. No, Tillie was a woman, and she needed to be treated with respect, which meant figuring it out.

I checked my watch for the fifth time, I was still a few minutes early, but I was going crazy sitting here watching the clock.

I jumped out and headed inside.

“You’re early,” Emmy called me out.

“Yeah,” I confirmed, not bothering to lie.

“Grab a seat, she shouldn’t be too long. She just ducked home to change,” she offered.