Alex chuckled. “I’ll heat that pizza up now.”
I didn’t remember falling asleep on the couch after we ate, but I came awake when Alex lifted me into his arms. “We’re going to bed,” he murmured as he pressed his lips against my temple.
The tension from a long day of travel unraveled in my body as I fell asleep wrapped in Alex’s embrace.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alex
Delilah’s cheeks were still pink from our shower. I wasn’t about to let her shower alone, so we’d showered together before hopping in my truck to go to town for breakfast. Her hair was still damp, and she lifted a hand and patted it lightly. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure about what?”
“For me to go out like this with wet hair.”
I bit back a smile. “Of course. My hair’s still wet.” I gestured to my damp locks.
She rolled her eyes, letting out a little huff. “You’re a guy.”
Reaching across the console, I caught her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Delilah, this is Alaska. You could show up in rubber boots in one of the nicer restaurants, and it would be okay. We’re just getting coffee. I promise it’s totally casual.”
“Yeah, but who are we going to run into? This is your hometown.”
“I didn’t plan to meet anyone, so if we do run into anyone, it’ll be by chance.”
“Oh my God, is this the kind of place your parents go? What if we run into them by chance?”
This time, I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “Babe, they really wouldn’t care. I’ve never known you to worry so much about how you looked. What gives?”
As I turned onto Main Street in Willow Brook, I stole a glance at her. She looked a little tense, and my heart gave a funny twist.
“I don’t know. It’s just, this is your world, and I don’t want to make a bad impression.”
“You already met Holly. She’s probably the toughest customer in my family. You weren’t worried when we were at the ski lodge.”
I turned into the parking lot at Firehouse Café, aiming for a spot in the back corner.
“Yeah, but that was unexpected. I didn’t have time to worry,” Delilah explained.
“I won’t tell you not to worry because I find whenever people say that to me, it doesn’t help at all.”
Delilah cast me a big smile. “Thank you. When people tell me not to worry about things, it just makes me feel silly. Then I worry about worrying. It’s like I’m doing something wrong.”
“Exactly. I’ll just say this: you’re beautiful, and it’s pretty much impossible for you to make a bad impression.”
Delilah twisted her mouth sideways, but she didn’t protest further. A moment later, I held the door for her, reaching for her hand as I let it close behind us. The bell jingled above. I watched Delilah glance around the space.
Firehouse Café had been around since I was a kid. I took the moment to see it through her eyes. The café was in the town’s old fire station. The tall, square garage had been transformed into seating for diners with an open-style bakery and kitchen. The fire poles were painted brightly with fireweed flowers, square wooden tables were scattered about for seating, and local artwork hung on the walls.
A few familiar faces were present, but none of my family or close friends happened to be here. I let out a silent sigh of relief. While I took comfort from and appreciated the embrace of having family and friends close, I sensed Delilah was tense about it. I knew enough about her childhood now to understand.
Delilah had been managing her life independently since she was a child. I wanted her to learn it was okay to lean on someone else. I just had to figure out how to make that magic happen.
“Should we get in line or get a table?” Delilah asked, glancing up at me.
I resisted the urge to kiss her. Delilah didn’t wear makeup, and fresh-faced with rosy cheeks in the morning, she was gorgeous. Her pink lips were plump from me kissing her senseless in the shower not too long ago.
I resisted the urge, knowing she would not appreciate too much PDA. “Either,” I replied with a shrug. “If we grab a table, someone will come wait on us, but there are no menus. You might want to order at the counter, so you can choose what you want for breakfast from the chalkboard.”
Delilah moved toward the counter, and I followed, keeping a hold of her hand. Two women holding hands stepped aside just as we got there.
Janet beamed at us. “Hi, Alex. Who’s your friend?” Janet’s perceptive gaze bounced down to where my hand clasped Delilah’s.
“This is Delilah,” I replied. “She’s visiting from North Carolina, same town where Remy’s from.”
I didn’t know how it was physically possible, but Janet’s smile got even wider when she looked toward Delilah. “So nice to meet you. Welcome to our town. What can I get you two this morning?”
I was relieved Janet kept it brief. She was known for being chatty; however, she was too kind to tease Delilah. I ordered my coffee and a bagel with cream cheese while Delilah scanned the chalkboard menu above.
“I’ll take a plain coffee,” she said. “The bagel with smoked salmon cream cheese sounds good too.”
“Oh, it is,” I assured her.
“Just put that on my tab,” I said, glancing back at Janet.
“You got it. Go ahead and have a seat.”
A few people had already come in behind us, so we got out of the way and grabbed a table in the corner by the windows.
“This place is cute,” Delilah offered as she shrugged out of her jacket and hung it over the back of her chair.
“It is. Used to be the town’s fire station.”
“Janet seems nice,” she added.
“She’s the best. She’s a friend of my mom’s, so I should warn you, she’ll probably text my mom to let her know she met you first.”
Delilah’s cheeks went a little pink. She shook her head slightly, her lashes sweeping down as she unrolled the napkin around the silverware on the table by her elbow.
Janet had just brought us our coffee when Remy Martin walked in. His eyes scanned in the room, widening slightly when they landed on Delilah. He crossed over to us immediately. “Hey, girl,” he said, stopping by our table.
Delilah looked up, a smile breaking across her face. “Hey, Remy!”
She stood and gave him a quick hug. I was oddly relieved to see her slightly guarded even with someone she’d known for years. Relieved and a little sad. Remy glanced between us. I’d run into him just last week and mentioned Delilah would be here. I wasn’t so sure he’d believed me.
“When did you get here?” he asked.
“Late last night. After midnight, actually, so I guess it was this morning,” she offered.
“Hi there, Remy.” Janet bustled over with our bagels and cream cheese. “Would you like me to prep your usual?” she asked after she set our plates down in front of us.
“Of course. Thanks, Janet!” he called. She was already hurrying back to the counter where someone else was waiting.
“We should have dinner,” Remy said. “I don’t have much time to chat now because I’m on my way to the station for a shift. Rachel would love to see you.”