“Good.”
“Although, it is proof of just how much you love her that you were willing to do it in the first place.”
“Yeah.”
“You can tell her that, as well. Earn some points.”
Gavin smiled. It was small and tight, which were the only kind of smiles in his wheelhouse, but it was there. “Trust me. She doesn’t need any proof of how much I love her. I make that very clear, in every way I can, and as often as I can.”
Connor opened the door and Gavin walked out. Connor waved to him as he sauntered down the front walk.
Damn. What Gavin had said shook him to his core.
He made sure Gen knew he loved her, as often as he could. Even a guy as taciturn as Gavin wasn't afraid to lay it all on the line with his words, to make himself vulnerable to make sure the woman he loved knew the truth about his feelings.
Talk was cheap. That’s what the old phrase said, anyway. For someone like Gavin, it was the opposite—every word cost him, and he spent them on the most important person in his life.
“So what the fuck is my excuse?” Connor muttered under his breath.
He had some thinking to do. He was showing Luna how deeply he cared with actions—bringing the turkey to the hospital, volunteering to work at the diner. And, while another common phrase said that actions were louder than words, he thought it might be about time to start using both.
He and Luna had lost each other once before because they were too young and too scared to just be clear, to take a chance, to be vulnerable.
He didn’t plan to make the same mistake again. This time, he planned to say the words.
Now it was just a matter of figuring out the right ones.
Chapter 13
Luna
“Now, don’t worry, sweet girl. I’m going to take care of the ordering and the deposits and anything else that’s a little more complicated. The fact that you’re staying around to help with the front of house while your sweet boy handles the grill....well, it means the world.”
Grace wiped tears from her eyes as she looked around the empty dining room of Main Street Eats they were standing in and Luna rubbed her shoulder. “Grandma, honestly. I’m happy to do it. After everything you and Grandpa did for me? Don’t get me started! It’s the least I could do.”
Luna wrapped her arms around her grandmother, breathed in her scent. It took her straight back to childhood. She used to love it when her grandmother tucked her in at night, gave her hugs and a kiss on the forehead. It gave her a sense of safety and security that she’d carried with her all her life since then.
In fact, sometimes Luna would even go up to the beauty counter in department stores and sniff the tester bottle of her grandma’s scent. That’s how much it filled her with an overwhelming sense of calm and safety.
But now, being back in Grandma Grace’s embrace again, feeling the whole experience organically, the calm and stillness it triggered in her was even stronger.
She knew everything was going to be all right. She couldn’t have explained how she knew that. She didn’t actually know. But that didn’t change the fact that, deep down in her bones, she did know it.
In fact, the certainty flowing through her in that moment went even beyond things being just okay. There was every chance that things were going to be freaking awesome!
Again. Not sure how she knew. But she did.
It wasn’t that she would’ve wished her grandfather’s heart attack into existence. In fact, she would’ve done just about anything in her power to have him stay fit as a fiddle forever.
But since it had, she could at least see some silver lining in it. For one thing, like she had just said, she was finally able to give back to her grandparents after all they’d given to her. Nothing she could do for them, ever, would come close to being as profound as the gift they’d given her, of course: of raising her with so much love and laughter. But helping to take care of the diner wasn’t nothing, and it was what she could do, and she was more than happy to be able to do it.
And then, of course...there was Connor.
Connor, with the sexy scruff. Connor, who paralyzed her brain and sent her body rocketing into outer space. Connor, who was the only other person in her life who’d ever made her feel as safe as her grandparents did.
Would he turn out to be a silver lining? Or was he another trial in disguise?
Remained to be seen.
"Honey, thank you so much for having such a great attitude about helping out. Because, well...after your grandfather gets home, you might be here a fair amount more than I am. It just depends on how it works out.”
“I understand that. Please, don’t even worry about that. Just take care of Grandpa.”
Grace nodded and straightened her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s go in the back and I’ll show you how the walk-ins are organized.”
As they went through the shelves of food, Luna took notes on her phone. It wasn’t totally new to her. She’d worked here after school and on weekends during high school, so it was really more of a re-familiarization process than anything else.
Still, she wanted to make sure that she had a firm enough grasp on things to explain it to Connor.
Hmmm...firm enough grasp...sounds hot...
She shook her head to keep the dirty thoughts from intruding. She had to focus and pay attention, damn it! Her grandmother was depending on her.
She tuned back in to what Grandma Grace was saying, but since she was currently detailing the proper way to handle salami, it wasn’t super helpful when it came to chasing the naughty thoughts out of her brain.
As they were locking up and heading out, Grace turned to her and Luna thought she detected a sly glint in her grandmother’s eye. Before she’d even spoken, Luna knew that she was going to say something about Connor.
She didn’t blame Grandma Grace. After all, she and Paw Paw had always loved Connor, and wanted to see Luna end up with him. So, now that their dream scenario had a better chance at coming true than it had at any time during the past decade, of course they were going to do a little nudging... Luna just had to make sure that the pressure she felt inside as a result of the nudging didn’t make her rush to any boneheaded decisions.
Or, she thought, maybe I should say any more boneheaded decisions. Because I’ve already made one—leaving in the first place...well, okay, make that two. Because staying away so long was also pretty damn stupid.
When Grandma Grace spoke, it was in the kind of nonchalant tone that let Luna know she was anything but nonchalant when it came to whatever she was about to say.
"So, hon. Genevieve and I were chatting a few weeks ago, and she was telling me all about the Christmas extravaganza she’s organizing. It’s a benefit, you know. For the hospital. For the sick kids.”
“Wow. That sounds wonderful. Good for her.”
“Exactly. Yes. I knew you’d feel that way!”
“Well, I mean...wouldn’t anybody? It’s a nice thing for her to do. A big commitment, I’d imagine.”
“Yes. Exactly. So much work to be done.”
Luna was beginning to get a hint of where the conversation was headed, and felt a pit form in her belly. There was already so much on her plate. How could she fit even more?
She decided to just play dumb until the last possible moment. “Yeah, I bet there is,” she agreed brightly, as if all of that work had absolutely nothing to do with her, no-siree-bob.