“Babe, you okay?” Leighton patted his back with one hand while passing him his glass of sweet tea.
He nodded, guzzling it down, his eyes bouncing from me to the door at my back with a silent warning.
Leighton’s eyes followed his and then perked up with recognition. Her husband nearly choking to death was long forgotten as she waved a hand in the air. “Hannah! Hey!”
Shit.
Chapter 5
HANNAH
I walked into Kathy’s, the local diner with a fifties-style vibe, hoping to quickly grab my to-go order and get back to the shop. I’d locked up the store and left a sign on the door that I’d be back in a few, unsure if that’s how Lottie normally handled her lunch break. Knowing her, she probably skipped it altogether. But I was starving and not willing to do the same.
Kathy’s was a short walk, being across the street and down a few storefronts from Lottie’s clothing boutique. Between the location and the raving reviews of the townsfolk, I figured it was my best bet for a bite to eat.
I’d been wrong before. And when I heard my name being called by a familiar voice and turned to look in its direction, I realized I’d been wrong this time. Leighton waved frantically from where she sat in a booth surrounded by Aaron, Billy, and of course, the bubbly brunette from the wedding.
I plastered a smile on my face, giving a light wave of my fingers from the counter. If Leighton thought I’d be strolling over there for a little chat, she’d be sorely disappointed. Just grab and go, I chanted in my head, now with more of a reason than ever.
“Let me guess. To-go order for Hannah?” a nice elderly woman asked from behind the counter.
I glanced at the name tag pinned above her full chest that read Miss Debbie, figuring it only fair I knew her name since she already seemed to know mine.
“That’s right, Miss Debbie.”
“All right, give me a few, and I’ll bag it up after I drop a few drinks at a table.”
“Any way I can convince you to bag it first?” I pleaded, ignoring Leighton, who was still calling my name in the distance. “In fact, you don’t even need to bag it. Just give me the box, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
Miss Debbie looked over my shoulder at the booth I was avoiding, her wrinkles deepening, a knowing smile creeping onto her face. She slid her eyes back to mine. “Which one you running from?”
“None of them.”
“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed, her weathered face full of skepticism as she turned her back to me, picking up a white Styrofoam box from the service window that separated the kitchen from the remainder of the restaurant.
“Just need to get back to work. I’m looking after Lottie’s shop.”
“I’m aware.”
Of course she was. I’m sure the whole damn town knew all my business at this point. Or most of it.
She placed the box in a bag, followed by a handful of ketchup, napkins, and plastic cutlery. I handed the nice lady some cash for my food, plus a little extra for her efficiency as she passed me the bag.
“I owe you, Deb.”
She shook her head at me. “A piece of advice?”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.
She leaned in close, lowering her voice. “I’ve been around for a while, and I can tell you for a fact they don’t make’em like that one very often”—she subtly nodded her head toward the booth—“and when they do, they don’t stay available for long. I’m all for playing a little hard to get. Don’t want to give the milk away for free, or without making them work for it a bit. But run for too long, and he might give up the chase and catch another instead.”
I gave nosey Deb a tight smile, thanked her one more time—for the food, not the unwanted advice—then turned to leave, bumping into Leighton on the way out, her lunch companions coming up slowly behind her.
Just great.
“What the hell, Hannah? Did you not hear me calling your name?”
“Yeah. Um…sorry. I’m in a bit of a hurry to get back to the store.”
“Well, I was trying to call you over to see if you wanted to get drinks this week or have dinner.”
“Oh. Sure. Sounds great,” I said, my eyes roaming from her to Billy, who was only a few feet away, looking uncomfortable with his hands tucked in his front pockets as the brunette remained glued to his side.
Was she his girlfriend? Did he seriously hit on me at the wedding when he had a girlfriend? It was bad enough knowing they were there on a date. God. I couldn’t believe how wrong I’d been about him. But at least I could take solace in not being the only one he fooled. Miss Debbie was just as big of a fool, if not more.
“I’ll call you later then to set up a time and place.”
“Yep. Looking forward to it,” I smiled through my gritted teeth as Billy, Aaron, and Brownie closed in on us.
“Hey, Hannah,” Aaron said, giving me an upward nod in greeting. “Watcha up to?”
“Burger.” I held up the bag as I gave my one-word explanation. I could’ve sworn I saw Aaron pout at my response. Billy brushed a hand over his mouth, hiding a smile. I wasn’t quite sure what was so entertaining about my burger, but I wasn’t sticking around to find out. “Well, I should—”
“I’m Lauren,” Brownie spoke. “I don’t think we’ve met.” Her head tilted to the side as her eyes did the once-over inspection of me.
“Hannah. And I hate to be rude,” I lied, “but I have to go.” I took a few steps back toward the door. “I’ll talk to you later, Leighton.”
I shot out of the entrance all but sprinting back to the store, vowing to pack my lunch for the remainder of my stay. Damn small towns. There was a reason I preferred the city. Before, I would’ve said it was for the conveniences— the shopping, the restaurants, the late-night bars and booze. Now, I knew for certain it was for the anonymity.
After unlocking the shop door, I tore the sign from the glass and went inside. Setting the bag on the counter, I let out a sigh of relief. I’d made it out of there unscathed. Billy hadn’t even attempted to speak to me.
Good.
I didn’t want him to talk to me anyway.
I mean, not that I would’ve been offended if he’d said hi…or something…
I glanced over my shoulder, looking back toward Kathy’s, wondering why he hadn’t even bothered to acknowledge me. Frankly, it was rude to not at least say hi after everything that happened between us. The fact that he didn’t was a small hit to the old ego. Tiny. Miniscule. I hardly cared...
Okay. Shit.
I cared.
I freaking cared, dammit.
Why the hell did I have to care?
The four of them stood outside on the sidewalk, making small talk. Leighton hugged Billy then took Aaron’s hand as he walked with her to her car, leaving Billy and Brownie alone. By themselves. Just the two of them…
Somewhere between the hug and the hand holding, I ended up hiding behind a mannequin, all but plastered to the storefront glass like a damn peeping Tom.
With no shame, I watched as Billy spoke to Lauren. His back was to me, his hands still in his pockets. I had no idea what he was saying to her, but whatever it was, it was obvious she was trying to mask her emotions behind a tight smile and a few head nods.