Marie Force - And I Love You (Green Mountain #4) Read online

  The thought made her sag into the booth she’d chosen in the far back corner, away from where Brett and Nina were having lunch and whispering with excitement about their big adventure. Butch had gone home after lunch but would be back in a couple of hours to cook dinner. Megan was done for the day. Two other waitresses took alternating days on the dinner shift.

  They had a routine they followed, a routine that would be interrupted when the diner ceased to be the center of their existence. What would she do without this place to come to every day? That thought made her feel panicky. It wasn’t the money that worried her. Their parents’ life insurance had ensured that she and Nina were quite comfortable, so technically she wouldn’t have to work right away. The diner had been about much more than earning a living to both of them for as long as Nina and her husband had owned it.

  Now it was about to disappear from her life almost as suddenly as her parents had. If she stayed here any longer, she was going to cry again, and she wouldn’t do that to Nina or Brett. She refused to rain on their exciting parade. Collecting the cash from the tabletop, she shoved the rolled bills into her purse and headed for the door.

  “I’ll see you at home.”

  “Are you okay?” Nina asked, tuned into her as always.

  “Yep. Just got a couple of things to do, and now’s as good a time as any.” In truth, she had nothing to do, and after the diner closed, she’d have days full of nothing to do until she figured out her next move. Thinking of the empty, pointless days ahead brought back the panicked feeling as she pushed through the door and nearly smashed into Hunter, who was on his way in.

  He reached out to grab her, keeping them both from tumbling down the stairs. “Whoa. What’s the rush?” Hunter took a closer look at her, slipped an arm around her shoulders and guided her down to the sidewalk. “Walk. Talk. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  How could he know with just a quick glance that she was teetering on the edge of another meltdown? He didn’t give her time to answer him before he guided her along the sidewalk, his arm around her shoulders drawing inquisitive looks from people they encountered along the way—people who knew them both and were clearly stunned to see them together.

  And were they together or was he just being nice again? How the heck was she supposed to know? But God it felt good to be surrounded by him and the scent of class that clung to him in the form of cologne that was probably ridiculously expensive. She barely knew him but had no doubt he didn’t go for the cheap stuff. That wasn’t him.

  His arm was heavy and muscular around her, holding her against his side as he walked with no apparent destination in mind. As they passed Nolan’s garage, Hunter’s new brother-in-law stopped what he was doing to watch them go by. Hunter didn’t seem to notice Nolan watching them, but Megan did.

  They continued along Elm Street, past the art gallery and coffee shop, the pizza place and the barn where Hunter’s brother Lucas did his woodworking. As usual, Lucas was out front, watching the world go by as he created his masterpieces. When he saw his oldest brother with his arm slung around Megan’s shoulders, Lucas froze, his mouth open in surprise as they went by. Hunter seemed as oblivious to Lucas as he’d been to Nolan. His entire focus was on her and wherever he was taking her.

  Megan had to admit it felt pretty good to be scooped up by Hunter Abbott and escorted through town with his arm around her. At some point during their walk—or forced march or whatever you wanted to call it—she’d forgotten that she’d been on the verge of tears when she left the diner.

  With the way things happened in Butler, by the time she returned to the diner in the morning, the questions would’ve shifted from the diner closing to what was she doing with Hunter Abbott’s arm around her. That thought brought a small smile to her face as she ventured a glance up at him. His handsome face was set in an unreadable expression. It stayed that way until they reached the playground at the far end of town, where he directed her to a bench and encouraged her to sit.

  CHAPTER 6

  He came down next to her, his arm stretched along the back of the bench as he turned to face her. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”

  She wasn’t sure if it was the swift walk through town, his nearness or the intense way he looked at her that left her breathless. She suspected it had far more to do with his nearness and the way he looked at her than with the walk.

  “Same thing as last night. It was a tough day at the diner. The word is out that we’re closing, and people are upset.”

  Hunter reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, the gesture so tender and intimate that Megan found herself wanting to lean into him again, to breathe in that scent, to let him comfort her, to make her feel something other than devastated by yet another sudden, unexpected change in her life.

  “You were about to cry when you nearly crashed into me, weren’t you?”

  She stared at him, amazed by how well he understood her. “Maybe.” Megan cleared her throat and forced herself to look at him. “I’m not usually so quick to cry. It’s just this whole thing has been … It’s hard to imagine life without the diner. I know it’s just coffee and eggs to the rest of town, but to me … To Nina and me, it’s been like a family.”

  “I understand that. I feel the same way about the people who work with us at the store and the customers. They’re part of my life the same way my parents and siblings and grandfather are.”

  She appreciated that he understood why she was upset and didn’t seem to judge her for being emotional about a diner, of all things. “Your grandfather was very sweet to me this morning, but then he always is. He’s one of my favorites.”

  “Funny you should say so today of all days.”

  “Why?”

  “He came to see me this morning. Apparently, he’s interested in speaking to Brett and Nina about buying the diner.”

  “He is? Really? So he would be the new owner?”

  “If they can work out a deal.”

  “He wants to work there?”

  Hunter laughed. “Not exactly. He wants me to run it—me and you, if you’re interested.”

  “Oh,” Megan said, stunned and slightly euphoric at the possibility. “So like we would work there together?”

  “Sort of. In his perfect scenario, you’d do what Nina does now, you’d hire someone to wait tables and I’d help you with the business stuff. If you were interested in my help, that is. I’d probably need you more than you’d need me. I have no idea how to run a restaurant.”

  “Why would your grandfather want to do that? He’s retired and enjoying his life.”

  “Don’t let on that I told you, but I think it has something to do with him wanting you to spend time with me.”

  “I don’t understand,” she said, though her heart beat a little faster at the way he looked at her when he said that. His expression was one of amusement and exasperation and affection.

  “He’s a bit of a matchmaker in his spare time, and he’s tuned into the fact that I’m interested in you, so he’s trying to make it a bit easier on me—and he’s trying to make sure you don’t run away before we have a chance to spend some time together.”

  “And he told you this?”

  “Nope. I know him and what he’s been up to lately with my siblings.”

  “What’s he been up to?”

  “It’s not only him. It’s my dad, too. The two of them think we don’t know they’ve decided we need some help in the romance department if they ever want to have grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They brought Cameron to town hoping she’d connect with one of us, and you know how that worked out. They messed with Hannah’s battery so she’d have no choice but to call Nolan.”

  Megan laughed at the thought of the two older men tinkering with a battery to move a romance along. “That’s really devious.”

  “They’re good. I’ve got to give them credit. They arranged for Colton to spend a week in New York City when they found out he was interested in Lucy, and now they’re en
gaged.”

  “So it’s your turn?”

  “Something like that.” He raised a rakish eyebrow in an expression that made her mouth go dry. “How do you feel about being shamelessly manipulated?”

  “I do love your grandfather, and your dad is really nice, too.”

  “For a couple of schemers, they’re pretty cool.”

  “Your grandfather is really planning to buy the diner so you and I might …” Her face heated with embarrassment. She had no idea how to phrase her question.

  “Have a chance to spend some time together? Yeah, exactly.”

  “Isn’t that a lot of money for him to spend on matchmaking?”

  “He probably sees it as a ‘kill-two-birds-with-one-stone’ opportunity. The diner is an established business, and with the store’s website going live soon, we should have an uptick in visitors who’ll need somewhere to eat while they’re in town. And if it means he gets to throw you and me together at the same time, it’s a win-win for him.”

  “Were you coming to talk to Brett and Nina when I almost crashed into you?”

  “Among other things.”

  “What other things?”

  “I had something I wanted to ask you.”

  “What?”

  Was it her imagination or did he seem nervous?

  “I wondered if you might go out with me. Like on a date. A real date.”

  “Oh.” As she stared at his handsome face and the dark eyes staring back at her, awaiting her reply, Megan experienced a flutter of anticipation and that odd tingle of desire that reminded her of the night before when he’d put his arms around her.

  “You’re kind of killing me here,” he said with a small grin. “It took all my courage to ask you that, and now you’re leaving me hanging.”

  “You were really nervous about asking me out?”

  “Incredibly nervous.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you might say no.”

  She could see now he was truly worried about her turning him down, and felt herself melt at the thought of such an amazing guy being nervous about asking her out. “I’d love to go out with you, Hunter, but you should know …”

  “What should I know?”

  “I don’t want to get serious with anyone. I’m just not wired that way, and it’s important you know that at the outset. The last thing I’d want is to hurt you or—”

  He laid a finger gently over her lips. “Let me worry about me. I’m talking about dinner, not a lifetime commitment.”

  Acute embarrassment made her face go hot. “I didn’t mean to make it into more, it’s just … I … I want to be fair to you.”

  As if she hadn’t spoken, he said, “When do you want to go out? Tonight?”

  Megan laughed at his overly eager reply. “Sure.” How was it possible she’d been about to cry a few minutes ago and now he had her laughing? He was cute and funny and it would be fun to spend some time with him—as long as it was fun and nothing more than that. “I could do something tonight. What do you have in mind?”

  He opened his mouth to reply but then closed it. “I have no idea. I hadn’t gotten past the asking part.”

  She covered her mouth so he wouldn’t see her laughing at him.

  “Smooth, huh? I finally work up the nerve to ask you out and haven’t got the first idea of where to take you.”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something between now and later.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  “It’s really nice of you to ask.”

  “It’s really nice of you to say yes.” He reached for her hand and then looked up at her. “Is this okay?”

  How had she never noticed how sweet and sexy he was? Not in the same way as his brother, but different in a good way. “It’s okay.”

  “Should we go talk to your sister about the diner?”

  “We can do that.”

  “You’ll stay, won’t you? If we keep the diner open. You’ll stay?”

  She stared at him, startled by the intense way he looked at her. “Is that why you’re doing this?”

  “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in keeping you in town.” After a pause, he added, “Does that bother you?”

  “No,” she said softly. “It flatters me, but I meant it when I said I don’t want to be serious with anyone.”

  “I heard you. So you’re interested in helping to keep the diner open?”

  “I’m not sure what I’m going to do.” She looked away from him, noticing the people on the sidewalk who were taking an interest in the two of them sitting close to each other on the park bench. News of this conversation would be all over town, if it wasn’t already. “Since Nina told me she was leaving, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I should do next.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “That’s just it. I don’t know. Percy said something about a job in St. J, but that’s a long shot. I don’t have the experience they probably want.”

  “Well, helping us at the diner would buy you some time to think about it, among other things.”

  “What other things?”

  “You’d get to hang out with me.” Standing, he gave her a gentle tug to encourage her to come with him. She expected him to release her hand, but he tucked it into the crook of his elbow and headed back the way they’d come.

  “You’re making a rather public declaration.”

  “Am I?”

  “You know you are.”

  “Do you care?”

  “No, not really.”

  “There isn’t anyone else, is there?”

  “You know there isn’t. When would I have had time for a boyfriend when I was so busy dreaming about your brother?”

  Hunter winced. “How about we not talk about that?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “You didn’t, but what guy wants to feel like he’s competing with his brother?”

  “You’re not competing with him.”

  “No?”

  She shook her head. “There was never anything between us except for me and my imagination.”

  “I hope there’ll be much more than that between you and me. I have a pretty active imagination when it comes to you.”

  She stopped walking and turned to him. “I’m worried you didn’t hear what I said before.” His words along with his nearness made her feel overly warm as they walked along the sidewalk. People were staring at them, not that Hunter seemed to notice.

  “I heard you, and I understand you believe you’re incapable of anything that smacks of serious. But I don’t want you to have any doubts that I’m interested, and I want to get to know you better.”

  “What if you don’t like what you find out about me?”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Well, obviously I can’t be totally sure, but I have a good feeling where you’re concerned.”

  “What kind of good feeling?”

  “The kind that tells me to trust my instincts, that it’ll be well worth my time to get to know you.”

  “And these instincts are reliable or have been in the past?”

  “Extremely.”

  “It must be nice to have an internal compass to guide you. Where can I get one of them?”

  “You can borrow mine any time you need it.”

  The comment made her laugh for the third—or was it the fourth—time since they left the diner. He was charming and smooth, but not in a creepy way. No, he was smooth in the way of a man who knew himself and was comfortable in his own skin. She was finding that to be an exceptionally appealing quality.

  Outside the diner, Hunter straightened his arm and put his hand on her lower back to guide her inside. He did this so naturally, like he did it all the time, or like he wanted to.

  She was still processing those thoughts when they entered the diner, where Nina was seated at a table going through a stack of papers with the ch
eckbook, a calculator and her ever-present cup of coffee on the table.

  “Hey,” she said. “Thought you went home. Oh, hi, Hunter.”

  “Hi, Nina.”

  Nina took a closer look as if trying to determine exactly where Hunter’s hand was on her sister’s back—upper or lower. Definitely lower. Nina’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened, but she tamped down her reaction before it could venture into the realm of embarrassing.

  “What’s up?” Nina asked.

  “Hunter would like to talk to you about the diner.”

  Nina gestured for them to join her on the other side of the booth.

  He let her go in ahead of him. Megan wondered if he purposely sat close enough to her that his thigh was pressed against hers.

  “What about the diner?” Nina looked from Megan to Hunter and then back to her sister, a million questions reflected in her dark brown eyes. Whereas Megan had gotten their father’s cool patrician coloring, Nina was a replica of their Italian mother, right down to the dark curls and olive-toned skin that Megan had envied all her sunburned life.

  “On behalf of my grandfather, I’m inquiring about the potential purchase of the diner.”

  Nina’s eyes lit up with surprise and what looked like pleasure. “Oh, that’s wonderful! Except—and don’t take this the wrong way because I love Elmer—is he really up for running a business at this point in his life?”

  “Hell no,” Hunter said with a laugh. “He’s delegating that to me, which is why I’m here talking to you rather than him.”

  “So how would this work exactly?”

  “Our thought was to hire Megan to run the place for us, and she could hire someone to replace her.” Hunter didn’t let on that it was his plan, not their plan. His grandfather had never mentioned Megan’s name.

  “Interesting,” Nina said, again letting her gaze dart between them.

  To his credit, Hunter never blinked as he withstood Nina’s scrutiny. Megan knew this because she was watching him almost as intently as Nina was. Megan wanted to lean into him, to breathe in that cool, expensive scent, and wished he’d put his arm around her again. She’d liked that and wondered if he’d do it again later when they went out together.