Page 79 of Love Me Boldly

“I’m on it. Anything for you, Holly?”

“I’m good.”

The downfall to letting him pick treats was I didn’t have enough money for my own, but I didn’t mind. It was only ten in the morning. I’d save my treat for when I could dive into the ice cream already in my freezer.

“All right, then.” She gathered our things, rang us up, and as we were leaving and Jonah was merrily sucking a spoonful of Superman ice cream, I hoped he forgot all about Graham.

“Now can I see my coach?” He slurped off the rest of his spoon and grinned at me. His teeth were bright blue, and he had a ring of pink growing around his lips.

I held back my sigh. “Sure.”

Some days, I really wished his memory wasn’t so great.

I didn’t hesitate to go next door. This time, my arrival would surprise Graham instead of the other way around. Just once, I’d like to see him thrown off-kilter like he made me feel.

Britta’s and Millie’s were owned by a grandmother and granddaughter. Millie went to a culinary arts and sciences program after high school and returned wanting to open up her own bakery. There wasn’t a lot of property available at the time, and she’d had little funds. To help, Britta cut back the size of her restaurant, renovated it so Millie could have her own space, and then slashed her hours to only serve breakfast and lunch.

Aunt Caroline had been thrilled with this news, and for a few years until more restaurants were built and opened, the only place in town to get any decent dinner was The Grille. Max’s Tavern was around, but they served mostly burgers and bar food, so Caroline practically ran a monopoly on serving locals and tourists dinner. Sales and profits soared for Caroline. I’d never seen her happier.

Because of the connection between Britta and Millie, it was a locally-kept secret that you could take your food from one establishment to another, so I pushed through the front door, and with my shoes weighed down by my lead weights of hesitation, we entered Britta’s.

Graham had a bite of fried chicken at his mouth. As I caught his eye at my arrival, he froze.

A slow, smirking grin stretched across his face, and it was that look that made my heart skip a beat. That stupid, attractive smirk.

“Hi, Mr. Coach!” Jonah cried. He slipped past me and hustled to the table, sliding into a chair across from Graham like he’d been invited.

I rolled my eyes at him and then followed.

“This is a surprise.” Graham set his fork down and leaned back in his chair. “What brings you two here?”

“It’smytown,” I drawled, but it lacked heat. Somehow, Graham slithered past the weakest spots in my defenses. “Why are you still here?”

Next to me, Jonah happily slurped on his ice cream.

Graham glanced at Jonah, and then his eyes pierced mine, freezing me in my chair. “One, you don’t own the town, so I can be anywhere I’d like, and two”—he leaned in closer and lowered his voice—“I think you know exactly why I’m here.”

Warmth flooded me from my chest to my toes. I shook it off before the heat reached my brain and burned my common sense. “You shouldn’t be. There’s no point.”

“And I think you’re worth fighting for.”

“We’re fighting?” Jonah asked, and Graham chuckled, smiling at him.

“No, buddy. Your mom and I aren’t fighting. Fightingforsomething is trying to win.”

“You want to win my mommy?”

A slow, sleek smile stretched across Graham’s face that made my toes curl in my faux Birks. “You bet I am.”

“If you win, what’s the prize?” He slurped a spoon of bubble gum ice cream. Bless the innocence of little kids.

I reached across his bowl and grabbed a napkin. “Wipe your chin,” I told him before glaring back at Graham. “Thereisno prize.”

He smirked right back. “Oh…I think there is.”

* * *

“So,what are you two doing today?” Graham slipped his hands to his hips and tipped his chin to the sky. He and Jonah talked about hockey, and Graham finished and paid for his meal.

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