Page 42 of Meet Me on Blueberry Hill

As the older woman bustled away, Sadie unwrapped the straw and shoved it in her water.

Asher’s mouth tightened as he took a sip of his black coffee. “Most men.”

“Excuse me?”

“You said most men are liars and can’t be trusted.”

She lifted a shoulder. “Some men.”

“Bad experience, I take it.”

“Something like that. I fell for a guy who lied about who he was. I didn’t discover it until his wife showed up at my job and made a scene in front of everyone. I got blamed for being the home-wrecker when I didn’t even know the jerk was married.”

Asher let out a low whistle. “Man, that’s tough. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

She lifted a shoulder. “It is what it is. I don’t trust people who can’t be real with me.” Tired of talking about her past heartache, even for a few minutes, Sadie pointed to Asher’s phone, face down on the table. “Your grandfather looked very handsome in that photo. You look a lot like him.”

The lines around Asher’s eyes deepened as a smile tugged on the corner of his lips. “So you think I’m handsome too?”

Instead of replying, Sadie rolled her eyes and reached for her drink. She took a sip, needing the iciness to chill the warmth climbing up her throat.

Asher drummed his fingers on the phone case. “Hetty gave me an idea. What if we were to dress in period costumes and offer historical tours like my grandparents did as one of our packages?”

“We?”

“I’m still hoping to convince you to help me with the tours. Pretend you’re playing a role.”

“I’m a terrible actress. In third grade, I was a tree and couldn’t stop shaking. My leaves kept falling off. People laughed and I wanted to cry. My friend said I ruined the whole play and stopped wanting to hang out with me.”

“People won’t laugh at you now.”

Absorbing the gentleness of Asher’s voice, Sadie closed her eyes a moment, then reopened them and peered at him over the rim of her glass. She found him watching her with a serious expression on his face. She set her nearly empty glass on the table and folded her hands in her lap. “After the way you helped Gran tonight, I don’t think I can tell you no again. If you hadn’t been there…”

He reached for her hand. “Hey, don’t go there. I was right there, and she got the help she needed. She’s going to be fine.Sending her to Port Joseph where she had her original surgery is a precautionary measure to ensure she’s healing properly and didn’t reinjure her hip.”

Their server arrived with her salad and his steaming black and blue burger—a mix of blue cheese and blackening seasoning—and fries. For the next few minutes, she toyed with her lettuce while Asher practically inhaled half of his burger.

“Something wrong with your salad?”

She shook her head and set her fork on the side of her barely-touched food. “The salad’s fine. I’m not hungry. I’ll ask for a box and take it home.”

Asher lifted a hand and signaled their server. She came to their table, and he asked for two boxes and the check.

“We don’t have to leave. Stay and enjoy the rest of your food.”

He pushed his plate away. “I ate enough. I can have the rest for a snack later if I get hungry.”

Their server returned with the white take-out boxes and set the check face down on the table. Sadie reached for it, but Asher was faster.

“Hey!”

Grinning, he dumped his half-eaten burger and the rest of his fries in his box. “Not my fault you have slow reflexes.”

“I have cash to cover my share of the bill. You don’t need to buy me dinner.” Sadie reached for her purse, but the bench was empty next to her.

“Need to—no. Maybe I wanted to.”

She peered under the table to see if it had fallen on the floor. Nothing was there except for the table leg. She slid out of the booth and looked all around her.

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