Page 56 of Lovewell Lane

Tessa was everything we could have hoped for. She was doted on constantly as a baby— and she still is by everyone except for her mother. Those first few months after she was born were some of the happiest of my life. It felt like all the shit that I went through as a kid was worth it. Because it meant I had Tessa, and I could do better for her.

Until one morning I woke up to an empty bed and a letter. My ex-wife left without so much as a goodbye. She made sure to be detailed in her explanation, though. Her excuse was that I made her feel so unloved and that I hadn’t provided enough for her. She found an executive based in Shellville that she’d been seeing, and since Tessa was old enough I could take it from there. She didn’t even have the decency to ask to have a relationship with her daughter.

Margo wasn’t subtle in the fact that she moved around a lot. In fact, she said it made her uncomfortable to stay in one place. I worried that even if she had the best intentions, she would always have one foot out the door, ready to flee at a moment’s notice. And that was terrifying.

Even though I adored the woman, I couldn’t deal with that. I needed someone who was all in.

Margo fell asleep on my shoulder soon after her confession. I knew I should probably wake her up and send her off to bed in her own house. Something in me cracked open in my chest when she asked me to kiss her. It had been so long since I’d had any kind of intimacy with someone, I just wanted to be close to her.

Resting my head against hers, I adjusted my arms to hug her tighter. I stayed up for hours like that, staring at the TV screen, hoping I hadn’t made a huge mistake by kissing her. Though I was already starting to feel something bloom in my chest. A craving that was awakened by touching her, kissing her, and holding her.

19

Margo

My phone buzzing nonstop made me groan. Waking up at four in the morning was something I would never get used to. I rolled over to find the water bottle that I always kept next to the bed when I completely fell off.

I made a massive thump as I fell on the hardwood beneath me and looked down at the floor very confused. This wasn’t the color of my floors. My floor was a pale piney-looking wood floor. This was distinctly darker and more walnut-like.

I was still staring stupidly at the floor when the door opened, and Derek walked in. His hair was stuck up in all different places, and he looked sexy as hell in his sweatpants with no shirt on. This was the first time I’d ever seen him shirtless. I was definitely dreaming.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

I looked around to discover that I was in Derek’s room and that I was distinctly not dreaming.

“Oh, sorry.” I pushed myself up to sit upright on the floor. “I just fell off the bed. I thought I was in my room.”

He let out a sigh and reached down to lift me up onto my feet. Most people would help someone up by taking their hand. This caveman put both of his hands on my waist and lifted me until I was upright. Which I appreciated because I was still half asleep.

“You have to go to the diner?” Even his voice was sexy. The words slurred together to form a new sexy, growly language. It was even more rough than usual with sleep. I wanted to pull him back into his bed and force him to read me romance novels.

Instead, I simply nodded and looked up at him with heart eyes.

“I should go get ready,” I decided. Literally, I shook my head to get the thoughts of Derek out of it. Four in the morning was way too early to be pining after a hot farmer man who was emotionally unavailable.

“Okay. Do you want coffee?”

“No, I’ll get it at Lucky’s. See you around?” He nodded and stood at his back door, watching me go back inside mine.

The drive over to the diner left me too much time to think. Which was exactly eight minutes. I blasted the country music station that the radio in my Kia was permanently stuck on, but it did nothing to distract me. I had my diner to look forward to, and that was everything.

The butterflies in my stomach felt different than anything I’d ever experienced. I was excited to open a diner. Usually, those butterflies only came before a big trip or an adrenaline-inducing activity. But lately, I was getting them in my everyday life.

I wasn’t sure if I’d done something very right or very wrong. But it felt right.

Going to bed at nine. Waking up at four. Working for twelve hours. Greeting guests. Eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the diner. Talking to Scarlet on my drive home.

That was my routine for two months after I kissed Derek. I did nothing else.

I was officially on the grind, but it felt way more fulfilling than I imagined those stupid productivity influencers felt. I was working twelve hours a day because it was a joy, not to get rich. At least that was what I kept telling myself.

One month in, I finally hired a second server. Myself and Sarah had worn ourselves out, and I needed to be able to give her a break. The two of us and Mike had grown so much closer, trial by fire I guessed, but we still needed more help.

Every morning, I parked my car on the side street adjacent to Lovewell Lane and took the long walk to the back of the diner. I noticed Derek had started parking next to me on days he was working at the store. He also made sure to wave at me when he was walking into the store at six a.m. sharp. Usually every other day.

Even on days he wasn’t working, I found myself glancing up right on time to look for him.

We hadn’t spoken much. Not since the kiss. Not since I woke up on his bedroom floor.

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