Page 12 of The Good Luck Cafe
“I love that your mom still calls us girls,” Tess said as they walked to a table along the wall. “It makes me feel young again.”
“We’re not exactly ancient.” Moira plopped down in the chair across from her friend, pondering that statement. A restless night tossing and turning did make her feel a little ancient this morning. “Today is going to be miserable,” she said with a sigh. “Did you happen to see Reva’s blog?”
“I did!” Tess said enthusiastically. “You’re a local hero.”
Moira harrumphed. “Sheriff Ronnie might say otherwise. He wants to see me after my shift.”
Tess didn’t look concerned. “I wouldn’t worry. You went above and beyond the call of duty.”
“And abandoned the dispatch for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes can be life or death in some cases, Tess.”
Her friend shook her head. “Not in Somerset Lake. Not usually, at least.”
“Well, Reva’s blog didn’t do me any favors. All I did was get Doug an ice pack and pour him some juice,” Moira said.
“You crawled through a doggie door to do so.” Tess grinned over her coffee cup, her brown eyes twinkling.
Moira let her face drop in her palm for a moment. “Ugh. I wish she could have at least left that detail out.”
“And Goldie licked your cheeks before you stood,” Tess added.
Moira’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Did she write that?”
Tess lifted a brow, one side of her mouth quirking in amusement. “So it’s true?”
Moira pulled her cup of coffee to her. “The secret is out. I’ve gotten more dog kisses than romantic kisses so far this year.”
“Despite your New Year’s resolution of going on at least one date per month?”
Moira offered an exaggerated eye roll. “That wasn’t my resolution. It was the book club’s goal for me, and it was completely unnecessary. Not everyone needs a romantic interest in their life to feel complete.” She’d been saying this to her friends and family for years whenever they’d asked why she was still single. She’d said it so often that she was starting to believe it.
“Well, we’d just like to see you go on a few dates. All of us at the book club are coupled up now. We need to live vicariously through you.”
“How about I live vicariously through you and stay happily single?” Moira took another sip of her coffee. The bell above the entrance jingled as someone else walked into the shop. Moira immediately turned to see who it was, subconsciously looking for Gil.
It wasn’t Gil.
When Moira faced forward again, Tess gave her a questioning look.
“Expecting someone?”
Moira shook her head. “No.” She couldn’t lie to Tess though. Tess always knew when she was holding something back. She was Moira’s wisest and most perceptive friend. “Fine, I was hoping to see Gil Ryan this morning.”
Tess’s eyes rounded. “That’s new.”
“I was kind of rude to him yesterday.” Moira shrugged. “I guess I want to relieve my guilty conscience.”
Tess gave Moira an assessing look. In another life, Tess could have been a counselor instead of a bookstore owner. “Being rude to Gil has never bothered you before.”
“I’m that awful to him?” Moira asked, dreading her friend’s answer.
“So much so I’d worry about you if you weren’t.”
That didn’t help alleviate Moira’s guilt. “Maybe I’m warming up to him.” She held up a hand. “Not romantically. I just…Everyone has always told me that I should date him.”
“Because everyone with eyes can see that he has a thing for you.”
“An unreciprocated thing,” Moira said, although some little voice in her head argued that truth. She’d felt something yesterday. The smallest of somethings. “So subconsciously, I guess I’ve just avoided him.”
