Page 23 of Meant to Be
“Hey, Mitch.”
“Chels.”
Seeing Chelsea was a reminder to Mitch that his life could be worse. Yes, he suffered heartache, loss, and betrayal, and not just from Sydney, but Chelsea had lost her brother, Brian, in Iraq and her mother from a combination of cancer and a broken heart not much after. As if the loss of her family wasn’t enough, Chelsea’s mother left her with a huge debt Chelsea was determined to pay without selling her family’s home. She did it by having two jobs; one as a teacher and the other as a waitress. He admired how she forged ahead. Despite the heartache and hard work, she always had a smile on her face. As he looked at her, tired from two jobs, he realized he wasn’t doing a very good job of watching out for her like he’d promised Brian he would.
“Are you heading to the fair?”
She nodded. “I’m going to clean up first, but I told Lexie I’d swing by.”
“Don’t wait too long. She’ll eat up all the fried Oreos.”
Chelsea beamed. “Isn’t it exciting about the baby?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Chelsea headed out and Mitch found a booth in the corner.
“Hey Mitch.”
He looked up from the menu to Missy Clements’s assets nearly in his face. She was leaning over the table, as if she was offering them to him. There was a time he’d have taken her up on the offer. In fact, he had once or twice.
“Missy.” He scooted further in to the booth, not to invite her in, but to get her breasts out of his face. She was a nice woman, and he’d enjoyed the few times they’d spent together, but he’d lost interest, and despite her sensuality, he wasn’t even tempted.
“What’cha up to?”
“Having some dinner.” Mitch caught movement behind her and saw Jagger moving to a table near him. “With a friend. Jagger!” Mitch waved a hand. “Over here.”
Jagger turned to his name, his gaze assessed the situation and then he turned a curious look at Mitch.
“Well, I’ll see ya around.” Her smiled dropped into disappointment.
Mitch nodded. “Take care, Missy.”
Jagger watched Missy saunter off and then sat across from Mitch, his brows pulled together in disbelief.
“Don’t ask.”
Jagger shook his head. “Dinner? It’s not even two yet. You’re older than you look if you’re having dinner in the middle of the afternoon.”
Mitch smirked. “Yankee. Lunch then. But afterlunch, I’m having supper, not dinner.”
Jagger laughed, lifting his arms in surrender.
The waitress approached. Deciding he was hungry for more than dessert, Mitch ordered barbecue and a beer.
Jagger ordered the same. “We have some of the best food in New York, but nowhere else does barbecue like the south.”
“Of course.”
The waitress brought their beer. “And the service can’t be beat.” Jagger grinned.
“You settling into the house?” Mitch took a long gulp of his beer, happy for the distraction Jagger brought from thoughts of Sydney.
“It’s getting there.”
“Do you think you’ll be able survive slow country living?”
“So far so good. I think you’re just worried I’ll take away from your action.”
