Page 124 of The Lost and the Found

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We’d beenon the road for about twenty minutes.

The weather outside had been unpredictable, which wasn’t surprising, but to still be hit this late in the year with an impending snowstorm, with the wind blowing harshly against the car as we drove was something else entirely.

Logan was driving, because even though I was a much better driver now than I was a month ago, I still wasn’t comfortable behind the wheel when the weather was bad. Unfortunately, that meant Logan was still driving me to school and work some days.

I felt bad that he had to be missing a lot of work to drive me everywhere, and I told him I could drive in the snow, but he wouldn’t hear it.

Today was different, though. It was a Saturday, so I didn’t have school, and Logan mostly did his work at home. We were also heading to Mathew’s restaurant. Logan had been quiet all morning, and I didn’t know what to make of that. Was he nervous that I was meeting Mathew for the first time? If anyone should be nervous, it should be me.

But still, his mood had been off all morning, and I could see him tensing up with each mile his car ate up, bringing us closer to Mathew.

Ten minutes later, Logan pulled into the parking lot of a small restaurant. It wasn’t anything fancy, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting much, considering Logan told me the restaurant was more aligned with southern home-cooked meals and Sunday barbeques.

What did surprise me was how busy it was, despite the terrible weather. We barely found a parking space, and even when we got in, the hostess told us there was a one-hour wait.

It wasn’t until Logan told her who he was that she bumped us up to the next available table. I shot him a look of reprimand and he shot me a charming smile and a wink to the hostess. I swore I heard her sigh.

“Should we really be doing this? A lot of people are waiting for a table.”

“Don’t worry. Uncle Mathew put mine and Veena’s name down on the no-wait list for this reason. He would be offended if I let you wait an hour before we could eat.”

“If you say so.” He pulled me in close and kissed me quickly.

The hostess showed us back to a corner booth, and even though the light in the restaurant was pretty good here, in this little corner, it felt dimmer somehow.

I could hear music through the speakers, despite the crowd. I bobbed my head along to a familiar old song playing, and looked over at Logan, my expression playful.

I liked it here.

I liked the privacy of it, and I even like the fact that instead of sitting across from me, he took the seat next to me, so that we could share the same side on the booth. I hid my smile, while Logan moved in as close to me as possible.

Our server was probably in her mid-twenties, and average-looking until she smiled. She was one of those people who smiled with their whole face, where her eyes lit up, and there was just something alluring about that. She had dark brown hair tied into a casual ponytail, and big brown eyes.

Big brown eyes that lit up from the sight of Logan, and recognition took hold.

“Logan! Mathew didn’t tell me you were coming today. How have you been?”

I sat up a little straighter, hating how he smiled at her. He stood up and gave her a hug, a hug that should have been quick, but lasted for five seconds—I counted.

When they pulled apart, she still had her hands on him. I narrowed my eyes on those hands touching his forearms and hated the fact that he was ignoring me to talk to her.

Realistically, I knew I had nothing to worry about. They were probably old friends. Even still, I couldn’t stop the little green monster from coming out.

“Mathew doesn’t know I’m here yet. We came to surprise him.”

I sat up straighter after hearing that. Logan never said that to me. I assumed he told Mathew we were coming. Now I had to worry about surprising the man, too? What if he didn’t like surprises or that he found me to be a bad one?

I let out small breath, and that caught Logan’s attention then. He turned and smiled. I didn’t smile back. His smile widened a fraction.

“Charlie, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Hayden.”

The server, Charlie, turned to me then, her brown eyes assessing. I narrowed my eyes on her. After a moment or two, she plastered on a smile, and I couldn’t tell if it was fake or not. She walked over and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” I said, adopting the same tone of voice. I couldn’t exactly tell what she thought of me. Logan took a seat then, his large shoulder bumping into mine gently.

“How is everything going for you, Charlie?” he asked.

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