“But I just don’t know how to be friends with you. We’ve only seen each other from afar. We’ve projected all sorts of things and who knows what’s real or true?”
“But isn’t that what we should find out?”
“I’m not sure how.”
“Talking is a good start.”
“I didn’t think men liked talking all that much.”
The corner of his mouth lifted faintly. “We can talk when we have to.”
“Is this a have-to-situation?”
“It’s more of a want-to-situation. I want to know you, Sadie.”
She drew a careful breath, trying to slow her wildly beating heart. It had been a hard four months. She’d lost her mom. She’d lost him. Or at least the dream of him. But now he was here, and he wasn’t a dream. He was tough and demanding and completely overwhelming. “Where do we start?”
“We’ve already started. We just keep going.”
“You’re kind of intimidating in real life, Rory Douglas.”
“Take it in baby steps,” he said.
“And what is a baby step?”
“Lunch. I’m starving.”
Some of the tension in her chest eased. “Actually, I’m hungry, too. All those tears and confessions.”
His lips quirked. “Emotions can be draining.”
“Spoken like an expert.”
“Now you’re just being sassy.”
“Maybe a little bit.” She smiled and glanced around. They were almost at the end of Main Street. “What about Main Street Diner? They specialize in comfort food.”
“I don’t know if I need comfort, but I am craving some of their homemade corn bread.”
“If I ate that I’d have no room for pie.”
“Are you planning on having pie?”
“Of course. Why else go to the diner?”
“Well, there’s the meatloaf, and pot roast, and chicken pot pie and—”
“And apple pie, cherry pie, peach pie, chocolate cream, banana custard, lemon meringue...” Her shoulders lifted and fell. “I’ve never been able to deny myself a slice of good pie.”
“Why should you? Life’s too short not to enjoy the good stuff.”
The diner was half empty, and a waitress seated them in the big corner booth with a view out both windows. “I always wanted to sit at this table,” Sadie said with a sigh, leaning back and relishing the space. “We could have a party here.”
“Who would you invite?”
“Well, McKenna, of course, because she’s a lot of fun, and Taylor, the librarian who’s married to Trey’s twin, Troy. And you, obviously, because you were the Extreme Bull Rider Tour’s Mr. July four years ago.”
“I was never Mr. July.”
“But you were a centerfold.”
“I was a photo on a calendar. That is all.”
“Mmm.”
“What about Natalie? Are you two close?”
“No, but I like her. She’s a good boss. She works really hard. It was her dad’s business, you know.
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