One week down, one week to go.

I wiped my hands off on my grease rag and tossed it over the bike I’d been working on. The owner just brought it in for a basic tune-up. It was a few hours work at most and barely enough money to be worth it.

There was a time when being in the shop was all the therapy I needed. I fell into a rhythm that nothing and no one could interrupt. It was like my body settled into a steady hum, and it stayed there until I decided to break free and come back up for air. The real world didn’t exist when I was at the shop, but lately, there was no hum. There was no rhythm. The real world imposed on my thoughts every second of every day. There was no escaping it.

“What’s eating you?” Garret asked when I joined him in the office.

“Same shit,” I said.

“The meeting at the bank?’ Garret asked. “That was a week ago. You gotta move on. Let it go.”

“How can I let it go?” I asked. “I have one week to get the money, or this shop will be gone.”

“This shop won’t be gone,” Garret said. “We will be.”

“That’s not helpful,” I snapped.

Garret sighed and shook his head. I knew he was trying to lighten the mood, but the mood was so dark that no amount of light could possibly break through.

“I hate to see you this way,” Garret said. “You’re young. You should be having fun, living your life. All this stress is too much for you.”

“It’s a part of life,” I said. “You can’t save me from everything, Garret.”

“Doesn’t stop me from wishing I could.”

He smiled sadly and clapped his hand on my shoulder. We worked in silence for a few minutes, both of us so deep in our thoughts that we almost forgot the other one was there until Garret cleared his throat and claimed my attention.

“You really think we’ll lose it?” he asked. His voice was soft, low. There was more despair on his face than I’d seen since my father’s funeral.

“Honestly,” I said. “I don’t know anymore. I’m trying everything to save this place. I got a second job working at The Diner with Diana, but even with tips, I just don’t think it’ll be enough by next week.”

“I’d sell everything I owned,” Garret said. “If my shit was worth anything.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I’m going to figure this out, Garret, okay? I promise.”

“How?” he asked. “Seriously Alex, at this point, maybe it’s best to just—”

“What? Give up?”

Garret sighed and shook his head. He hated this as much as I did. I knew that, and yet, I couldn’t help but feel angry at his defeated attitude. After all, if the shop went under, it wasn’t him who would be letting my father down.

“You’ve done everything you can,” Garret said. “I don’t want to see you worry yourself sick over something you can’t change.”

“I still have a week,” I said. “One more week. If I fail after that week is up, then I’ll just have to deal with it, I guess.”

“It’s not a failure,” Garret said. He held my gaze, compassion pouring out of him in a wave of emotion. “No matter what happens with the shop, you haven’t failed, Alex.”

“Then why does it feel like I did?”

Garret didn’t have an answer. I didn’t blame him because, really, what was there left to say?

We both knew how this was going to end. No matter how determined I was, no matter how much I tried, the ending would always be the same. I just didn’t have enough money.

I knew it would take a miracle to pull myself out of the hole I was in, and yet, I couldn’t stop fighting for that miracle. When I left the shop that evening, I pushed all logic to the back of my brain and focused on hope. I hoped so hard that it drove me all the way down to the beach and through the back door of The Diner.

“There you are,” Diana said when I walked in. “Been waiting for you.”

“Am I late?” I asked nervously.

“Not at all,” Diana said. “I’m just so damn excited to have you here.”

“Thank you for doing this,” I said. “Really, Diana, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the help.”

“Girl, I just got you a job.” Diana laughed. “I didn’t introduce you to the Dalai Lama.”

“It’s more than a job,” I said. “Thank you.”

“Wait until you’ve worked a full shift before you start kissing my blistered feet,” Diana said. “Waitressing is rough work. Think you can handle it?”

I grinned and grabbed an apron off the line of hooks. Diana laughed and slapped my butt as we headed out to the front of The Diner.

“Boss man wants you to shadow me tonight,” Diana said. “Apparently, he doesn’t think you can pour coffee on your own.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Well,” Diana said. “He said someone who’s only poured oil into engines all her life doesn’t have the delicate touch it takes to keep customers happy.”

I blinked. The Diner was a run-down little shack on the sand. It wasn’t exactly a high-class destination for gourmet cuisine.

“I’ll do my best not to dump the pot on his head next time I see him,” I said.

“Honey,” Diana said. “That’s just John. He is what he is, and if you’re gonna work here, you gotta learn to tune him out.”

“That won’t be a problem.” I laughed.

Diana took me up to the hostess stand and showed me the ropes. She walked me through the numbering system for the tables and showed me where the storeroom was. For the first two hours of my shift, she had me refill salt and pepper shakers, napkin holders, and coffee cups. She even let me pour on my own, which according to John, proved that Diana had too much faith in me.

Despite John’s asinine concerns, I managed to have a pretty great first couple of hours. When I was done with the refills, I shadowed Diana and learned how to take orders. She showed me the shorthand for each meal on the menu. Everything was basic common sense. It wasn’t challenging work, but I was grateful for Diana’s help, so I put in so much effort that I made waitressing look like an Olympic sport.

“Slow down,” Diana said. “You’ll wear holes in your shoes if you keep up that pace.”

“I just want to do well,” I said.

“Relax,” Diana said. “You’re doing fine.”

“Thanks.”

Diana eyed me with concern. We were behind the counter, stocking the shelves and washing dishes while the other waitresses did the rounds on our tables. I tried to ignore Diana’s maternal eyes boring into the side of my head but after a few minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Just say it, Diana.” I sighed.

“Say what?” She blinked innocently.

“Cut the crap.” I laughed. “I know you’re thinking something, so spit it out already.”

“I’m worried about you,” Diana said bluntly. “You look like you haven’t slept in six months, and just last week, you came in here begging me for a job when I know perfectly well you already have a job.”

I stared down at my hands without a word. Diana, like Garret, had known me since I was a little girl. Their concerns came from a place of deep love. I knew that. And deep down, I loved them for it. But, on the surface, I hated it.

“I’m fine,” I told Diana with a note of finality in my voice.

“Not buying it,” she said. “What’s going on with you?”

“Diana, it’s not the time or the place,” I said softly. “Let’s just work and -”

“And what?” she asked. “You’ll tell me later?”

“Sure.” I shrugged.

“That’s believable.”

I sighed and looked up at her. She was standing with her hands on her hips and her eyes wide with determination. There was no way she was going to let this go anytime soon.

“Fine.” I shook my head. “The shop isn’t doing well.”

Diana nodded. “How bad?”

“Worse than you can imagine,” I said, shaking my head.

“Are you gonna lose it?” she asked.

I nodded and looked away, feeling a burn in my eyes that could only mean one thing. It was my first day working at The Diner and already, I was in tears.

“Listen to me,” Diana said. She took a step forward and grabbed my hands. She waited until I lifted my eyes to meet her gaze before she spoke again. “I’ve watched you grow up. I knew your dad. And I know your mom. You come from high-quality stock, Alexandria. There is nothing in this world strong enough to beat down a Tanner. Do you understand me?”

The smile that stretched across my face was uncontrollable. I didn’t want to smile. In fact, it was the last thing I wanted to do. And yet, with one inspirational speech from Diana, that’s exactly what I did.

She squeezed my hands and turned me back around to finish restocking the shelves. I got back to work with Diana’s words of encouragement echoing in my ears. If I believed her, then everything would be okay. If I believed her, then I would find a way to save my dad’s shop and build it back up into the successful business it once was.

But, that was if I believed her.

Diana’s words filled my chest with warmth. They sent tingles down my body and sparked a fire in my stomach that drove me forward, but that didn’t mean I believed her.

We both knew her words were just that. Words. They didn’t change anything. They didn’t magically fill my bank account with thousands of dollars. They didn’t somehow change the bank’s mind about giving me more time. And, they didn’t summon hundreds of high-paying customers straight to the shop’s doors.

Her words were comforting and inspiring, though, so I held onto them while I continued my shift. Diana let me take a few tables on my own, watching from afar while I wove a path around The Diner with ease. It felt like I’d been working there for years, and in a way, maybe I had.

“You’re a natural,” Diana said. “Keep this up, and I’ll be out of a job.”

“Nah.” I shook my head. “This is just temporary, right? Once I get the shop back on its feet, I’ll be hanging up my apron for good.”

“That’s the spirit!” Diana said.

I laughed and went to deliver a couple plates to my table by the window. I asked if they needed anything else and then spun back around to keep moving. But when my eyes fell on the front of the restaurant, I froze.

The door had just clanged open, letting a wave of sea air waft inside. I smelled the saltwater and sand as it caught in my chest and made me gasp. It wasn’t the sudden influx of sea air that made me stop in my tracks, though. It was the two people who accompanied it inside.

I saw her first. Tiny and wild-haired with her Little League uniform on. She still had her glove on her left hand. I knew, without knowing, that she’d refused to take it off. Her eyes were alive with fire, just as they’d been when I saw her poke her head out of the truck window.

My eyes lifted to the man standing beside her. It was my first shift at The Diner. My very first shirt. So, of course, Declan Gamble would waltz through the door and fix his icy blue eyes on me, making me forget both my worries and how to breathe in one fell swoop.