Kyle’s was busy open to close nearly every day, save Christmas. But, like any business, some days were better than others, and I knew with a certainty that the town’s impending Homecoming parade would mean the diner would have a huge rush around breakfast time, and then it would be dead for the rest of the day. It was something that used to bug me because as much as I liked a bit of downtime, I liked paying my bills much more.

But this year—knowing that I’d have hours of quiet time to ponder Grayson—well, it didn’t sting quite so much.

Working quickly through the morning rush, flipping flapjacks with a speed that would have made my uncle proud, I wanted to get the usuals out just in case Grayson showed up. He seemed to be the only thing I ever thought about anymore. Not that I knew he was going to show up or anything—but—just on the off chance, I’d be ready.

And even though he was only going to be in town for three months and was so painfully famous and out of my league; I didn’t give a shit. Three months was going to have to be enough.

I had a terrible time finding my way to work the day before since I was so lost in the thought. That damn kiss. Where’d he learn to kiss like that? Probably on some set, with some beautiful co-star whose beauty I couldn’t even hold a candle to. Fuck, what if I was a terrible kisser?

Jesus Christ.

It was probably terrible, and he’d never come back to see me, because if a kiss is terrible, then sex wouldn’t be so far off that mark. It had taken everything in me not to tell Madeline everything when she’d gotten home from the bookstore the night before, but the heavy knot in my stomach stopped me. What if I told her and then Grayson never came to the diner again? Then Madeline would always know that I was such a bad kisser, I’d run a celebrity out of town.

If Grayson did come in today, I was going to fix that shit. I was going to stuff my nerves in a box, lock them away, and show him what the fuck I was capable of. I could do it.

After ushering the last customer out before the parade was set to start, I sank into a chair at the corner table, running my finger down the scratch as my thoughts slipped back to my uncle. I’m sure he would’ve thought that Grayson was a nice guy, and maybe given me his blessings, even though he wasn’t really into outsiders.

“Going to make a dent in that chair,” the other cook said as he passed by.

“Huh? Oh.” It was ridiculous, how much I thought about Grayson. We’d barely spoken and had barely seen each other, but I felt like I’d known him forever. There was just something different about him—something fuller, and I couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there, even if I wanted to. He was radiant. Could a woman call a man radiant without emasculating him? I shrugged. Oh, well, he was fucking radiant. I probably just shouldn’t say it to his face.

A hard buzz made me jump. It was my damn phone vibrating in my pocket. Shaking my head, I pulled it out and took a look at the screen.

“Hey, Alana.”

She huffed loudly, and she winced before she even started the conversation. “Jade.”

“What’s up?”

“What’s up?” she echoed, incredulously.

I looked around frowning.

“What’s up is that you’ve been dodging my calls.”

“Oh.” I relaxed in the chair, propping my legs up on the table. “No, I haven’t.”

Well, I kind of had been, but only because I didn’t want to talk about Grayson and I knew she wanted to ask me about him. “You have been,” she accused.

“Nope,” I defended, still lying. “I’ve just been busy.”

“Oh.” She perked up. “With what? Or should I ask with whom?”

I scoffed, but couldn’t stop myself from peeking out the window. There was no sign of him. “Don’t be ridiculous, Alana.”

She laughed, the sound a bit too loud through the telephone. “Okay, okay. Fine. I’m really just calling to remind you about Friday.”

“I’m not going to forget about Todd’s birthday.”

“You did last year,” she muttered.

“One year. Crucify me, why don’t you.”

“And the year before that.”

I fought back a groan. “Things are different now. I’m—”

“Yeah, you’re different now,” Alana sassed. “I get it. I’m just reminding you.”

Drumming my fingers on the table, I replied, “I won’t forget. I’ll be there.”

“Seven o’clock?”

“Seven o’clock.”

The little bell above the door sounded, and my head shot up. My mouth dried up the instant I saw Grayson step through the door, pulling off his sunglasses as his gaze swept the room. He grinned when he saw me sitting at the table.

“I’ve got to go,” I said quickly. “Customers.” I ended the call and jammed the phone into my pocket, struggling to get up with my legs still on the table. Thankfully, though, I didn’t fall in front of him again.