Lila wasn’t even surprised when Danielle came in for her lunch around two when her niece took over the store after school. It was like Cohen and Danielle couldsensewhen the other was in Moony’s, and they would come and make sure to piss off the other.
It was as entertaining as it was annoying.
“Hey, Lila?” Mason said, “I don’t know where you keep your stock list or shopping list, but we definitely need more paprika.”
She pointed to a notebook by the cash register, and he took it, flipped it to the back, and jotted down the spice and a few other things he had depleted over the day. At the back of the diner, Cohen and Danielle were going at it again, grumbling on and on about who had first dibs on the booth.
Mason watched them bicker for a bit, his handsome face folded into a frown as if he were trying to understand just what the hell his brother was doing. Lila continued refilling the sugar jars while compiling a list of all the other stuff she had to do before the day was out.
“Hey, Lila?” came the soft interruption. “What’s the story between those two?” Mason nudged his chin toward Cohen and Danielle. He kept his voice low as if he were telling her a secret. It made her shiver.
Lila paused and sighed away the sensation of being so close to Mason. “Honestly? I have no idea. They hate each other. They both get a kick out of driving the other one absolutely insane with fury. I don’t know why they insist on speaking because it always turns into some fight. And it always, and I do meanalways,ends up being about the booth.”
Mason’s frown deepened. “So this whole booth thing? Is it something that happens every day?”
“Yup,” Lila answered. “And sometimes, it’s even more than once a day. If they both come in for dinner? Forget it. On one of your brother’s first nights in town, they had this weird competition of who would stay here the longest. I had to kick them both out way after closing once I was done all of my chores.”
Mason pursed his lips as his brow arched up. “Not very common behavior for my brother.”
“No?” Lila frowned. She knew the Sheriff to be a quiet but capable man,butshe also thought he was a bit easy to annoy, given that the only time she saw Cohen, he was in the diner, arguing with her A-type personality best friend whohadto sit in the same booth every day.
“No. The only woman I’ve ever seen him fighting with was …” He clamped his mouth shut. “That is really not my story to share. Never mind.”
“I’m guessing that story has to do with an ex?”
“You got it in one.”
“She broke his heart?”
“That is the simplest way to put it, yes,” he answered sharply. There was a shadow in his eyes, and Lila recognized it for what it was.Pain. Sorrow.
“Well,” she quickly blurted, “good thing for Cohen, Half Moon Key is a great place to hide when healing from a broken heart.”
Mason leaned on the counter. He stared at her with the force of his hazel eyes, and it was almost too much for her to bear. Her skin was itchy and tight as he continued to scrutinize her. Lila felt bare like a leafless tree, and his gaze was a butterfly.
Intense but natural. She worked hard to kill another shiver, but it ran right through her when Mason whispered roughly, “Is that why you came back here, Lila? To get over a broken heart?”
“Not quite,” she said before quickly retreating to the kitchen.
Of course, Mason was the cook for the day, so he followed behind her. But as soon as he did, she left him in the kitchen to take Danielle and Cohen’s orders. She wasn’t in the mood to think about Erik and the hurt he caused her.
Actually, she wasn’t in the mood to tell Mason about it. If she did, she thought he would see right through her. He would know way too much about her, and that frightened her. Keeping Mason at a distance was probably for the best.
SEVEN
MASON
It was pretty damn unbelievable. Mason wasn’t just happy. He was actually thehappiesthe had ever been in his life. It was the weirdest thing. All he had ever wanted in his life was to be a chef with a couple of Michelin stars with a line of food critics trying to get a table at his spot.
Moony’s Cafe was about as far away from that as possible.
And yet, Mason didn’t mind getting out of bed at three in the morning to be at the diner before four. He didn’t care about taking in the deliveries and getting the diner ready for the breakfast rush. He didn’t give a hoot that the days were long and full of hard work.
But the most interesting part of all this?
He had been in Half Moon Key for almost a month, and there was absolutely no sign that he was getting bored.
Nowthatwasn’t typical at all.