“Damion, I think it’s time to go.” Rafferty Brooks was suddenly on his feet and grabbing Damion’s shoulder, pulling him from his stool. Of course, Rafferty would try and protect his fellow man.
“I’m not done eating.” The man pointed to the nearly full roast beef meal and mashed potato he’d thought was worth dying over. A meal she was sure he thought he wouldn’t have to pay for since, when he ordered, they were still dating.
Before Damion even moved, Mia dismissed him and focused on Rafferty Brooks instead. “Let the man eat, Rafferty. He’s right; we’re done. Three months of my life for nothing. Nothing.”
Before she even thought about what she was doing, she grabbed Damion’s plate from in front of him as he stabbed at another piece of roast. The man barely had time to look up before the plate landed on his head, food side down. The plate had even slid from his head to the floor before his large glass of milk followed the path of the plate.
Her only hope was that it splattered on Rafferty—he always deserved to be splattered. Today his suit was the gray one she had always liked. He looked good in gray. She hated that he looked good in everything.
When she told them to leave—or one of them, and really, she didn’t know which one—she grabbed a pie plate in each hand. Rafferty headed for the door, but Damion was still in shock and covered in mashed potatoes and gravy, sitting on the stool.
Reminding herself to have Rafferty’s bill ready for tomorrow because he hadn’t paid, the door closed behind him. He could run, but she knew where to find him. She always did.
Damion’s bill was also due. “Get out of here, Damion. Before I do something I’ll regret.”
“You don’t regret this?” He pointed to his head.
“I will never regret that. In fact, I’m proud of that. I’ll regret giving you a black eye, though.” She grabbed the counter to control herself from going over that very edge.
Damion finally got a clue and jumped up, heading for the door. Grabbing his coat from the coat rack as he went. Before she could stop herself, she threw two small glass pie plates at the man’s retreating form. Both hit their mark but didn’t do anything other than make the man yelp as he rushed out the front door, the bells tinkling as it slammed closed behind him.
Watching him nearly run to his truck through the glass windows, she once again wondered what she had ever seen in the man. He was right; they wanted different things. They wanted different people.
As the door closed, she took a deep, calming breath before turning to smile over at the old men who were looking at her. Neither said anything about what had happened, which was a good thing because both had full plates in front of them and she didn’t know if she could control herself yet..
Shaking her head, she surveyed the mess she had caused. And what a mess it was. Sadly, her life was in even worse shape. She was trapped in this town with nobody who loved her and nobody she wanted to love her. She needed out. Now.
CHAPTER2
Mia Lawson was being dumped,right in the middle of her own café in front of at least half a dozen people. It was a train wreck, and Rafferty Brooks couldn’t look away. Because this train wreck was sure to turn into a train explosion.
As she started to hurdle food at the man, Rafferty barely got far enough away to not get covered himself. He quickly looked over himself, trying to find any chunks or splashes of anything he was sure Mia had secretly wanted him also covered in. Seeing her eyes look him up and down, he knew she was disappointed he got away unscathed.
“Get out,” she said in a low voice, her hands reaching for the plastic-covered pies sitting on the counter.
Rafferty knew it was time to leave, but Damion wasn’t as smart and started to argue with her. Grabbing his coat from the booth he had been sitting in, he was almost out the door when Damion wasn’t only hit with a blueberry pie, but also the award-winning apple.
Once outside, the cold hit Rafferty, and he quickly pulled on his coat. Now what to do? He had gone to the café to get away from his dad and the bomb that was dropped on him today. The bomb wasn’t a surprise in itself, just that it was happening already.
This morning he had shown up to work, a job he’d had for years selling insurance alongside his dad. His dad showing up had never been a good thing, but today, his dad was actually happy to be there. Well, for a few minutes, at least. Because Howard Brooks was retiring as of today. No warning, no planning, just done.
On top of that, Howard had sold the building he had owned since before Rafferty had even been born. Rafferty had thought he would work at the place forever… until his dad sold it. According to Howard, he had gotten an offer he couldn’t turn down. And it seemed he couldn’t have run it by his son and successor before making the deal.
Now his whole future looked hazy. A few years ago, he had joined his dad’s insurance agency in hopes of getting to know the man who hadn’t done much to be close to his only son over the years. It hadn’t worked, and today, Rafferty was reminded that his father was still a jerk.
Not that working with his dad had been the only reason he came home. He missed the town he had been raised in. He missed knowing everyone in the café when he went in. He missed the Fourth of July parade where so many people showed up just to watch that the town’s population raise by ten-fold for a few hours. He missed that he could walk through the entire town and name the people in every house for the past twenty years. So, he came back, and he stayed.
Standing on the sidewalk on Main Street, the cold was seeping into his body as he debated what to do next. What he should do is go home and spend the day deciding what to do with the rest of his life.
Only the realization that Mia Lawson was single again had him rooted to the spot. Not that the woman had ever had a long-term man in her life; most were short flings, and a lot were nonstarters. But she was fun and popular, and it was a matter of time before she found the one, or the one she would settle for.
With his work life in shambles, he decided that he could try and get his love life in order. Suddenly, he thought he knew the way. He would get a friend of a friend to talk him up a bit, making him look good. Maybe convince Mia he was someone to take out for a test drive and kick the tires. Buy?
His friend Anderson Miles’s personal assistant and Mia had recently turned into close friends during the last few weeks. Not that they didn’t know each other before. They went to high school together and had both lived in town for years. As had Rafferty.
But the woman hated Rafferty. Hated. She had a long list of reasons why, and she wasn’t afraid to remind him of them. Or at least she would if she didn’t spend all her time ignoring him.
Angel Johnson’s name was actually Ruth Kennedy now, but she was always Angel in school. She became a Kennedy when her mom married when she was fourteen. He liked to think of Ruth with her old name. It suited her better. The woman was born with white hair and pale blue eyes. She actually looked like an Angel, and now she acted like one, but in high school, the name didn’t fit her at all. Back then, she was known for getting into trouble and getting too handsy with her boyfriend.