Page 51 of Love Me Not
“That’s it. I’ll even buy.”
Well, if he was going to feed me. “I’ll meet you there.”
A grin split his face as he said, “It’s a date,” then closed the door and trotted off to his truck before I could correct him.
“Smooth, Coach Collins. Very smooth.”
Chapter Thirteen
“I’ll have a Delta’s Signature cooked medium with Swiss cheese, loaded fries, and a chocolate shake, please.” The diner was a frequent stop on the way home when I didn’t feel like cooking. Though my idea of cooking was reheating takeout leftovers or popping a frozen dinner into the microwave.
Trey ordered as I stuffed my menu back into the small holder at the back of the table.
“A Black & Blue with fries and I’ll stick with the water, thanks.”
“You’ve got it,” said our waitress—Maureen based on the name tag. “I’ll put this in and bring the shake out in a few.”
“Sounds good.” As she walked away, I pulled out my copy of Leo’s stage drawing. “You really think they can make this happen?”
“Ethan thinks so. A version of it, anyway. ” Trey pulled a pen from his shirt pocket. “I suggest we take it down from three backdrops to two since, like you said, we’re low on time to get it done.” He drew a line down the center, “If we split the backdrop in half, each side will turn independently of the other, making it lighter and less cumbersome to move.”
Sounded like a good idea to me. Though that brought on the potential for trouble. “We’ll have to make sure we don’t end up with the right side of one background and the left side of the other.”
“I’ll be there to ensure the boys get it right.”
He planned on being backstage the whole time? “You don’t have to do that.”
With a shrug, he dropped the pen back into his pocket. “I’m in now. Unless you feel like I’m stepping too far into your territory.”
It wasn’t as if I’d peed a circle around the auditorium. “Doing this takes a lot of time. Don’t you have other things to do?”
Elbows on the table, he shook his head. “No. I get stir crazy between seasons and baseball won’t start until the spring.”
“What does baseball have to do with being the football coach?”
“I’m an assistant coach for baseball.”
Maureen returned with my milkshake and I whipped a reusable straw out of my purse. A second later, I paused for the brain freeze.
“You good?” Trey asked with a laugh.
Squinting my eyes, I nodded. “Totally worth it.”
We came here to discuss the stage set, but that conversation was over and we didn’t even have our food yet? What now? I should tell him about the plane tickets.
“You said one of your siblings is in Washington state, right?”
“Yeah, my sister. Dana’s husband Fin took a job in Seattle about five years ago.” He toyed with the straw the waitress left for his water but didn’t open it. “I miss seeing my niece and nephew, but they love it out there.”
“So you’re an uncle?”
“I am. Dana’s two are six and four. Regina, the four-year-old, could charm the paint off a wall.” Much like her uncle, then. “My brother David is in Texas. He and Loretta have a two-year-old named Avery. I met her in the spring and she’s the spitting image of our mom.”
Sounded like a lovely family, but again I couldn’t imagine having my loved ones so far away.
“I asked about Washington because I saw an ad for discounts on plane tickets to Seattle. Made me think of you and that you might be looking to head that way for the holidays.”
His eyes dropped to the straw. “Probably not.”