Page 55 of Worth the Fall

“I told you he was the best, didn’t I, Miss Brooklyn?” Clara interjected with a grin.

“You did,” I answered as my phone started buzzing from inside my purse. I tried to ignore it, but then it buzzed again. And again. And wouldn’t seem to stop.

When I reached for it, I saw multiple text messages from Lana.

Where are you right now?

Hello?

Answer me!

Are you at the diner with Thomas and his daughter?!

The whole damn spa is talking about it.

BROOKY!

My face must have paled or something because Thomas reached across the table, his hand touching mine for only a split second before he pulled it away.

“Is everything okay?”

I turned my phone around for him to read instead of repeating it all out loud for Clara to hear. He simply nodded as if he couldn’t care less and like what Lana had said didn’t bother him in the least.

“You should respond to her, or she might not stop.”

He actually smiled.

Is he enjoying this?

I thought he was.

“You’re right,” I said before firing off a text back.

Yes, I’m with them. I’ll fill you in later. Tons of drama today at work.

You’re going to flip out when you hear about it.

I can’t wait to hear everything!

And I do mean everything, Brooklyn McKay.

“Brooklyn.” Thomas said my name, his tone all deep and gravelly, demanding my attention. “We knew they’d talk, remember? It’s okay. The good thing about small-town gossip is that it goes away. People have the attention span of a gnat these days.”

“What’s a gnat?” Clara asked without looking up from her paper that was now almost completely colored over.

“An annoying little bug,” I answered before Thomas could beat me to it, and Clara let out anewsound.

Before I could overanalyze the texts any more, our food arrived, and I swore I’d never seen a happier girl than Clarabel O’Grady. Her eyes were two times their normal size as she gaped at the massive waffle on her plate. I helped her put the butter and syrup on. Not too much. Just enough. And when she cut into the fluffy monstrosity, she moaned with every bite she took. This was a girl after my own heart.

“This is the yummiest thing I’ve ever eaten,” she said with her mouth full, and Thomas tsked her. “Sorry,” she said before swallowing and taking a giant gulp of her milk, and everyone else in the diner seemed to disappear.

I would now think of Clara whenever I came here. It was funny how quickly memories were made and replaced by new ones. I’d never really associated anyone with my favorite diner waffles before, but now, they’d forever be attached to the memory of this little girl’s first one. I liked the idea of it all a little too much.

The talking came to an abrupt halt while we were eating, and when the bill came, Thomas insisted on paying for it. It felt like a date even though I knew better.

Do I want it to be a date?

I honestly wasn’t sure.