Page 29 of Monster Diner

She didn’t correct him, though she knew she should. Because it wasn’t just her who’d get hurt when she left after Halloween, it was him.

13

LIZZY

Lizzy had never had a job that she missed on her days off. Even after a full shift, she rarely left drained as she had at other jobs. She wondered if Trudy’s kid was feeling better and if Vivianne and the guy she was seeing were hitting it off. If her regulars had asked for her. If Victor hadn’t offered to go thrift store shopping with her, she might have ended up back at the diner, working in the office, or picking up a shift.

There weren’t any thrift stores in Pumpkin Hollow, so they’d be taking a drive out of town together. As she emerged from her bedroom, Victor greeted her, grinning like a schoolboy.

“Ready? I thought we’d pop over to the bakery for chocolate croissants and then get coffee at Enchantresso. I looked up a few stores. We can go to Twice Loved first—it’s further away—and then circle back to Helping Hearts Charity Shop and Joan’s Antiques last.”

She smiled at him without responding, and he quirked his head.

“Something wrong?” he asked. “I can change the schedule.” He pulled out his phone.

She grabbed his hand, lowering the phone. “There’s nothing hotter than a man who has a plan.”

His teal skin darkened at his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I wanted to thank you for all your hard work. Sales are way up at the restaurant. Thanks to you, we’ve had our best October in ages. We’ll probably have enough to buy you out by the end. Barring any mechanical disasters…”

“I’ve hardly done anything.” She waved off his compliment because her stomach was churning at the thought of leaving. It was just the uncertainty of the unknown, surely. She was having fun, but this wasn’t permanent. “It’s a busy season. If I were here longer, you’d realize it’s just the glow of Halloween.”

Stay, have some fun with Victor, then leave and start fresh. Moving in with her mom would be humiliating, but it’d be her choice. Besides, she couldn’t remain here as a distraction and burden to Victor forever. He had his life figured out, and she’d latch onto that and never form her own identity. She’d never break the cycle that’d plagued her life since she’d left Pumpkin Hollow.

“Well, either way, I’m going to spoil you rotten today, as you deserve.”

She pumped her arm in triumph. This really was the best day ever. They stopped at the bakery as promised. While perusing the offerings in the display case, Lizzy waffled between the chocolate croissant, the delicious-looking lemon cakes, and the fresh donuts.

“I don’t know what to pick,” Lizzy said.

“Just stay away from the brownies,” Rowen said conspiratorially. “My overnight baker is very… new.” He dragged a hand through his magenta hair.

“Got it.” Lizzy nodded sagely. He’d mentioned troubles with his newest vampire hire to her during one of his frequent visits to the diner. He’d become one of her favorite regulars.

“We’ll take two of each of these,” Victor said, pointing at the three pastries she was torn between.

She looked at Victor and opened her mouth to protest, but he put his hand on her lower back and guided her to the cashier.

“Big plans for today?” Rowen asked as he boxed up their order.

“We’re going out of town. Antique shopping.”

“Well, have fun!” He handed Victor the bag, and they stepped out and walked past a couple store fronts over to Enchantresso, the local coffee shop, and picked up a couple coffees to go. Then, with treats and drinks secured, they got into Victor’s truck and drove out of town.

The autumn leaves were falling, and with the windows down, she smelled wet earth and plant decay. They talked about everything involving their high school peers—who’d moved on or had families or divorces. Then pop culture and back to diner management. Barely any time seemed to have passed before they reached their first destination.

She took her time sifting through the racks, seeking rare vintage pieces that were not ugly and also fit her—a rare occurrence, but she lived for the hunt. They left the first location empty-handed, and the second spot had a few too many crosses and Live, Laugh, Love signs to be worth staying long.

“I should have researched the places better,” Victor lamented on their way to their third stop. “I can do better next time. Let me try again on our next day off together.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. Half the fun of thrifting is digging through the trash to find the treasure.” She carefully avoided the next time in his statement. There shouldn’t be a next time.

Joan’s Antiques was the typical consignment shop with varied booths holding everything from seventies Tupperware and glassware to highly curated vintage clothes and nostalgic eighties toys. In one booth in the back corner, she found a gorgeous red love seat with curved arms and a dust cover with ruffle trim on the bottom. It’d go perfectly with her red tasseled lamp and wood side table in storage. She’d been searching for ages for something exactly like it. She turned over the tag, bracing for the price, but to her horror, it was priced reasonably. Knowing she’d regret it, she took a seat. It was clearly recently reupholstered, as it looked like it’d been made in the fifties but sitting on it was like butter. It felt reckless to buy furniture just to put it in a storage unit, though. Goddess knew when she’d have a place to herself again. Victor sat down next to her, and his fingers brushed against hers. There wasn’t much space between them, given the size of the couch.

And this totally-not-a-date was feeling a lot like a date.

“I love this couch.” She sighed.

“It’s really comfortable. Imagine binging movies on this.”