AllFreeNovel
Share Us
None of that was going to happen.
But he couldn’t get the idea that he wanted to warn her out of his head. James was not what he seemed.
He didn’t know if he could get the words out. He knew he didn’t take very well to people warning him. Especially when he had decided what direction he was going to take, and he was ready to walk down that path. He didn’t want people who had ulterior motives trying to “help” him by telling him not to do what he was doing. Especially when they had so much to lose from his decision.
If he were Chi, listening to her hired help tell her that she shouldn’t close the diner down...he’d roll his eyes and think of course they didn’t want him to shut it down. After all, they were losing a job.
Still, he considered Chi his friend, even if she was never going to be more.
“Are you leaving tonight?” he asked as he stood at the stove, staring at the back wall, not turning around to look at her.
Something moved, the swish of a cloth on the counter.
“Yes. As soon as we close up.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Are you questioning me?” she asked, and there was a warning note in her voice.
“You’re an adult.” That wasn’t really an answer, but the honest answer was yes, yes, he was. He was questioning her. He thought she was about to make one of the stupidest decisions of her life.
“Then just wish me good luck. It’s that simple, Griff. You don’t have to be angry about it.”
“I’m not angry.” He looked over his shoulder, surprised that she would say that he was angry. Upset, heartbroken, torn up, desperate to keep her, all of those accusations would be true. Angry? No.
Anger never solved any problems for him, and he hardly thought it was going to start now. There was no point in being angry.
“You acted angry all day. You barely spoke to me. You barely spoke to anyone. And you burnt something. I can’t remember you burning anything in the entire time we’ve had the restaurant open. How do you burn soup?” She shook her head, like she couldn’t believe it, and then continued to wipe the counter that she’d been wiping for the last five minutes.
She was more upset than she wanted to let on. Was that because of him, or was it because she really didn’t want to go?
He turned around, leaning against the stove and crossing his arms over his chest. He put one booted foot over the other and narrowed his eyes at her.
Business had died off, and it was only four o’clock, but they were closed. Dusk had fallen, made even more dim by the low clouds that still gathered over the lake.
“I think you’re making a mistake.” There. He said it. He could warn her. Even though he knew it would make her angry in her current state, and he couldn’t think of any way to say it that wouldn’t upset her.
“Really? That’s interesting. Perhaps you think I’m making a mistake because you’re losing your job.”
“Yeah,” he said, moving his eyes away from hers and looking at the far wall without seeing it. It’s like she had forgotten that he had bought the property at the end of the street. He had a diner. All he had to do was open it and hire a waitress. It wouldn’t be the same, it would never be the same, but he could be up and running in a month. After Christmas.
“Spit it out, Griff. What’s the issue?” She stopped what she was doing, planting her feet and crossing her arms over her chest, her very posture screaming that she was challenging him.
He didn’t want a challenge. He didn’t want to fight.
“Living together, Chi? Really?” He hesitated, and then he said, “If he’s a man of character, he’ll give you a ring.”
Yeah, that hit her where it hurt. But there was no pain in her eyes. The annoyance that had simmered there burst into full-fledged fury.
“How dare you judge me. That is ridiculous. You’re going to go around here all high and holy telling me how I’m not living my life right? How dare you judge me?”
“I’m not judging. You can look at me and see that I’ve obviously made mistakes. Done things I regret. I’ve screwed up, not just my life, but the lives of other people. I was just...trying to help.”
“You’re trying to help by telling me that it’s immoral to live with someone? Maybe those values are old-fashioned and outdated, and you need to get with the program. Everybody does this.”
“Everybody?” He had so many other things he wanted to say, but it seemed like she was determined to think that he was judging her rather than trying to help. And there wasn’t too much he could do to convince her otherwise.
“You’re splitting hairs. Even Christians know that premarital sex is not a sin, and living together is a good idea. You find out whether you’re compatible with someone or not, and you have less chance of divorce.”
