Page 78 of After All This Time

“Dude, what the hell are you doing here?” I ask her.

“Ronnie was looking for new part-time employees and I needed to make some extra cash so it worked out quite perfectly.”

Ronnie is the manager at Coastal Shores and he’s been running the place for decades. Most likely since before Noah and I were born.

“Bella didn’t tell me you work here.”

“My sister doesn’t tell you a lot of things, but she did tell me about Ben. I’m so sorry about your dad, Noah.”

A sliver of a smile appears on his face. “Thanks.”

Valerie’s eyes grow wide. “Life hasn’t been fair to you guys, has it?”

“Life hasn’t been fair to your family either,” I say to her.

She nods. “True, but I’m past all that shit. Bella, not so much. Let’s move on, shall we? What are we drinking?”

Noah gestures to me to order first. I glance at the drinks section of the menu and my eyes land on the peach sangria. “I’ll have a glass of the peach sangria.”

She doesn’t make any remarks such as ‘ah, it’s one of those days, isn’t it’ or ‘isn’t it a bit early to be drinking even if it’s the early afternoon?’ Instead, she winks at me. Her eyes land on Noah. “What about you?”

He glances over at the beers that are available on tap. His eyes meet Valerie’s. “Sam Adams Summer Ale.”

“Do you guys know what you want to eat?” Valerie’s eyes move from me to Noah.

We both look at each other and shake our heads.

“Take all the time you need.” She walks away from us to grab our drinks.

He gets off the bar stool. “I’ll be right back. Going to the bathroom.”

Valerie returns, placing my sangria in front of me and Noah’s beer on the counter.

She stares at me, studying my face.

“What?” I ask her.

“I didn’t want to say anything when Noah was here, but my sister told me about your feelings.”

“My feelings?”

“For Noah.”

God, she has such a big mouth.

I roll my eyes, throwing my head back.

“Do you want some advice?”

“I think Bella covered that for me, but sure. Why the hell not?”

She bends down slightly, resting her arms on the bar counter. “Sunset Cove is a small town. It’s rare to find someone, especially someone you’ve known your entire life, that you immediately connect with. I know you and Noah didn’t get along, but there’s something’s different between you two now. He looks at you in the way I want my future boyfriend to look at me.”

“And in what way does he look at me?”

She leans in closer to me. “Like he never wants to look away.”

“God, you sound just like Bella.”

---