Page 67 of The Love Shack

She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, so she launched into explanations. “I haven’t seen it lately and you’ve been doing a lot of work, so—”

“Let’s do that.” He opened his truck door and jogged around to her side. The second he had her door open, he said, “Let’s grab food and head to my place.”

Now that he seemed in a hurry to get things underway, she grinned. “Looks like we’re as adaptable as Gladys.”

With a firm kiss, he stole her humor. “Don’t compare me to a geriatric dog, Berkley.”

And...that brought the humor right back.

Lawson grinned with her. “Tease. Come on.”

As packed as it had been last time she was here, tonight there were available tables. Still busy as customers lingered over their dessert or just chatted, but not wall-to-wall and chaotic.

Across the room, Lark waved to them. She sat at a table with Oliver, and like many of the guests, their food dishes had already been taken away.

Lawson asked, “Want me to order while you visit?”

It almost felt like a verbal nudge—but she accepted. “Sure. I’ll take whatever you get, but I wouldn’t mind something simple, like a sandwich?”

“They have a terrific turkey club. Want to share fries?”

“I do,” she teased, then caught what she’d said. “I mean—”

“Milkshake or cola?”

“Mmm. Vanilla shake.”

“You’ve got it. I’ll only be a minute.”

Right there in front of God and everyone in the restaurant, he put one hand behind her neck, bent down and kissed her. She was still blinking when he strode away to the bar to put in their order.

Feeling pretty awesome about her life, she glanced at Lark again and got double thumbs-up. Oliver was smiling, too. Moseying toward them, Berkley smiled at this person, and that person, and discovered she knew more people than she’d realized.

When she reached Lark, she said, “Hey, you two.”

Oliver stood. “Do you and Lawson want to join us?”

“Actually, we’re just getting food to go.” She quickly explained about Betty adopting Gladys. “I’m thrilled, but it put us a little behind on our official first date.”

Lark said to Oliver, “Berkley starts work early, well before six, every single day.”

“No days off?” Oliver asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t mind. It works for me.”

“Impressive. I used to be that way, but I have a feeling we were driven by different things. Me, I just wanted to get ahead, to make my practice the best.”

Unsure what he meant by that, Berkley asked, “The fitness studio?”

He shook his head. “I was a physical therapist. Most of my clients were well-known athletes.”

“Wow.” Berkley noticed that Lark looked equally surprised. “You gave that up?”

“To come here.” His gaze skimmed the restaurant as if he saw things other than everyday people, before it returned to Berkley and then shifted to Lark. “To start over.”

Nodding, Lark said quietly, “I’m also starting over.”

Berkley felt like an interloper. These two obviously had things to discuss. She was about to excuse herself when Lawson stepped up to the table. “Food will be ready in a few minutes.”

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