Page 15 of Please, Stay

“Becky, Dad freaked out when he heard about me talking to Henry.” She’d never get used to calling him by that name.

Becky handed the dirty dish bucket to Juliana. “Take this to the kitchen. I’ll tell Henry to chill until your dad leaves. And for goodness sake, stop looking at him like that. Your daddy won’t let you eat your dessert before you eat your lunch.”

Juliana turned on her heel and rushed forward and through the swinging double doors to the kitchen. She stopped an inch short of running into Ms. Iris.

“Oh, honey, thanks for the help, but I know your lunch will be done any second now. Don’t want it to get cold.” She took the bucket away, handing it to another kitchen worker, and ushered Juliana with a firm hand back into the dining room.

Her dad’s eyes watched her with suspicion. That was all the incentive she needed to avoid glancing at the hulking figure now sitting at the other end of the counter. Of all the empty spots, Becky had sat Grayson three seats away from where she’d sit next to her dad.

Ms. Iris patted her on the shoulder and lowered her voice. “It was my big mouth this morning. Sorry, Jules. You looked so nice with that fella, I got ahead of myself. Since I’m the one that put him in that sour mood. I’ll fix it.” She sighed. “But for goodness sake, don’t agree to a date with Chester. He’s only a couple of years younger than your dad.” Ms. Iris disappeared back into the kitchen.

She didn’t need Ms. Iris’s opinion to know she had no interest in dating Chester.

Juliana tilted her nose in the air and didn’t even bat an eyelash in Grayson’s direction as she passed right behind him. She slid onto the worn plastic orange stool at the counter next to her dad, Chester standing beside him.

The mirror behind the grill gave her a spectacular view of how disheveled she really looked. Her dull hair fell halfway out of her ponytail. Her green eyes were prominent, probably because she hadn’t even put on mascara. The T-shirt she wore was almost fifteen years old with an ink stain across the shoulder. She looked more like a car mechanic than someone who a Hollywood star would travel across the country to visit. No wonder her dad thought she matched Chester.

Her dad shifted, lowering his voice. “Stop your fidgeting, girl. If you have all that energy, then maybe you should help Rebecca clear some more tables after you eat.” Becky carried a tray loaded with used dishes into the kitchen. “Iris would probably appreciate the help, anyway. She works too hard in this diner.”

Ms. Iris and her dad had been friends since first grade. She not only owned the diner but managed to be the only person who had any real tolerance for her dad’s sour moods.

Ms. Iris glided out of the kitchen with a piece of pie and a determined glint in her eyes. “Hugh, honey, try this pie for me. I had a customer send a slice back last night, saying it was bland, and I trust your judgment over theirs. Hello, Chester. I thought you were already on your way out the door?”

“Just so, Iris. I did want to ask Juliana if she’d like to see a movie tonight? That new Thomas Fitzgerald movie is out.” Chester’s deep accent made it hard for even Juliana to understand what he’d said. But his body odor made her answer easy.

“No, I’m sorry, Chester. I have to work.”

“I bet Jeff could run a second shift—”

“No.” Juliana interrupted her dad’s suggestion. Her eyes flicked to Grayson’s in the mirror. He watched and probably listened to the conversation. “Jeff’s back was already hurting when I left for lunch. Thank you, Chester, but not tonight.”

Ms. Iris’s arm brushed against her dad’s shoulder as she set the pie in front of him, pushing Chester out of the way. Chester scratched the bald spot on the back of his head and left.

Her dad grumbled something under his breath but picked up the fork. He stopped to look at Juliana like she was an intrusion.

“Juliana, maybe you can help Rebecca now. I’m sure Iris will keep your lunch warm.”

Juliana slid out of the stool at the bar, risking a glance at her movie star. Grayson’s eyes tracked her in the mirror. As she passed by, he twisted in his seat, his fingertips grazed against her arm. A roll of heat and those mysterious tingles coursed through her body.

“Can we talk?”

She checked the napkin dispenser near him, keeping her voice as low as she could. “Not here.” She inclined her head in the direction of her dad.

Grayson’s eyebrows tilted together.

She’d have to explain it some other time. Or Becky could explain it when they left. Right now, she could kiss Ms. Iris for her help. Busing tables beat out watching her dad humiliate her in front of Grayson with some callous comment or having to make nice conversation with Chester. She shuddered with the thought of sitting alone with that man in the movies.

Juliana grabbed a rag and the bottle of cleaning spray from behind the counter and wiped down the next table Becky cleared. “Why did you sit him so close?”

Becky bumped shoulders with her. “And here I thought you were going to thank me for my interference in your dating life.”

“You interfere for your own nefarious reasons, not for my thanks.”

“I’ll take the thanks all the same.”

“Since you and Tommy have broken up, you should try Chester. My dad thinks he’d make a great husband.”

Becky made a gagging sound. “I don’t know the last time I saw that man not covered in dirt.”

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