Page 18 of Call of A Eagle

“Great. Be right back with those shakes,” the waitress said before heading to the kitchen.

Waylen leaned in, resting his elbows on the table. His usual playful smirk appeared, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted since we sat down.

“You surprised me,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you to order a shake, too.”

“I surprised myself,” I admitted, though my mind wasn’t on the drinks anymore. I wasn’t sure if I should push him, though. “I thought you said we were having pie for dessert, not shakes.”

He chuckled, but it sounded forced. I tried to brush it off, but that flicker of tension, the way his whole demeanor had shifted when Mia showed up, gnawed at me.

Something was off.

“We’re having both.” He grinned.

Mia came back a few minutes later with our shakes and my water. Waylen stiffened again as she set our shakes down, his hand briefly clenching around the cup before he relaxed it. I took a pull from the straw, the creamy vanilla instantly soothing, though my thoughts were still snagged on the way he’d reacted to Mia.

“Good?” Waylen asked, his eyes locked on me, trying to act like everything was normal.

“Very,” I muttered, but I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that something had shifted between the moment Mia had appeared and now. I kept it to myself, letting the sweetness of the shake distract me for a moment.

“Ready to order?” Mia asked, her pen poised and ready, not seeming to notice the tension that still hovered faintly between Waylen and me.

I nodded. “I’ll take a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo and a side salad instead of fries, please.”

“Okay,” she said, jotting my order down before glancing at Waylen. “And for you?”

Waylen hesitated for a second, his eyes darting toward Mia before settling back into that casual smirk he wore so well. “A cheeseburger and fries, please.”

“Coming right up,” she said with a smile before heading back to the kitchen.

The moment she was out of sight, it was like a weight lifted off the air, and Waylen leaned back in his chair, his chocolate shake in hand. “Grilled chicken, huh?” he teased, the tension seeming to fade as quickly as it had appeared. “You’re one of those healthy eaters, aren’t you?”

I rolled my eyes playfully, trying to shrug off the strange moment. If he didn’t want to talk about it, then neither did I. “Not all the time, but I try.”

“Fair enough. But I’m telling you, once you try Mariam’s pie, you might change your mind about that healthy stuff.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “I’ll believe it when I taste it.”

“So?” he asked, leaning forward, curiosity in his eyes. “What’s the most exciting thing you’ve ever done?”

“Wow, okay. Good question.” I thought for a moment, tapping my finger against the table. “Honestly? Moving to the city by myself. I thought that place would eat me alive right away. It didn’t. At least not for a while.” I frowned.

Waylen shook his head. “It didn’t. Not at all. It might have helped shape you, but it didn’t eat you alive,” he said. “Change can be scary, but sometimes it’s what we need to grow.”

I blinked. He was smarter than I’d ever given him credit for—probably smarter than he gave himself credit for, too.

“That’s surprisingly insightful of you,” I said.

He grinned. “Thank you.”

“What about you?” I asked, turning the question back on him. “What’s the most exciting thing you’ve ever done?”

“Hmm,” he said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest, looking thoughtful. “Sitting here with you tops anything I’ve ever done.”

I rolled my eyes, but the hint of a smile still pulled at the corners of my lips. His answer had been flattering. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

He shrugged, his adorable grin growing.

Our food arrived then, and we dug in, the conversation continuing to flow easily between bites. Despite the lightness in our talk, I couldn’t help but notice the way Waylen’s eyes flicked toward Mia every now and then, his body tensing slightly each time she approached. It was subtle, but I picked up on it—enough to make me wonder what was going on in his head.

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