Page 21 of No Man Left Behind

Her eyes lit up even more. “Phail is turning out to be so much better than I expected.”

He placed his hand over hers where it rested on the table. “I’m glad. I’m hoping I can talk you into extending your stay. Indefinitely.”

Her cheeks flushed. “I asked Carl this morning how many more nights I could reserve. The B&B is booked solid, starting the weekend after this one, but I have a room until then.”

That gave him more than a week. He could work with that.

Over a delicious breakfast, they earned more than a few speculative looks from the locals, making Marcus glad he was the one facing the room. He didn’t want anyone making Elina uncomfortable. Not that they would intentionally, but he didn’t want anything scaring her away.

Elina’s first taste of the shakshuka was pure joy. He hoped Manuel was watching from the kitchen because her delight was obvious. “This is incredible. It tastes almost exactly the same as Khadijah’s back in Suraih. And she was considered the finest cook in the area.”

“You’ll have to tell Manuel. That’ll make his day.”

Breakfast passed quickly, with easy conversation and excellent food. The locals refrained themselves from intruding, but he knew they’d be stopped several times when they left. Unless they went into the kitchen to talk to Manuel and snuck out the back.

Which would only make everyone more curious.

“What’s got that thoughtful look in your eye?”

He laughed. “Just speculating how to get you out of here without you having to answer a hundred questions.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

He let his eyes rove the space. “One of the disadvantages of living in a small town. Everyone in here wants to know who you are.”

Her eyes popped wide, and she looked around. At least four heads ducked or turned away, making Marcus laugh.

She turned back to him, eyes sparkling. “That’s telling me you don’t often bring women here for breakfast.”

A laugh choked out of him. He’d never thought about it being a breakfast date. A breakfast that might imply an extension of a date from the night before. Which meant he’d started a ton of speculation without meaning to. And without getting to enjoy that night before.

Elina grinned, and he couldn’t contain his laugh. “Sorry about that. It never crossed my mind.”

She waved it away with another smile. “If you don’t care, I certainly don’t. It’syourreputation we’re tarnishing here.”

Marcus shook his head with another laugh. When had he last laughed this often and this easily? “I think I’m strong enough to handle it. It’s probably more that I’ve never brought a woman here before.”

Then he leaned forward. “But if we do ever have the night before that a breakfast date implies, we’ll be too worn out to come all this way for food.”

Her cheeks flushed, and she covered her mouth with one hand, likely to try to keep in the giggle. “When the time comes, I’ll hold you to that.”

Elina was sure her cheeks remained deep red as they made their way through the diner and out the door. Marcus nodded to a few people, but they didn’t stop and chat. Good thing, because the giggles were exploding out of her.

It was weird to think that the people in the diner were speculating on exactly how close their relationship was. She’d felt their eyes on her, had felt their curiosity, but it hadn’t been malicious, not like the creepy feelings she’d experienced in Seattle and Albany.

Once they were outside, she let the giggles escape as they strolled down the street. Marcus put his hand on her back, and that made her laughter worse. “I imagine they’re all craning their necks to watch us?”

His strong shoulders shrugged, but he was smiling. “Probably.”

They crossed the street and walked along the edges of Phail Way Park, passing the Saloon and continuing down the street. It was a challenge to imagine the space as an empty lot with abandoned buildings along the front. It was a vibrant space and she would enjoy sitting here to work on her comics.

Everyone in the park either called out or waved at Marcus, and he returned every greeting, identifying each person by name. She wondered if that was to help her put names to people or simply good manners.

When they neared the end of the street, Marcus pointed out a trail. “When the leaves are at their peak, these trails are going to bring in tons of visitors. There’s nothing in the world as beautiful as autumn in Vermont. I hope you’ll be here so we can check it out.”

She smiled. At the moment, she couldn’t imagine anywhere else she’d rather be.

Instead of walking into the woods or pressing her for a response, Marcus turned to look at the building across the street.

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