Page 28 of Reclaiming Love

Chapter 15

So as not to miss any chance of seeing her, Noah arrived at the coffee shop by a quarter to one. He had told her a little white lie. He never walked all the way here for his lunch. There were plenty of sandwich shops closer to his workplace.

But on hearing that he’d missed her every morning, and with her being in a hurry this morning, he didn’t want to waste any more time.

He wasn’t sure, but he got the impression that she was interested. He’d have to probe deeper without seeming to probe deeper. She obviously had stuff going on, and he couldn’t push too much. But he would be here for her if she needed a listening ear. And goodness knew that girl looked like she could do with a listening ear most mornings.

He could do coffees for as long as it took.

He watched as she walked in quickly, having seen her cross the road from where he sat. She rushed in, all red-faced, and he watched her for the few seconds while she scanned the room, looking for him. Each time he saw her, he glimpsed another facet to her personality—this girl who was no longer a stranger.

Her gaze located him, and she waved, then pointed to his unopened sandwich and mouthed, “I’ll get mine too.”

He nodded, and waited, watching her again until she got her lunch on a tray and walked towards him.

“Were you waiting long?”

“No.” Half an hour waiting for her wouldn’t be long. Fifteen minutes was nothing. He’d thought about suggesting they go someplace else, but then he didn’t want to come across too heavy and scare her off. A sandwich was a sandwich—nothing else. If he suggested a proper lunch, it might be too much. Small steps, he told himself. “This is a first,” she said, sitting down.

“Meeting for the second time in a day?”

“Meeting for lunch, at that.” She seemed freer, unhurried. Whatever it was that had made her so sad the other day seemed to have passed.

“So, Noah, from the Black Diamond group.”

“Yes, Melissa, from the Zimmerman Group. How’s your day been?”

“Busy. But good busy. You know how sometimes you can have miserable-as-hell-busy? Today wasn’t one of those days. I still have energy.”

“You seem a lot more cheerful today.”

She colored, and he knew she’d been reminded of the conversation last week. “That’s just”—she stopped chewing, and raised her eyes to his—“people sometimes.”

Someone at work was being difficult?

“The dynamics of the work environment.” He bit into his sandwich.

“Something like that.”

They ate quietly for a while, amidst the constant filling up and emptying of tables around them. “Next week everything will start to grind to a halt,” he commented. It would be Christmas. A time he dreaded.

“I’m so looking forward to Christmas,” said Melissa. “I’m leaving on Monday to go home for a few days.”

“Yeah?” he said, not wanting to talk about what his Christmas would be like. “I’m going to move into a shared apartment with one of my friends.”

“A busy time for you then?”

“It sure is.” Finally. Moving on.

“Who’re you sharing with?”

“My friend, Paul. The shorter commute will be great. It’s taking me about an hour fifteen traveling in from where I am at the moment.”

“That long?” she asked, looking horrified. “Bet you can’t wait to move.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” he agreed. Then told her, “I’m off tomorrow. I think I need to start packing my things. Something tells me it’s going to be busy and silly to move over Christmas.”

She finished off her sandwich, chewed thoughtfully. “It might be the perfect time, when everyone else is winding down, to push on ahead and get moved. The chances are it’ll be relatively quiet elsewhere.”

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