Page 35 of Love Over Easy

If only I could stay. It’s coming. I feel it in my bones. My days are numbered.

* * *

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ness. We ran out of pimento cheese. I’ll be sure to have Shyanne make a double run tomorrow. How about a crab-wich today?”

I grin from the kitchen as I listen in on the conversation. The café has been open for a while and business has been better than I even hoped for. It’s been so good that I’ve hired Melissa full-time. I never would have been able to keep up with the orders if I hadn’t.

My decision to only open during lunch hours was a good one. I don’t know yet if I want to offer breakfast or dinner options. I’m not doing this for money. I have plenty of that. I’m doing this for me. I don’t want to take the fun out of running my own business by overcommitting.

At two in the afternoon, Melissa turns the OPEN sign to CLOSED, and we fall into our routine cleanup and prep for the next day. By four, we’re locking up and she gives me a lift back to David’s house.

I know I should look for an apartment or even move to the Inn, but David hasn’t mentioned anything about me leaving and, selfishly, I’ve kept silent as well. If this could be my life, I would never want for anything else in the world. David has become a big part of my world. Maybe too big.

I’ve still been having random feelings of doom and even a few restless nights worrying about being discovered before I can tell David. I promised him I would tell him and I should have already made good on that promise.

I’ll admit that I’ve not been looking very hard for the ideal time to reveal my truth. Guilt has caused those restless nights.

I jump in the shower and wash off the café smells and then rush to have dinner waiting when David gets home from work. This is the routine we’ve settled into. It’s perfect.

“Something smells good,” David calls just before I hear the front door close behind him. A moment later, he appears in the kitchen, walks with a purposeful stride, and wraps his arms around me, kissing me like he can’t wait another moment.

Everything else is just white noise until he breaks the kiss, but keeps me surrounded by his arms, pressed to his chest and his growing erection. I consider popping everything into the oven on low to keep it warm and leading him to the bedroom. But there’s time for that later.

“I’ve missed you,” he says and I feel his lips press a kiss to the top of my head. My heart does a flip.

“I’ve missed you too.” I tilt my head to see his face. “Go wash up; dinner’s ready.”

With a final kiss, he does just that and I carry our plates to the table on the deck.

He returns fresh from a shower, his hair still damp and messy from where he rubbed a towel over it. “How was business today? I’m sorry I didn’t get by for lunch. We had our hands full today.”

Such a normal couple’s question. “Oh, no. Nothing bad, I hope.”

He shakes his head and replies, “No. Just vacationers not knowing the rules. We’ve had more visitors to the island this summer than we’ve had in the past ten years. If this keeps up, I’m going to need to hire a deputy.”

I can’t believe David has been the sole law enforcement on the island. He should have more help. “Do you think the town will go for that?”

“I think they will be very happy about the business that’s come to the island and the request for a deputy will pass with no problem.”

This would be a good time to talk. I need to just get it over with and tell him. Will he feel betrayed? Hurt? I’ve played the scene out in my mind, and each time he has a different reaction. “Can we go for a walk on the beach after dinner?”

“Sure. My mom called today and asked us over to a cookout Saturday. Around six, so it won’t push you getting off work.”

David’s mom is great. I wish I’d had a mom like her growing up. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine.”

“Shy, is something wrong? You’re very quiet tonight.”

“Just tired, I guess. I think all those new vacationers have stopped by the café. I’m even thinking of asking Suzie to help out.”

That’s the way the rest of the meal goes. Just catching up with each other’s day and I never bring up the subject I need to. We work together like a team to clean up and then we both leave our shoes on the deck and walk hand in hand down to the water and head towards the pier.

We meet a couple and nod in greeting as we pass. “You know, it seems like every time we walk lately, there’s more people on the beach.”

“That’s one of the trials of progress. I can’t feel bad about losing our privacy when it brings business to town. Our economy needs the hit to continue and thrive. We’ve lost too many people already.”

Later that night, I lie in bed listening to David’s even breathing. We walked for an hour and, in all that time, I never said a thing. We came back, showered together, and went to bed. David made sweet tender love to me and the whole time I felt as if it were our last time together. I can’t let that happen.

By noon the next day, we are drowning in customers. I call Suzie in and still can’t keep up. When David stops by, I pull him in to work the window taking orders, leaving the three of us to cook and prepare.

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