Page 12 of Finding Noah
“Really appreciative. I’ve just…sworn off men for a while.”
“Oh, I get that. I could tell you about—”
“Gabriella? The order’s up.” Andrew’s voice rang out.
“Oops. We’re super busy. Later.” With a little wave, she hustled back to the kitchen.
Christian cut his burger in half—as was his custom—and gave me one long look. “Watch out for turnabout. All’s fair in love and war.”
In other words—don’t rock the boat. I’m happy with things the way they are now.
I saluted him with a fry.
While totally trying to figure out how I was going to find a guy.
Chapter Three
Christian
The grocery store on Main Street felt a bit different from the ones in the big cities I’d visited. Small-town stores always had a feeling about them—like a new friend might be around the corner of each aisle.
Dillon McKay was cute in a boy-next-door kind of way. His eyes assessed me as I explained the reason for my visit. “So, Andrew at the Blue Star Diner mentioned you might be hiring.”
“A stock-person position. Well, I’d saystock boy, but that’s not inclusive because I’d hire a competent woman just as much as I’d hire a guy. But you?” He scratched his chin. “Your résumé doesn’t exactly screamI’m good at stocking shelves.”
I considered his words. “I’m excellent at completing tasks in a rapid manner. I’m good at taking directions and following them precisely. I’m a hard worker, and I’ll never let you down.”
“Those are, uh, big promises.” He eyed me with those penetrating gray-colored eyes that went adorably with his ash-blond hair. Like he was trying to see my sincerity. To test my veracity. To determine if I was good to my word. “And you can’t provide references?”
“That’s tough.” I wrinkled my nose. “I left the family firm in…a bit of a hurry. Not that I’d ever do that to you,” I rushed to add. “Just my friend Noah decided he needed a fresh start, and he chose Foggy Basin. I decided instead of being a corporate lackey for the rest of my life that I’d follow him. The family firm will remain standing whether I’m there or not.”At least I hope it will. Bit of challenge with my family’s finances, but that’s not my problem.I offered up what Noah always called mywinningsmile.
“Sure, we can give this a try. It’s a physically demanding job.”
“I’ve never backed down from something that might be hard. I just need a job.”
Dillon held out his hand.
I put my hand in his.Strong grip. But not overpowering.The guy was objectively attractive, but I didn’t feel any spark. Nope, that gnawing feeling of need was only ever for Noah.
Thirty minutes later, after having completed all the necessary paperwork, I had a job with a nametag and an apron. Also, I had a schedule for the next week—working Tuesday to Saturday. Kind of sucked that I’d be working for part of the weekend, but Noah might not be working regular hours anyway.
I’d barely stepped outside when Noah pounced.
Metaphorically—not literally.
“You’ll never guess what happened.”
I put my sunglasses on and considered wandering toward the car, but my friend’s enthusiasm clearly couldn’t be contained. “Honestly, Noah, I wouldn’t even know where to begin guessing.”
“Well, I drove to the feed store—just outside of town. They sell dog food.” He gestured to the grocery store. “Way more than their collection.”
“Okay. Well, I’m going to assume you weren’t buying dog food for us.”
“Duh, no.” His dark-brown eyes sparkled.
“Tell me.” Truthfully, when he was this happy, I was content to just let him bask in whatever had brought on this euphoria. Because life always came crashing down on him. Just an inevitability that I hated for him. Just once—just one single time—I wished nothing bad would happen to him. That his happiness just went on and on and on. But that wasn’t how life worked. Usually, for him, things crashed when he started dating some loser who eventually broke his heart.
“I met a lady with a puppy.” He vibrated with excitement.
