Page 9 of Finding Noah
He pivoted his attention to me now, watching me with intensely curious eyes. “Sure.”
“I’m looking for a job. Now, I’m a hard worker.”
“That’s a given,” Noah muttered.
I shot him a look.
He held up his hands.
“What kind of job are you looking for? Depending on the time of year—hell, depending on the year—work can be scarce or it can be abundant. These days? Try Dillon over at the grocery store. I think he’s looking for someone to stock shelves. It’s not glamorous—”
“It’s perfect.” I grinned goofily. “That’s exactly what I’m looking for.”
“Well,okay, then. Foggy Basin Grocers. You really can’t miss it. Dillon’s…well, you’ll see.” He offered a sweet smile as he tucked my cards into his pocket. “Gabriella will be here to help you shortly. Welcome to town.” He sauntered off and, as we watched, a handsome, tanned-skin police officer, in uniform, walked into the diner.
Andrew stepped right into his embrace, and they kissed.
I chanced a glance at Christian. As I watched, his frown morphed into a sappy smile. “I think I’m going to like this town.”
“Hey, I thought you already did. You were certainly gung-ho when I proposed it.”
“I didn’t know much about it. I will say my conversations with Esmeralda definitely swayed me.” He offered me a smile. “Anywhere you are is home to me.” He bit his lower lip. “That came out wrong.”
“Nothing wrong about it. You’re home to me as well. Just no longer in Tennessee. Here? Nestled in the tranquility of Northern California with national forests on both sides? Temperate climate? Decent-size city within a couple hours’ drive? We’re in nature, Christian. Can’t you just smell the fresh air?”
He inhaled. “French fries, frying meat, ketchup and… Huh. Something…but I wasn’t certain what.” He cocked his head. “I will admit this is exciting. As far away from Tennessee as we can pretty much get.”
“Unless we went to Alaska or Hawaii.” My grin never faltered.
“As you said, temperate climate.” He straightened his cutlery on his napkin. He had a habit of doing that and probably didn’t even realize it.
“Well, California could get hot like Hawaii, but never as cold as Alaskan winters. Nope, this town is just right. Kind of like Goldilocks when she found the right bed.”
“What can I get you today?” A young woman with black hair and dark-brown eyes offered a warm smile.
“Gabriella?” I returned her grin.
“Yes.” She gazed back and forth between the two of us. “New in town?”
“Yep.” I continued to grin like a loon.
“Well, watch out for the cops. They’re big on giving speeding tickets. My brother’s one of them, and you don’t want to upset him.”
For a moment, I wondered about her warning.
Then she added, “But he’s married to Andrew, my boss—so no stealing him.”
“We saw them together earlier. They make a cute couple.”
She grinned.
Then, I had a moment to ponder, but Christian beat me to it. “We’re nottogethertogether. We’re best friends.”
“Oh. My mistake.” Although she didn’t appear the least bit chagrinned. “I see so many gay people hooking up that maybe I see couples where they don’t exist.”
Why would she think Christian and I were together? Although maybe she somehow senses I’m gay? The rainbow bracelet might give her that idea…
“What would you like?”
