Page 19 of Surprised By Love

“Oh, I’m so happy. I can’t wait!” Bea claps her hands together.

“Time to open up,” Vicki announces, unlocking the doors to the diner.

I rush to the back, tossing on my white half apron over my uniform. Black pants and a red t-shirt with Miller’s Diner logo on the back. Vicki decided after our Grams passed to update the uniforms, make them a little more modern. The retro uniforms were fun, but she wanted to mix the old with the new.

The bell on the diner door rings as George Brooks and another elderly gentleman enter. They walk up to the counter and take a seat. “Samantha, this is Bernie Baxter. Bernie, this is Samantha Miller. Well, Langfield, but here, in Sunset Creek, she’ll always be a Miller.”

“Nice to meet you, Bernie,” I say, handing the gentleman menus.

Bernie looks at me, smiles, tips his head and says, “sweetheart, we don’t need menus. We get the same thing every day.” He pushes the menu back to me.

“Oh, and what is that?”

“The sunset slammer, of course.” Bernie laughs.

“Okay, I’ll get it set up for you. How would you like your eggs?”

“Sunny side up,” they say in unison.

“And coffee?” I ask.

“You better believe it,” George says.

I grab two cups, placing them on the counter in front of them. Then grab the carafe, pouring them each a cup and placing a basket of sugar and creamers between them.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Bernie says.

Turning to the serving window, I relay the order to Sloan. I busy myself with wiping down the counter while I wait for their breakfasts.

“Order up,” Sloan says from the serving window a couple of minutes later. Heading to the window to retrieve their orders, my mouth waters. Three eggs, two bacon, two sausages, two slices of ham, toast, and hash browns. I think I might need to order this for lunch.

The bell above the door chimes, and I turn my head to see who it is.

My heart stops.

Josh.

Dressed in his police uniform.Holy shit!This man in jeans and a Henley is hot, but in this uniform… damn. I don’t even have the words.

Subconsciously, I reach my hand up to fix my hair, which is silly because it’s in a ponytail tucked inside of a hair net. Oh God, I hope I look Okay.

I grab George and Bernie’s plates and place them in front of each of them. “There ya go. Let me know if you need anything else,” I say, taking a deep breath.

I need to get my shit together. He’s just a guy. A sexy guy, but just a guy… and I’m not interested in him. I’ve heard the rumours and I have no plans on getting messed up with a guy every single woman in town is after. Besides, he doesn’t date anyone from town, so why am I letting this get to me? I walk over to him and smile. “Hi. What can I get you?”

“Hi.” He smiles.

My god, those dimples. If I was interested in him, those dimples would do me in. But I’m not, I remind myself.

“I’ll just have a coffee, black, to go,” he says.

“Coming right up.” I turn to get his coffee.

“Are those cupcakes?” he says to my back.

I turn to face him. “Yes. Would you like one?”

“What kind are they?”

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