29. Piper
PIPER
Danielle Pepper Fan Club
Hope Becker: Does anyone know if Danielle does events? I’d love to give her a big old hug!
Comments:
Judy Cohen: No, she never does, but I’m sure she has a good reason!
Hope Becker: Ugh, that sucks. I feel like she has to have a hard life judging by some of the stuff in her books. I wish I could meet her.
Tricia Dunn: I bet it’s because she can’t face us.
The next day, I woke up in a good mood. Theo had said we could try things. We were together in all the ways that mattered.
I couldn’t wait to figure out what it meant.
And a good mood meant I was already hungry, but I was wanting something more substantial than a baked good.
Piper
Please tell me the people at the diner are friendly.
Theo
Why?
Piper
I can’t stop thinking about the pancakes you got me. So I should go. Wanna come with me?
He didn’t answer, and I wondered if he was thinking about how to turn me down. I frowned at my phone, trying to figure out how I could take it back, but there was a knock at my door before I could.
“I swear, if Joey and Mitch are back, I’m losing it.”
But when I opened the door, I didn’t see my friends.
I saw Theo.
“H-hi.” I blinked, making sure that I wasn’t dreaming. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a day off.” He said it slowly, as if the words were new to him too.
“Really?”
“I shifted some things around. I figured I would need more free time soon.”
My cheeks heated. “Finally taking care of yourself?”
“Yes. But really, I just wanted more time with you.”
I could’ve combusted at the words. It was easy to flirt with him, but I was still so shocked when he did something like this for me.
Action was much harder for me to take.
“Wow.” I shook myself out of my own shock. “That’s really sweet of you, Theo. But we can get something to go if you don’t want people to see.”
“We went to the farmers market already.”
I opened my mouth and then shut it. We had done that, and it came with surprisingly little fanfare. With how much this town talked, I thought we would have been found out.
“All right then. Breakfast.” I smiled at him. “Let me get dressed and we’ll go.”
He nodded and I went into my bedroom to change. For a moment, I had to stand still and take in just how happy I was. It was one of the first times I could remember that I felt this way.
I sped through getting dressed, but took an extra moment to find a shorter floral skirt that I never pulled out. I paired that with a floral sweater and made sure my long hair fell how I wanted it to before I was running out the door to meet Theo.
When I walked into Center Point Diner, I was immediately reminded of all the ones I’d seen on TV.
Pink and teal tiles were everywhere and there was a neon sign in the back.
I hadn’t realized that places like this still existed.
Most of the ones in Knoxville that I had enjoyed when I was a kid closed a long time ago.
This one was obviously doing well. It was early in the morning and quite a few tables were filled.
“Welcome in,” a rough voice said. A woman with dyed blonde hair walked up.
“Hey, Tammy.” Theo spoke first, and I was glad that he said her name because her name tag did not match. I would have immediately fallen for it had I walked in by myself.
“Haven’t seen you in a while,” she said, and then her eyes flicked to me. “And you must be Piper.”
“I am. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Finally trying out some new food? I appreciate it. Though, I didn’t know you two knew each other.”
“She lives above my shop,” Theo said. “And . . . we know each other quite well, actually.”
“That’s good. You’re so antisocial.” She waved her hand and grabbed two menus. “Follow me.”
We were led to a small booth that overlooked the square. It was picturesque, and I paused to take it all in, knowing I would use some version of this in a book one day.
“She put us in my usual spot.”
“You have a usual spot?”
“I used to. Like she said, I’ve been busy.”
“Well, you have days off now.”
“I’m taking one day off, but yes. I do. There’s a lot I’ve been missing.”
Tammy came back to get our drink order and I wound up getting coffee. Theo gave me a look, one that told me I would regret this, but I still wanted to try it anyway. Tammy left with a nod and got our drinks.
As she walked away, I wondered what she was thinking about the two of us. I knew Theo had reservations because I was younger than him, but I knew that we were both at the same point in our lives.
But I didn’t know if some of the people in town had the same reservations.
“I’m surprised there aren’t more questions.” Theo said it lowly, tracing the lip of his cup. “Tammy always had a lot of those when I first moved here. Marjorie and Henrietta too, but they’re busy with the library.”
“Do you not see them as much?”
“Marjorie comes into the coffee shop every morning, so I see her plenty. But I’m in a diner with a woman no one knows I talk to. This should be a bigger deal.”
“Maybe she’s playing it cool and will put it in the Facebook group later.”
“Tammy never plays anything cool. She says exactly what she thinks.”
“Maybe we should let them think what they’re gonna think. I’d rather enjoy the moment.”
Theo blinked and fully turned to me. “You’re right. What do you think of the diner so far?”
“It’s cute. It’s like one of those places you see on TV. A lot of them closed down. Or at least the ones I heard about. It’s not like I could go or anything.”
“This place has always been a cornerstone of Strawberry Springs. And it still is. I was worried that Tammy would have issues with me because I was technically moving into the coffee space. But she’s not said anything.”
“It’s a diner, not just a breakfast nook. I’m sure she’s happy that there are more options for the town.”
“Maybe. It was still nerve-racking to open it. Some days I can hardly believe I did it.”
“But you did and it’s amazing. I’m feeling the same way about even moving here. I do feel like I’m in some form of denial, but I have to pause and remember that I am actually making progress.”
“Another thing you learned in therapy?”
“Yeah. My therapist is incredible.”
“What does she think about this? I have a feeling any trained mental health professional will have an opinion on our ages.”
I crossed my arms. “She’s been away while moving, so I haven’t talked to her much. But I doubt she’ll have anything bad to say when I have my next appointment soon.”
“Piper, I’m twelve years older than you.”
“And yet we get along just fine. If you were my boss or had any power over me, then it would be an issue, but you don’t.”
“All right. Maybe some of that is true.”
“You’re not as bad as you think you are.”
His mouth tightened, and I knew he didn’t believe me.
One day he would.
Theo had said that he might need to leave town, but the romance author in me wanted a different ending.
Maybe I was delusional, but I hoped that no one ever figured out anything about his past. Then we could be like this forever.
I moved and gently brushed my foot against his. I hadn’t thought twice about making sure that I wasn’t close to anyone else.
He watched me closely, but didn’t pull away.
“You know, you’re pretty emotionally intelligent for a guy.”
“I’m trying to make up for all the other men.” He was absolutely terrible at taking compliments. “That, and I have to survive.”
“Yeah, you don’t have a mom doing it all for you.”
“You know, maybe there is a benefit to you then. You’re way too young to be my mom.”
“But you’re almost old enough to be my dad. I’m gonna have to work out my daddy issues so I don’t accidentally call you that in bed.”
Theo had taken a sip of his water and choked on it. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“You’re just so easily embarrassed.”
“And for someone with your past, you’re not.”
“It’s the trauma.”
“It’s something, that’s for sure.”
I finally took a sip of my coffee. It was strong and burnt.
“I see what you mean now.” But I still went in for more.
“How can you even tolerate it?”
“I burned off my taste buds a long time ago.”
Theo shook his head. “It feels like you’re cheating on me.”
“Aw, babe.” I reached over and grabbed his hand. I only hesitated for a half second, which was a win for me. “I still love your coffee the most.”
He grumbled and went back for his own water. Tammy brought our food out only moments later, pausing when she saw our hands.
But then she shook her head and handed us our plates.
Theo still watched her with a confused expression.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “They get in everyone’s business.”
“I bet you let them down enough that they’re sure you won’t date.”
He considered it and sat back as if waiting for me to take the first bite. I did, and tried not to moan like a character in a romance novel. It was a close call because the buttermilk pancakes were amazing.
“It’s even better when fresh,” I said the second I tasted it. “I might have a new weekday tradition.”
“Now you’re really cheating on me.”
“I’m still gonna get coffee from you!” I laughed. “Jeez, no one warned me you were this jealous.”
“Only for you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I got halfway through my food when I had to go to the bathroom. It was tempting to try to wait, but I knew I’d had way too much coffee for that. Luckily, it was one stall and I had total privacy.
But Tammy nearly ran into me when I walked out. She didn’t touch me, thankfully. I moved away just fast enough. It still got my heart racing.
“Oh, sorry.” She gave me a smile. “I’ve been told I can run people over. You okay?”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
She glanced at me and in the direction where Theo was sitting. “You know, kid, I feel like I should warn you.”
I tensed. “Warn me?”
“About Theo.” A frown pulled at my lips before she even continued. “You’re barking up the wrong tree with him.”
I expected a warning about his age. Or worse, maybe Tammy actually knowing something about his past. But this was not that.
“Barking up the wrong tree?”
“You’re a beautiful woman. And I’ve heard you’re very sweet. But that man is not dating anyone.”
I could only blink. “U-um—”