Chapter 17
Melody
Melody felt prickles of unease as she strode up the walkway of Snakes & Lattes to meet Nolan. What were the odds Ben would ask her about her favorite board game when she’d just made plans to meet another man for a night of board games? It was almost like he had ESP.
Her feelings of unease grew as she deliberated over her decision not to tell him about her date with Nolan—if it could even be called a date.
Did she owe Ben the full details, or would it have been strange and awkward to share such details at this point in their relationship?
She and Ben texted often, but could she say they were involved when they hadn’t even made it out on a single date yet?
She didn’t want to be dishonest or disingenuous, but being a good person didn’t mean having to share all of one’s thoughts, feelings, and doings with others, did it?
Besides which, Ben knew she had agreed to go out with Captain Thom’s grandson.
He simply didn’t know her agreement was coming to fruition.
Not for the first time, Melody cursed her lack of romantic experience.
If there were socially understood dos and don’ts on the matter, she certainly didn’t know them.
She supposed that’s what she got for getting into the dating game so late.
Only ever having had one boyfriend certainly hadn’t helped.
The fact of the matter was, if she hadn’t experienced something in her years with Jeremy, she likely hadn’t experienced it at all.
Despite being twenty-seven years old, she often felt as inexperienced as a teenager.
Not wanting to overreach or assume anything about her budding relationship with Ben, Melody had kept silent.
Since a night of board games with a group seemed innocent enough, her instinct had been to keep her plans with Nolan to herself.
Was that the right decision, though? The whole dilemma was eating her up inside.
Melody took a fortifying breath before pushing the front door open and stepping into the coffeehouse. It didn’t take her long to spot Nolan. The café was larger than it had appeared from the outside, but it still only boasted a dozen tables or so.
His group occupied the long table at the back of the café. They were easy to spot since they were the largest group there. Melody did a quick headcount and counted seven people. She would bump their number up to eight.
Nolan’s mouth split into an engaging smile when he caught sight of her. He raised a well-muscled arm and waved an exuberant hello. His arms weren’t muscled in the same way Ben’s were, but it was clear he worked out.
“There she is,” Nolan said as he lifted himself up from the table, a welcoming smile still bright on his lips.
“Hi,” Melody responded with a smile she hoped didn’t look too tepid. “I hope I’m not late.”
“Not at all,” a woman around her age with dark brown locs assured. “Some of us were just starving after shift and couldn’t wait to scarf down some food when they arrived early.” She shot a tender look at the woman sitting beside her.
“Hey, don’t judge me,” the woman in question said around a mouthful of sandwich. “I’d just finished a six-hour surgery when I was called in to assist on an appendectomy.”
The woman readjusted her grip on her sandwich before using the back of one of her hands to rub the hairline of her short and spiky purple hair.
“If that weren’t bad enough,” she sighed heartily, “by the time the second surgery was over, I made it to the staff fridge only to discover someone had eaten my leftover pizza.” She whimpered before taking a huge bite of her sandwich.
Mustard squirted out the corner of her mouth and painted a good portion of her cheek a vibrant yellow.
The woman who had originally spoken snorted. “And there’s my girlfriend for you. Always a class act.”
The actual words might have sounded harsh, but Melody could hear the love behind the teasing. That’s likely why she wasn’t surprised when the brunette looped her arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders and said, “But I think I’ll keep you anyway.”
“Tanks mush,” the purple-haired pixie spoke through her mouthful of food.
The brunette laughed before kissing her girlfriend’s cheek. She skillfully avoided the mustard stain.
The purple-haired woman rolled her eyes but seemed to be smiling as she continued to devour her sandwich.
“Let me start the introductions,” Nolan offered, his genial demeanor setting her further at ease. “These charming ladies are Emery and Suz.”
“I’m Emery,” the woman with the locs clarified with a little hand pump wave. “And this is my girlfriend Suzanne, who you better only call Suz if you want her to answer you.”
Suz rolled her eyes but inclined her head in acknowledgment and smiled around her sandwich, the mustard still painted on her cheek.
Nolan chuckled before continuing the introductions. “And this is Kayleigh, Crystal, Crystal’s brother Aaron, and his partner Nicolas.”
“I’ve been coming out for board game night for years,” Aaron chaffed. “When are you going to stop introducing me as Crystal’s brother?”
Crystal turned to her brother, the similarities in their features apparent now that Melody knew they were related, before replying. “Never,” she answered crisply. “Because you will always be my brother, and I will always have been here first.”
Crystal smiled at her brother’s grumbled response before shifting in her seat to better face Melody. “Hi,” Crystal welcomed, the grumbly countenance she’d used with her brother shifting to one of open friendliness. “We’re glad you could make it.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” Melody responded politely, but appreciatively.
She shot Nolan a shy smile since he was the one who had tendered the invitation.
“Can I get you a drink or a bite to eat?” Nolan asked as he held out the empty chair beside the one he’d just vacated. He gestured to the chalkboard that held up the café’s offerings.
The drink menu piqued her interest. “Has anyone ever tried the Rose London Fog?” Melody asked the group. “That sounds interesting.”
“I have,” Nicolas responded. “It’s good. Familiar with just a tiny twist of floral. It’s also low caffeine if you’re sensitive.”
“Thank you,” Melody answered. “That sounds perfect,” she added as she looked up at Nolan.
He smiled before asking the rest of their table if anyone else needed anything.
“I’d take another beer,” Kayleigh said shyly. She lifted her bottle so he could read the label.
“One Rose London Fog and one Wicked Easy coming up,” Nolan stated before heading over to the counter to place the order.
Melody counted it as a point in his favor that Nolan hadn’t made any crude comments about the name of Kayleigh’s beer. With a name like “Wicked Easy,” it would have been all too easy to swipe at the low hanging fruit.
“So,” Suz said, folding her arms and leaning into the table, “now that I’ve eaten and resemble a human again.” She sent Emery a look when she tittered. “How do you and Nolan know each other? He just said you were a friend of the family’s.”
“And you haven’t come up in conversation before,” Emery added, “so we know he’s lying.”
Melody laughed at the brash commentary. “He’s not wrong,” Melody explained. “I work at the retirement residence where his grandpa lives.”
“And Nolan saw you on one of his visits and couldn’t resist asking you out?” Nicolas mused, leading Melody to believe he was the romantic of the group.
“Not exactly,” Melody said with an only slightly begrudging smile. “His grandpa kept pushing us together until he wore us down enough that we agreed to spend time together.”
Melody deliberately avoided calling it a date. Why that was, she wasn’t entirely sure.
“Oh ho!” Aaron laughed as Nolan returned to the table and deposited first Kayleigh’s beer and then Melody’s tea in front of them. “I hear that you’re being set up by your grandpa.”
Nolan just smiled and shrugged, seeming to take Aaron’s guffaw in stride. For a second, Melody thought he would leave it there, but he added, “I have zero complaints. Clearly, Grandpa recognizes a remarkable woman when he sees one.”
Nolan shot her a wink that left her feeling remarkably warm and flattered. Then again, maybe it was the words more than the wink that had done that.
Kayleigh focused her attention on chipping away at the label on her beer before glancing up at Melody. “What do you do at the retirement residence? Are you the manager?”
“No,” Melody answered, though she would have been proud to claim the title. “I’m a physical therapist.”
Melody noticed the entire group seemed to understand what her job entailed. That was a first.
Nicolas grinned. “It sounds like you belong here with us even more than I realized,” he said with a friendliness that was contagious.
“Oh yeah? And why is that?” Melody wondered aloud.
“We jokingly refer to ourselves as ‘The Scrub Club,’” Aaron answered.
“Which is just one more reason why Aaron here will always be introduced as my brother,” Crystal added. “He’s an interloper who’s only welcome by association.”
“By association twice,” Aaron grumbled.
Crystal laughed, while Nicolas pressed a loving kiss to his partner’s temple. “We love you,” he reassured. “Even if you don’t work in scrubs.”
“I guess,” Crystal agreed in that begrudging way of siblings.
Suz must have noted Melody’s confusion because she jumped in to fill in the blanks. “Crystal, Kayleigh, Nolan, and I all work together at the hospital,” she explained. “Crystal and I work in the ER, while Nolan and Kayleigh are in pediatrics.”
Melody’s eyebrows shot up. “Your grandpa never told me that you work in pediatrics.”
Nolan scuffed a sneakered foot along the floor before moving to retake his seat.
“I’m guessing Grandpa didn’t tell you I’m a nurse, either, did he?
” he said, scratching the back of his neck in what appeared to be a somewhat self-conscious gesture.
“Grandpa never could appreciate that I preferred to be a nurse over a doctor.”