Chapter 4
MAISIE
Oh my god, stop staring. I argue internally with myself, but still looking over my shoulder to Miles and Henry.
I tell myself I’m just checking in but I know deep down that’s not why I can’t tear my gaze away.
I’ll give him every cherry in Washington state to watch him eat one again the way he just did.
“Maisie, you’re in trouble…” I can feel Kevin’s eyes on me but mine are still looking past my shoulder.
“What did I do?” I turn face to face with him and cross my arms over my chest, poorly attempting to play dumb.
“You’ve got it bad for lover boy at table seven.” He hands me a coffee refill for another table and leans in. “Don’t look now, but he’s looking this way.”
Completely ignoring him, I turn around to Henry’s gaze meeting mine… again. It’s like a game of eye tag we’re playing. He smiles, points at his plate, and lifts his hand to his lips, giving me a chef's kiss gesture that makes me huff out a breath.
“Maisie! I told you not to look, now he’s caught the town sweetheart and the town gay oogling him.”
“Good looks they are, huh?” I say and we both break into a fit of laughter.
Kevin makes busy days like today bearable.
He moved to Ruby Lake when he turned twenty-one and never left.
He’s been the head cook for as long as I can remember, he’s like the older brother I never had.
He came to all my birthday parties growing up, he babysat me when my mom and grandma needed the help, and even helped me pass my drivers test when I turned sixteen.
We may not be blood related but he will always be family.
That’s kind of how Ruby Lake feels. Around here, family’s not about sharing a bloodline. It’s about showing up, again and again, even when you don’t have to.
“I’m gonna go check on them and my other tables.” I grab a refill of Henry’s water and another mug of coffee for Miles.
“More like you’re gonna go check him out.” He chuckles to himself. I’ve never seen someone make themself laugh more than Kevin does.
He’s not wrong though.
I push through the swinging door by the counter with my hip, both drinks in hand. I know I won’t make a move on Henry, I’m on the clock and he’s a paying customer, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to get to know him more. You don't always get new people here.
Miles and Henry are in a deep conversation when I arrive at the table. “Got some refills for you guys!” I set down another coffee for Miles and an ice water for Henry. “How’s everything tasting?”
This is the first time I really looked into Henry’s eyes up close.
They’re a color that is one of a kind—a mix of blue, green and gray.
The way he looks at me feels almost magnetic.
I watch his gaze move between my own, like he’s examining me the way I am him.
I wonder what thoughts are going through his head. Are they the same as mine?
“The Maisie Surprise might just be my favorite thing on the menu.” Henry says, his voice made of velvet. “You might have to make it a regular item while I’m in town cause I’ll be ordering it every time.”
“Get a room,” Miles interrupts with a mumble and an eye roll. My mouth opens slightly as I stand there awkwardly debating if I should slowly start backing away.
“If that’ll be all then I’ll be back with the bill in just a second!” As I’m walking away from a clearly irritated Miles I hear a faint “What the fuck, dude? Be nice,” come from Henry. It’s subtle but it’s nice knowing Henry, a stranger—an attractive one to say the least—has my back.
Growing up, I didn’t get much attention from boys in school.
Most people don’t realize how much of an effect it can have on a pre-teen girl's self esteem. No one asking you to the school dance, no first kiss until you’re graduated…
It makes you think you’ll never find love, which isn’t true, but being young and vulnerable that’s just not how your mind works.
Add all that on top of not growing up with a father…
I’m printing out the receipts for a few of my tables when my mom rounds the corner. “So don’t be mad at me…”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes, “Mom… what did you do?”
“So as you know in a few weeks it’s my birthday and we’re having a party, right?”
“In like a month or so, yes…” I finally open my eyes in curiosity with a hand on my hip, a move I learned from the woman standing in front of me.
“I invited those boys over there.” She dips her head in the direction of the table I can’t seem to tear my eyes from. “Miles and his cousin.”
“You’re joking.” I want the sink to the floor and never come up.
“I thought it’d be good for Miles to meet some people, business stuff for the Inn. And maybe he can introduce his cousin to some new faces.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Maybe a female friend.”
“I’m sure he has enough female friends.” I pull my pen out of my apron and write a few thank you’s on the receipts.
“Oh, so you’re objectifying him based on his good looks.”
“Am not!”
“So, you agree, he’s good looking.” My mom gives me a look that tells me she knows exactly what she's doing
“I didn’t say that.” I roll my eyes, biting the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling and letting her win.
“Oh, but you didn’t deny it either.” She winks.
“I can’t win with you!” I let a laugh break out, snatching the last of the printed receipts. “I’m going to give them their check and then go jump in the deep fryer.”
“You get your dramatics from your grandmother.” My mom messes with my hair as she walks back to the back room.
“I learned from the best!” I yell back over my shoulder as I push through the doors and make my way back to my new favorite table.
As I approach, I find both of their plates empty and I feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that Henry ate every bite of the pancakes I ordered for him.
“No rush, but I wanted to give you guys your check before it gets too busy.” I set their bill on the table. “Thank you guys for coming in!”
Part of me wants to stay here in Henry’s vicinity but the other part of me wants to run far, far away. Run from the instant attraction and his hypnotic eyes that I can’t look away from.
I remind myself I’m just his waitress and he’s just another customer who’s walked through the doors of Ruby’s Diner. There’s nothing more or nothing less to that statement as much as I might like it to be. But the ease of talking to him, the desire to be around him, it’s enticing.
“Thank you,” Miles murmurs as he reaches for his wallet but Henry quickly interjects, grabbing the bill from him.
“I got it. A thank you for picking me up today,” he says to Miles as he pulls his wallet from his pocket. He sets a hundred dollar bill down for a breakfast that was no more than forty dollars.
“Let me go grab your change so I don’t keep you guys—“
He politely cuts me off, bracing his hand on my wrist. Normally a random person touching me without my consent would deserve a slap to the face, but I don't want him to remove it. He can keep his hand there forever. “No need. Thank you for the breakfast, Maisie.”
“Wow. Thank you,” I say, in awe over the generous tip, my other hand hovering over the spot his hand just left from my wrist. “I hope you enjoy your weekend in Ruby Lake.”
“I’ll be here all summer, but thank you for a great start with the pancakes.” He smiles as I take their empty plates, nodding a smile at him and Miles as I head to the back once again.
He’s going to be here all summer.
I try hard to deny the smile that’s slowly forming.
From the back I can’t help but watch as they get up from the booth and head out the door, but not before I see Henry grab a pen from the front counter and write something on a napkin and place it on the table.
“You better go see what that is,” Kevin coos from behind me, “I think I see a meet cute happening.”
“Absolutely not a meet cute,” I playfully smack his chest, “I don’t even know his last name.”
“Go get that napkin before someone throws it away. Maybe he’s a hunter who finally found his prey.”
“You need to calm it on the werewolf romances you keep reading,” I say with a laugh as I head back to the table before my mom wipes it clean.
To no one's surprise, there is, in fact, a napkin with a man’s handwriting but what was written down was something that I didn’t expect. Thank you for the breakfast and the warm welcome, I hope to see you again.
Thank you for the breakfast and the warm welcome, I hope to see you again. - Henry
And below his name are ten numbers.
After the brunch rush, my mom let me go home early since it had quieted down a bit. On the walk home, my mind kept reminding me of the folded up napkin in my pocket. The ten numbers begging to be saved in my phone.
Feeling like I’m in high school all over again I can’t stop thinking about Henry. It’s not that I don’t get a lot of male attention, but there’s slim pickings in Ruby Lake. I’ve tried the guys here and let’s just say, once was more than enough.
I literally lost my virginity at Wren’s end of summer party two years ago in some random dude's backseat. Nothing like faking an orgasm the first time you have sex. Sometimes I wonder if he knew—and if he does, I hope it keeps him up at night. Since then, I’ve only slept with one other guy and that was while Wren and I went on a weekend trip to Oregon; he wasn’t too memorable.
Henry would be memorable… all he did was come into my place of work and now he won’t leave my brain.
I could text him… no. I need to tell Wren first, and also see how she’s feeling.
How are you?
Wren
Mother Nature: 1 Wren: 0
Need me to bring anything over? Maybe we can watch a movie or TV show? The new episode of The Challenge is on tonight!
Wren
I do love seeing CT on my screen… but stay in tonight, you probably had a busy day!
Are you sure?
Wren
Positive. I promise I’m okay. :)
When I get to the door I fumble with my keys, accidentally dropping them at my feet. Next to them, just off to the side of my front door, I notice a box with my name on it in my mother’s handwriting.
She’s been at work all day, when did she stop by?
I must have missed it in my tired haze when I left this morning. She didn’t say she was dropping off anything or mention she found anything of mine when I saw her at work… weird.
I spin and check to make sure her car isn’t in her driveway—we’re neighbors—and it’s not there, so she’s definitely still at work.
When my grandma passed she left her home and the guest house to my mom and I. My mom has taken over the big house while I stayed here in the guest house.
It was definitely a shift not living with my mom since all I’ve ever known is being by her side, but I enjoy the independence, even if only a couple hundred feet away.
I stop myself from thinking about how the box got here and kneel to pick it up.
Leveling it on my hip, I use my free hand to open the door, the smell of mango still fragrant from the candle I was burning earlier.
One thing I love about living alone is I can decorate my space exactly how I want it.
I can light all the candles, open all the curtains.
I’d love to be a minimalist and mysterious but to my core, I will always and forever be a maximalist. I love collecting knick knacks. Not everything needs to have a special meaning as long as my home feels like a home.
I take off my shoes and lock the door behind me. Heading to my dining room table I sit down, opening up the box. Inside I see journals, photos and yearbooks. I quickly discover there’s a bunch of my stuff from high school filled to the top.
I crack a smile when I see a photo of me and Wren in a badly painted frame with all sorts of glitter glued onto it.
This would be fun to go through with Wren…
Reaching for my phone in my pocket, I swipe open the screen and open my text thread with Wren. I send her a quick message asking if we can have a girls day this week, which she responds quickly to with a yes.
Closing up the cardboard top, I take the rest of the afternoon to myself. Nothing a book and warm blankets on the couch can’t fix.
The second I’m comfortable though, my mind wanders back to the diner and the napkin I stored in my nightstand.
Ten numbers written down just for me.
A person on the other side of those ten numbers that I want to know more about.