My face is bright red at this point. I have no idea why these guys are under the impression that something is going on between me and Jameson. I haven’t spent longer than ten minutes in the man’s company. They have some very active imaginations if changing my tire is giving them ideas about us.
“Hi, I’m Seth,” he says and reaches out a hand for me to shake. I place my hand in his and say, “I’m Millie. Jameson’s neighbor—only his neighbor.”
Hoping that will shut them both down, I turn my attention to my tea. It’s so sweet. I wonder how much sugar they use in it. I’m going to crash later, and the afternoon is going to drag on and on.
I hear them chatting next to me, but I tune out their words. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Seth nudge Colby with his elbow and then nod to the entry of the diner. I look to see what has drawn their attention. It’s Jameson. Of course it’s him. Why did I escape one small town just to go to another?
Colby and Seth both step back and cross their arms over their chests, preparing to observe me and Jameson in the wild like we’re some sort of nature documentary. Well, here’s my chance to shut down all of their gossip-mongering and show them that we are nothing but polite acquaintances.
Jameson walks to his friends and greets them with the typical back beatings that come with hugs exchanged between males. “Look who we ran into,” Colby says with a sly smile. Jameson turns to our table. He sees Hannah and then Tess, and then his eyes land on me sitting in the corner of the booth.
His eyes noticeably darken, and my stomach clenches. It’s only because he looks so ridiculously rugged and manly in that uniform. Well, actually, I was pretty breathless around him Thursday night at the library, too, when he was all flushed and sweaty from playing baseball. But if I were to see him looking normal, I would react to him just like any other man on the street. He wouldn’t even catch my eye. Lo would ask me if I see Jameson, and I’d say, “Jameson who?”
“I’m so glad to see you, Millie,” he says, and all heads at the table turn to look at him. Tess is biting her lip between her teeth, Colby and Seth are giggling like schoolgirls, and Hannah’s eyes are going to pop out of their sockets if she opens them any wider.
“You are?” I ask, and all of their heads swivel to me. Back and forth, back and forth their heads turn as Jameson and I talk.
“Yeah, I wanted to see if ol’ Gertie went easy on you for being late this morning.”
“Ol’ Gertie?” I ask, shocked that he is brave enough to use that moniker for that woman. She probably has spies scattered throughout the town, listening for anyone brave—or stupid—enough to say anything negative about her.
“Gertrude. Your new boss. Don’t tell her I call her that, by the way. I’m one of the few people she’s nice to, and I want to keep it that way. I called her to soften her up after I changed your tire,” he says.
“If that was her going easy on me, I’d hate to see her normal behavior,” I say with a shudder. The woman is terrifying. She’s tall—or at least significantly taller than me—and her tight, low bun gives her a severe air about her. If that wasn’t enough, she holds her back ramrod straight and looks down her nose at everyone. How did Jameson get on the woman’s good side? I have to know his secret. Does she have a soft spot for puppies? If I bring in a basket of puppies with bows tied around their necks, would she suddenly love me? I’d do it if she would.
“You’ll get used to her,” he assures me with a wink. Hannah gasps when she sees it, and everyone looks at her.
“Oh…look. They have…club sandwiches on the menu,” she stutters to cover her surprise.
“They’ve always had club sandwiches. Literally since before you were born,” Colby says like the good big brother he is. I observe the similarities in their faces. Dirty-blond hair, blue eyes, wide mouths. If I had to bet, I’d say they look like their mom. They’re too pretty to take after a man—Colby included.
“Do y’all want to come sit with us?” Jameson asks. “We can push that other table up to ours.” I want to say no just to prove that we don’t have anything going on between us, but Hannah’s face is screaming yes. I don’t have the heart to ruin it for her.
The men go over to move the tables around, and I’m left beside Tess. “What’s going on between Hannah and Seth?” I duck my head close to hers and ask.
Tess shrugs her shoulders like she hasn’t noticed Hannah pining after the man. “Who knows,” she says. “She’s known him her whole life. Maybe she has a little crush on him.”
“Do you think he could ever like her back?” I ask, hopeful for my new work friend.
“Hmm, she’s twenty-three, and he’s about thirty-one. I think it would be hard for him to see her as anything other than the little-sister type, but I won’t say never.”
We join the rest of the table, and I meet the two other men who walked in with Seth and Colby. They work with Colby, who I find out teaches Biology at Lo’s high school. Seth is a firefighter, and he and Jameson get into a debate about which job is better. The results are inconclusive, mostly because I can’t focus on anything they’re saying. Jameson’s leg is pressed up against mine, and my brain refuses to ignore it. The table is so crowded that there’s nothing I can do about it.
Periodically, someone asks me a question, and it’s just an understood thing at this point that they’ll have to repeat it at least twice. I’m being labeled as an airhead as I sit here sweating over Jameson’s close proximity. I would say at least my food is good, but I’ve barely tasted a single bite. I can’t wait for this lunch to be over so I can put some distance between us.