Mia smiled just thinking about her friend. She and Amanda had connected almost immediately when they’d met, and over the past few months they’d become friends. Since Mia didn’t have many, she treasured the friends she did have.
Mia claimed one of the booths along the wide front windows that offered a view of Main Street. But instead of watching the people passing by, Mia looked around the familiar diner. It was old-fashioned, she supposed. When Amanda had come home she had upgraded a few things, though not enough to change the feel of the place.
The walls had been painted. Once a bright white, they were now a soft, cool green and dotted with framed photos of Royal through the years. The old chipped and scarred red counter was now a shining sweep of a deeper, richer red. The black-and-white-checked floors had been polished and the red vinyl booth seats had all been revamped. There were new chairs pulled up to the scattering of tables and sunshine streamed through the windows lining Main Street.
There was an old-style jukebox in the corner, though thankfully it was quiet at the moment. It was still morning, too late for breakfast and too early for the lunch crowd that would stream in by noon. At the moment, there were just a few customers, huddled over their coffees or chatting softly in small groups. The clink of silverware on plates was its own kind of music and settled the nerves that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in Mia’s stomach.
This was all Dave’s fault, she told herself. Waving money in front of a desperate woman was just…she frowned. Very, very smart. He’d known just how to reel her in. And now that she was in, she had to stop worrying over it. Too late to back out, Mia told herself, as she silently admitted that she probably wouldn’t quit now even if she could. Just a few minutes ago, she had deposited the fifteen-thousand-dollar check from Dave that she had needed so badly. The deed was done. She could pay bills, buy groceries and find a way to hang on until Alex returned.
He would return, she assured herself. And now that she would be spending lots of time with Dave, maybe she would be able to discover information that would help locate Alex. Not that she believed Dave had had anything to do with Alex going missing. But he might know something and not even realize what he knew.
And… She was rationalizing her involvement in this crazy plan of his.
It was one month—and maybe not even that long, if he could land that contract for his cattle sooner. When the time was up she’d be free and clear to start her own future unencumbered by massive debt. A good thing. The heat she felt around Dave? A bad thing. That swirl of nerves erupted in the pit of her belly again and she had to fight them into submission. Not easy.
Somehow, she had to find a way to keep her hormones in check and remember that none of what would be happening between her and Dave was real.
She spotted Amanda and waved when her friend smiled in greeting. Pam was running the cash register, and beyond the pass-through into the kitchen, Mia spotted their chef putting a plate together.
Morning in Royal, Mia thought. There was comfort here. Familiarity. Things she’d longed for most of her life, she had found here. And she would do whatever she had to to keep them. Even entering a deal with a man who was dangerously attractive.
“Brought your usual iced tea.” Amanda walked up to the booth and set a glass down in front of Mia.
“Thanks.” Her usual. Wasn’t that a gift, Mia thought, to be so well-known in a place that she had a “usual” order.
“I’m so glad you came in this morning,” Amanda said. “I’ve got a few pictures I want to show you.”
“More baby room ideas?” Mia asked.
Amanda laughed and lovingly patted her slightly rounded belly. Mia caught the gesture and felt one sharp, swift tug of envy. Amanda had a man who loved her. While Mia, on the other hand, was going to pretend to be in love for a hefty paycheck.
“I know,” Amanda said with a grimace. “I’ve become an HGTV zombie. I swear, Nathan’s afraid to come home after work because he never knows what new project I’m going to hit him with.”
“Nathan’s nuts about you.”
“Yeah,” Amanda said with a private smile. “He really is. Which is why he didn’t even flinch when I had Sam Gordon’s crew break out the wall in the baby’s room so they could add a connecting door to our room.”
Amanda and Nathan lived on the Battlelands ranch in a house Nathan had had built a few years ago. It looked like a Victorian but it had all the modern conveniences.
“A connecting door makes perfect sense.”