Gavin Crenshaw was young, but he loved to cook and he was good at it, so he was working at the diner until he could save enough money to move to Portland or Boston and start moving up the culinary ladder. In the meantime, Paige let him try out recipes on her customers, as long as the ingredients weren’t too expensive, and Ava made slash marks on a sheet of paper by the register whenever somebody ordered one of the Gavin’s specials.
Whitford hadn’t embraced the eggplant parmesan. Judging by the tally marks, most of Whitford hadn’t even tried the dish. The roast beef melt on grilled garlic bread, though, had been such a hit Ava had kept a separate tally for the number of customers who asked that it be added to the regular menu. Paige made a note to have Gavin offer it a few more times and, if the interest stayed high, she’d consider it.
“Last night he just rolled over and went to sleep. I snuggled up against him, but he started snoring before I got any further.”
“He was probably just tired, Mom,” Paige said. It had been a few minutes since she made a sympathetic noise, plus she wanted to waylay any descriptions of “any further.” “He’s five years younger than you, but he’s not nineteen, either.”
But that explanation wasn’t the sympathy Donna was looking for, so the complaints marched on. Paige put a red X next to a couple of items and made a note to remind Gavin their fellow citizens weren’t fans of gussied-up vegetables. They liked a side of green beans. Corn was okay. Caramelized anything wasn’t a crowd favorite.
Another ten minutes went by before her mother wrapped it up. “Oh, he’s pulling in the driveway now. Gotta run. Love you!”
Paige hit End with a shake of her head. “Nice talking to you, too, Mom. I’m doing fine. Business is great, thanks for asking. And there’s a really hot guy in town I’m not having sex with because I don’t want to end up like you.”
She tried not to take it personally. She loved her mother and she knew her mother loved her, too, but she’d long ago given up on being the most important person in Donna Sullivan’s life. It was just the way her mother was wired and she was never going to change.
As emotionally unsatisfying as the call was, it had come at a perfect time to serve as a reminder of why Paige had a no men rule. She had better things to worry about than a guy forgetting the anniversary of their first date or rolling over and going to sleep.
Or whether or not one had thought about kissing her on a park bench in the sunlight.
Chapter Four
Paige loved Whitford’s Old Home Day celebration. A little bit of the love came from the diner not opening until noon, allowing her to sleep in until a very decadent seven o’clock. Mostly, though, she loved the strong community bond she felt while honoring her adopted hometown.
It was already warm, so she slipped on a red sundress with a snug bodice that flared into a flowing skirt. Besides being cool, it also made her boobs look great. Not that she was showing off for anybody, but she lived most of her life in Trailside Diner T-shirts and it was nice to look pretty and feminine every once in a while. As a nod to the humidity, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and skipped any makeup but a quick swipe of lip gloss.
Though sleeping in was a refreshing change, the diner being closed meant toast with jelly for breakfast, but she didn’t mind. That left more room for the fried dough only available in Whitford on Old Home Day, and the incredible baked goods the PTA would be selling. If she was lucky, somebody forgot to hire the Italian sausage vendor this year, because she blamed him for her jeans being too tight for an entire week after last year’s celebration.
At a little after nine, she walked down to the library to meet Hailey. The parade didn’t start until ten, but the base of the statue commemorating the founding donor of the library offered a great view and somebody would steal the spot if they didn’t get there early. It didn’t matter that Hailey was the librarian, either. People would shush if she shushed them, but they weren’t giving up prime parade-viewing real estate.
Hailey was already waiting when she climbed the small, grassy hill, and she grinned when Paige sat on the cement slab next to her. “You look like a sexy pinup girl in that dress.”
“I was going for not hot and sweaty, but sexy pinup girl works.”
“From the ankles up, anyway.”
Paige looked down at her worn, comfy flip-flops and wiggled her toes. “Damn. I was really hoping to snag a guy with a foot fetish today.”
“There are other parts of my body I’d rather a guy be obsessed with.”
“I don’t know. Free foot massages. Maybe pedicures if he’s got a steady hand.”
Hailey smirked. “I wonder how Mitch feels about feet.”
And curse the pretty sundress for doing nothing to hide the warm flush creeping over Paige’s skin. “You mean the entire town doesn’t already know if he has a foot fetish?”
Hailey actually looked as if she was giving the question serious consideration. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard any stories about him and feet.”
“Doesn’t matter, anyway. I have no interest in Mitch Kowalski’s interests.”