“Paige lucked out with Carl and Gavin from the sound of it.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Max about Gavin’s opportunity in Kennebunkport, but she kept her mouth shut. She wanted to talk to him about it, especially the chaos it would bring into her own life, because he was so logical and calm when it came to facing a problem, but it wasn’t time yet. As far as she knew, Gavin hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to Paige yet and she didn’t want their boss and friend to find out through the grapevine.
“Just write something down for me.”
She arched an eyebrow, considering him. “It’s not like you to just roll with things.”
“I’m broadening my horizons.”
“Anything you don’t like?”
“No seafood and no beans.”
She wrote out an order for a veggie omelet, home fries and raisin toast, which she handed over to Carl. Then she did a circuit of her tables, refilling coffees and checking up on everybody. Three parties came in and two tables had food go out before Max’s appeared in the window.
When she set it down in front of him, his eyes got big. “Carl doesn’t skimp on portions.”
“It’s the best breakfast in the state of Maine. Trust me, you’ll eat it all.”
“Raisin toast is an interesting choice.”
She topped off his coffee. “You bought two loaves of this raisin bread the day I ran into you at the market.”
“This is the same bread?”
“Yup. Carl’s wife bakes it at home and sells it to Paige and Fran. The cinnamon buns, too.”
He slid his knife through the omelet and a bounty of cheese and vegetables oozed out. “I really like this town.”
Chapter Thirteen
On Friday, Max worked until he would have just enough time to shower and dress for his second date with Nola. Hanging around watching the clock wouldn’t help him relax any.
He should be more excited about the coming evening. It was a second date, with the awkwardness and formalities of the first one out of the way. They would both be more at ease and, hopefully, they’d both want to keep going toward an exclusive relationship.
He really wished Whitford had a movie theater, though. Or a bowling alley or even a mini-golf course. Sitting across from a woman with nothing to do but hold a conversation was a lot of pressure.
He arrived at the diner ten minutes before five and found the table they’d sat at the first time was open. He took it, wondering if it would become “their” table. Women seemed to like things like that.
“Just you tonight, Max?”
He smiled at Ava and shook his head. “Nola’s joining me.”
“That’s twice,” she said, giving him a sassy, raised eyebrow. “Might be getting serious.”
He liked Ava. She was older and always worked the evening shift. He’d heard, maybe at the General Store, that she’d taken the job at the diner after her husband passed and requested the evening hours because that’s when she missed him the most. She was funny and bold and he could imagine Tori being like her some day.
“She said the fish fry was good and I haven’t tried it yet, so here we are” was all he said. Besides being funny and bold, Ava was also one of the pivotal links in Whitford’s gossip chain.
He stood when Nola arrived, and she looked pleased by the gesture as she slid into her side of the booth. “I’m running a few minutes behind. Sorry about that.”
They both ordered decaf and the fish fry, and then they talked about her day while waiting for Gavin to work his magic. She told him a few funny stories—without names, of course—from her years of working with Whitford’s public.
“What about your work? You haven’t told me what you do yet.”
It was tempting to make a joke, but this was their second date. “I paint models. Trains, to be exact. For people who do model railroading.”
“Really?” She made a huh face, which didn’t give him a lot to go on. “And that’s your job? Like your regular job?”
“Yes. It has been for about ten years. I did it part-time while working for a tax firm, but I made the jump to full-time several years before I moved here.”
“That’s interesting.”
He should offer to show her his workshop, but he didn’t. While she’d said the right words, there hadn’t been a lot of enthusiasm behind them. He knew from experience she would be one of those whose eyes glazed over with boredom mere minutes into a tour of his basement.
Luckily, fish fry was a fast dish and Ava appeared with baskets of fish and fries, and dishes of coleslaw. “Max, if you haven’t had Gavin’s slaw yet, hold on to your socks. And don’t forget, fish fry is all you can eat.”
“I’m pretty sure this is all I can eat,” he said, staring at the food in front of him.