One Wild Night (Hollywood Chronicles #1)(53)

The other woman laughed. “Ah, forget that ‘Lillith’ nonsense.” She hooked her thumb in her friend’s direction. “This one right here goes by Lily Pad. Don’t fall for that suit-wearing, straightlaced attorney vibe she’s rockin’. She’s actually kind of a wild child when you get to know her. And we finally get to meet the Rynna Dayne, not to be confused with Grandma Corinne. I pretty much feel like we’re already best friends since your grandma never stopped talking about you. I’m Nikki Walters.”

There was a kind, playful confidence about her, no hesitation when she reached out to take my hand.

Confidence.

Right then, I scrambled within myself to find it. To remember who I’d become in the years I’d been away. The strength and boldness I’d found. It was crazy how coming back to this town incited the instinct to cower and hide. “It’s really nice to meet you, Nikki.”

I glanced between the two of them. “So, you two knew my grandmother?”

It actually felt nice to find someone other than Frankie and her dad who remembered my grandmother. The fact I was there by myself and facing this alone was beginning to set in. That loneliness growing bigger with each second that passed.

It didn’t help Rex Gunner had quite literally slammed a door in my face last night.

Standing on his porch like a fool as I’d offered myself up, only to have him so callously reject me, had stung. I wanted to hate him. To think him nothing but a jerk. But I couldn’t.

Maybe it was the way my grandmother had raised me. To slow down and look deeper. Beyond the surface and the shallow to what was concealed underneath.

God knew I’d been judged enough as a child. I might as well have been on trial for my appearance alone, a thousand convictions made with each passing, sneering glance. And I had looked deeper at Rex. What I saw was pain and fear and a rickety defense lurking right under the hostility that seeped from his pores like poison. There was something so ferociously protective behind the shield of venom and animosity.

It filled me with the urge to break through it. To chip it away, piece by piece. To dig deeper until I’d discovered everything that was hiding underneath.

It didn’t help that one look at him made my stomach shiver and shake.

I had no idea what it was about this guy, but every time I saw him, I was struck with an overpowering shock of attraction. The kind that spun my head and left my knees weak with the impulse to run my fingers over the hard planes of his body.

Which was crazy. I didn’t know him. But I couldn’t scrape the idea from my consciousness that I was supposed to.

Nikki’s eyes widened as if my question had been absurd. “Of course we knew your grandma.” With a moan, her eyes rolled back in her head as she tipped her face toward the ceiling. “She made the freaking best pies. Like, to die for.”

Wistful laughter tumbled free. “Yeah, they kind of had that effect on people, didn’t they? Now that woman could bake.”

Her pot pies were almost as legendary as her sweet pies.

“Tell me you’re actually reopening this place and you have all her secret recipes,” Nikki pleaded as if my answer might save her life.

I glanced around the diner that had been shut down for the last two months, but with the poor shape it was in, you’d think it had been vacant for years. The entire place was covered in an inch of dust, the red pleather booths cracked, some torn. More concerning was the equipment in the kitchen that was old and in far worse shape.

Resolve set into my bones. “I’m going to try.”

Lillith laughed a tinkling sound. “Oh, if you’re anything like your grandma made you out to be, I think you’ll fair just fine.”

A sad smile emerged at just the edge of my mouth. “I think there’s a chance my grandmother might have played me up to be something I’m not.”

“Psh.” Nikki waved a flippant hand. “As long as you have those recipes, you’re golden.”

“Well, following her recipes is the easy part. It’s the two hundred thousand dollar loan I need to whip this place back into shape that I’m worried about,” I returned, trying to make it a joke and not let the reality of it bring me down.

All the while, I wondered why these two set me so at ease that I felt comfortable sharing such personal details with them.

But I did.

Concern flitted across Lillith’s face, her expression knowing. “I heard there was a tax lien?”

I sighed, but there was satisfaction behind it. “There was, but I was able to sell off some of my things back in California to pay the lien, as well as the back payments due on the house. That left me with the keys to both.” A wry chuckle rumbled out. “And you know, about five dollars to my name.” I wasn’t quite that destitute, but it was close.

“Hey, a strong woman can work magic with five dollars,” Nikki said, her grin wry.

“I just might need a little magic to come into play if I’m going to make this happen.”

Sympathy lined Lillith’s face. “I’m so sorry your return is under these circumstances. I hope you know your grandmother was a huge asset to this community and an even better friend. She is greatly missed. If there’s anything we can do, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m an attorney, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you get this place reopened, whether you need me to file anything or need legal advice or even if you just need a friend to talk to.”