The Perfect Lie (Hope Falls Universe)(13)

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It was five in the evening, but Sue Ann’s Cafe still smelled like cinnamon and pancakes and comfort food. Steph took a deep inhale to appreciate the scent as she walked to one of the open tables. There were about a dozen tables at comfortable angles. The tables were covered with various mismatched tablecloths that seemed to all go together with how different they were. Along the back wall, shelves were lined with various crafts and local mementos, and the walls were covered with pictures of locals. Some of them looked old, but Steph wondered whether she spent enough time looking, she would find one with Josh…

She sat down right as her phone started to buzz. She took it out to see whether it was Josh calling to cancel or tell her there was no reason to talk because he’d already decided this wasn’t worth it. But it was only when she realized it was AJ calling again that she remembered that she still didn’t have Josh’s phone number. God, this was so strange.

She’d slept with a guy a day after meeting him. She didn’t even have his phone number. And the strangest thing of all was that she didn’t even regret it. Even if she left town and never heard from him again, she couldn’t say that she wished that day had never happened.

She smoothed the blue dress down her legs. It was a bit shorter than she wanted while sitting but it was the closest thing to a date outfit she brought with her on her soul-searching road trip. It was loose and airy and great for the summer heat. The v-neck was flattering on her and it would look better with a pair of heels, but the flip-flops she had would have to do.

A friendly waitress came over and Steph ordered two waters as she waited for Josh. Like that morning, her nerves had caused her to get there much too early, so she was willing to take her time.

But, also like that morning, Josh arrived soon after, still much earlier than the five p.m. time they agreed on.

The cafe was reasonably busy with some young families and older couples. Back home, she usually didn’t eat dinner until at least eight at night, but she supposed—or hoped, at least—that Josh wanted an early dinner because he didn’t want to go that long without seeing her.

She smiled at him across the restaurant when his eye met hers and she bit her lip as he approached.

“Hey.” He took his seat.

“I don’t need any more time,” she said without any preamble.

His eyes widened and he shifted his weight in his seat. “Yeah?”

“Let’s do this. For real.”

“Even though I’m—”

“This doesn’t make sense and it might not be logical, but for a few seconds I thought you might not show up today and that freaked me out so much that I don’t want to end this just because I’m afraid. Now, I don’t really know the logistics. I only have the bed-and-breakfast for three days before Shelby said the next guests are coming, but I have an American Express Black card and thanks to my fear of commitment, I can hang around for a while, so I’m going all in on the stupid part and we’re going to do this.” She stopped when she realized she’d said all that without giving him a chance to say anything. Josh had leaned back in his seat and folded his arms in front of him. Was he sitting like that because he was guarded or because he was just more comfortable? “So where do you want to start?” she asked carefully.

“Pancakes would be a good start.”

She smiled at the answer. They’d start with pancakes. She could do that. She reached for the menu to look over what kind of pancakes were available when the door opened and a strikingly beautiful couple walked in. She squinted at the woman, trying to place where she knew her from, and then blinked a few times when she realized who it was. “Karina Black?” she asked Josh.

Josh looked over his shoulder to the table where the couple was sitting. “Yep. Her husband, Ryan, is the grandson of the owner of this place.”

“Huh. That’s so interesting.” Steph went back to looking at the menu and tried to decide whether the hike that morning would cancel out chocolate chip pancakes. After a few moments, she realized Josh was staring at her. She poked her head over the menu to meet his gaze. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just… You don’t seem to care that one of the most famous women in the country is sitting a few feet away from you.”

Steph frowned and glanced around the cafe. She realized that the tourists evidently noticed because they had started to whisper among themselves while not so subtly looking to where Karina and Ryan were smiling lovingly at each other. “Trust me, I’m impressed.” She went back to the menu.

“Do you not like her music?” asked Josh.

“Of course, I like her music. I’m human. Don’t listen to the newer stuff, though.”

“The new stuff is a thousand times better than the manufactured pop.”

Okay, this conversation now required her full attention. She set the menu down and leaned forward on her elbows. “Josh, are you a Karina Black fan?” she asked with a teasing smile.

“I live in Hope Falls. We’re all Karina Black fans here. But for real, you like the older stuff better?”

“I like it all. But I usually only listen to music at the gym, so the more upbeat stuff is what gets played more.”

“But you’re not excited that she’s so close? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone famous before I moved here and I used to live in LA.”