The Perfect Lie (Hope Falls Universe)(4)
Josh’s warning still rang in her ears. Leave Hope Falls. No. She didn’t really know what she was thinking as she turned right and headed toward the downtown section of Hope Falls. Maybe she was sick of running. Maybe she still wanted to try to find a way to make this up to Josh.
Or maybe, more probably, she just couldn’t convince herself to walk away from Josh Dooley quite yet.
~~~~~
Steph walked into JT’s Roadhouse and stopped as soon as she was inside to take in the sight. She normally didn’t stop at any kind of restaurant labeled “roadhouse” but this one had looked so charming from the outside she had to take her chances.
She was immediately relieved that it didn’t look totally divey inside. It was more charming and…lived in. There was a jukebox in the corner, with a bit of space in front of it as though tables had been moved aside to allow room for dancing. Around the middle of the room were maybe half a dozen square tables that sat four, and on the other end were a few pool tables. There were a few tables taken and a few people at the bar, both men and women, and they all looked rather respectable, making Steph feel less out of place.
Once she realized that she’d been standing still for too long, she walked farther in. There was no sign telling her whether she should seat herself, but the place was small enough that she figured any server would notice a newcomer, especially an out-of-towner like her. A tourist? She supposed that was what she was. She never felt like a tourist at any of the places she went, though. She felt like an intruder or outsider. A feeling not helped by the disaster of what had happened with Josh earlier that day.
She sat at the table and looked over the menu of bar food. She could practically feel her hips expanding as she looked over the comfort food options but her mouth drooled at the possibility. Even when the waitress came over, Steph managed to keep herself from ordering every burger on the menu.
“Hello, welcome to JT’s,” said the pretty waitress.
“Thanks.” Steph set the menu down.
“Did you want something to drink? And you look ready to order, but if you want some more time with the menu, just let me know.”
“A water and French onion soup would be perfect.” Steph smiled.
“No problem,” said the waitress without writing anything down before she strode confidently back to the bar. It didn’t look as though there were any more servers working but it was three p.m., kind of between the lunch and dinner rush, so she supposed that made sense. Stephanie had never actually worked any tedious jobs like retail or waitressing, but one of the charities she worked with held an event once a year and Steph volunteered as a server. What would Josh think of that? To get into that event, it was a thousand dollars a ticket. He probably would just get more annoyed at her antics if he knew. Poor little rich girl comes to the country to do soul searching.
It wasn’t as if she were super, super rich. Her friend, Willa Belli, had enough money to buy the entire town of Hope Falls. Well, she had been okay before her father’s murder had brought up some questionable dealings. Though when she’d stopped by to pay her respects, Willa had seemed okay with the fact that most of her father’s money might be tied up in criminal investigations. A lot of that serenity had to do with her former bodyguard turned boyfriend, James Weston. There had been an element of danger and unpredictability when she’d met the strange man who had seemed to take over her best friend’s life.
And she meant that in a good way. Willa and Steph had been inseparable before. The two of them, along with AJ, Steph’s twin brother, had been out clubbing and drinking every night. Now that Willa had James, she wasn’t nearly as much fun but she was so happy it was hard to be upset with the change. Compared to the disaster that was her family life, it was pretty nice to see love working out for someone.
Had that been why she’d been so stupid around Josh? Had she been so desperate for love that she’d made a fool out of herself?
“Here you go.”
Steph jumped as the waitress set down the water and then laughed at herself. “I’m sorry. I was a bit lost in thought.”
“Not sure how much I can help with that,” said the waitress. “But I’m really good with directions if you’re physically lost.” She winked.
Steph had to smile at her positive attitude. “I wish that was the problem.”
The waitress held out a hand. “Shelby. I own JT’s with my husband, Levi.”
Steph met her handshake. “Stephanie Cornell. Nice to meet you.”
“So are you staying in town or just passing through?”
“I was just passing through but I’m finding it hard to leave.”
“Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures has some nice cabins if you wanted to stay.”
Nope. She was going to have to rule out staying at the place Josh worked.
“And, I don’t want to sound too sales-y or anything, but Levi and I have a bed-and-breakfast out back and I had a cancellation literally ten minutes ago. So, you’re lost and I had an opening…it might be serendipity.”
“I—” Steph was about to find a nice way to turn down the offer, but she couldn’t. Sure, she’d planned to go onto Lake Tahoe, but something about this town seemed to be calling to her. Josh hadn’t been willing to listen to her apologies before, but he’d been angry. Maybe if she gave him some time, he’d be willing to let her make it up to him.