Page 103 of Her Hidden Smile

“No! I don’t want her to lose business.”

“How about if it was after the diner closes?”

“But then the staff would have to stay late. That’s a lot to ask for.”

I choked on my own saliva. “You’re kidding, right? Little Grandma would shut down the diner for the entire week and pay her employees for that week if she thought you might possibly show up. She would do anything for you.”

I watched her violet eyes consider what I’d said.

“I’m going to call her.”

“I think that’s a fantastic idea.”

It took two weeks for Little Grandma to set things up. Not because she wasn’t willing to close down the restaurant. Heck, the moment I called and told her my idea, she was ready to kick out all of the customers right then and there. Nope, it was trying to coordinate with everybody’s schedules.

I wanted Lisa and Bella there for sure. I also wanted Simon, Roan, Drake Avery and Aiden O’Malley who had all helped in rescuing us. I wanted Little Grandma and her family and I had to have Renzo. The problem was that Drake and Aiden were both Navy SEALs who lived in California. We were just lucky that day that they were in town. They were away at work or on missions or something at the moment, so they couldn’t come.

Then Simon was working on a case, and he couldn’t come the next weekend, so we had to wait two weeks until we could get the people we wanted. We had Lisa and Roan coming. Simon, Bella and Trenda were all coming. Me and Renzo, then Little Grandma, her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. It was going to take place an hour after closing on Sunday.

When it got to the point where we were fixing to leave my house, my palms were sweaty and my knees were weak.

“Are you okay, Cariña? We don’t have to go.”

Renzo had his arm around my shoulders as we looked out the front door toward his truck.

“Everybody is expecting me.”

“Fuck ‘em. You’re the only one that matters.” He turned me around so I was facing him. “They’re your friends. They just want you to be happy. If you can’t make it this time, they’ll understand. If you arrange for this thirty more times and bail on them thirty times, they won’t care. They love you.”

“But—”

“No buts. It’s the truth. Let’s just go back on inside and watch some TV. I promise to not even watch fútbol.”

I laughed, which is what he’d been going for. I shook out my hands and twisted my neck back and forth like some kind of prizefighter. “I can do this, Renzo. I’ve got this.”

“Are you certain? Isn’t there some reality show you wanted to watch?”

“You’re the one who likes reality shows, so cut the crap. And yes, I’m sure. I want to go.”

He caressed my cheek. “You amaze me, Cariña.”

Renzo pulled open the door of Down Home. The door chime made me jump. I didn’t look left or right as I walked inside. I kept my head down, forcing myself to take one step at a time.

“Welcome to Down Home Diner. We’ve got some great specials tonight.”

I heard Little Grandma’s voice from a long way away, but also really close. I swallowed. Then swallowed again. I looked up and saw her shining blue eyes.

“You made it, child. You made it.”

She was sitting on her stool by the cash register, just the way she did when my parents and I used to come here.

It even smelled the same. There was definitely apple pie, but also cooking grease, and I was pretty sure I could smell brisket.

“You okay, sweetheart?” Little Grandma asked.

“Yes,” I whispered. “What are the specials?”

“We have catfish with turnip greens. Chicken and dumplings. But what I would really recommend is our maple bacon grilled chicken. It comes with our hashbrown casserole and our breaded fried okra.”