Page 6 of Yours To Hold
“Fine. You can come. But you’re buying breakfast this morning. I bought last week.”
“Deal.” Linking arms again, we head back down. “Now let’s go, because I’m starving.”
* * *
“You could always havea fun summer fling before you leave,” Gemma says, grabbing a menu as we sit at one of the only free tables at the diner.
It’s everything a small-town diner should be. Vintage ads hang on the walls. Black-and-white checkered floors are dull after being worn down for years. Vinyl seats crack as people sit in any open seats they can find. People linger at the counter seats where they can watch food being made in the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, you’re telling me this? Miss ‘I hate every single man in Dixon.’”
“I have good reason to.”
“Oh, I know. Which is shocking you’re telling me to have a summer fling.”
“I’m just saying, it could be a fun thing for you to do.” Gemma shrugs a shoulder. I know she means well, but it’s not really on my mind right now.
The waitress comes by and takes our order. The place is bustling. It’s one of the only places to be on a weekend morning.
“You know the people in this town. There are no good options.”
“What about in Jackson?”
“Gemma, I love you for trying, but no. I’ll be content on my own this summer. Seattle won’t know what hit them when I get there.”
“Gemma. Ivy. How are you girls doing?” Mrs. Phillips, head of the town gossip committee, comes over to our table.
“Hi, Mrs. Phillips. We’re good,” I answer for us. “How are you doing?”
“Wonderful. What brings you two out on a fine morning like this?” She slides into the empty seat on Gemma’s side of the booth.
Gemma eyes me. “We were just talking about Ivy’s new job in Seattle.”
“Seattle?” Her eyes go wide, her graying hair perfect. Not a hair out of place. “How can you even think of moving away from Dixon?”
I paste a fake smile on my face. First the book club this morning, and now Mrs. Phillips. I need to keep it together. I like the women in this town, but sometimes they drive me crazy.
“You know I want to run an art gallery.”
She waves me off. “Why do you need to buy art from a gallery? If I want something, I can just go online and get it.”
And now she sounds like my mother. If possible, the smile on my face grows. The bigger it is, the less chance I’ll let something slip. “Some people still like buying it in person. You get a better feel for the piece when you see it.”
“Are you sure you don’t want us to set you up with a nice man? Settle down in Dixon? Seattle is such a violent city.” She shudders.
“I’ll be safe. Don’t you worry.”
She gasps, clasping her hands over her heart. “Of course we’ll worry. You couldn’t have tried Boise? Now that’s a perfectly fine town.”
“Seattle has more to offer me in the art world.”
She ignores me, turning to Gemma.
“Aren’t your brothers single, Gemma?” She slaps her hand on the table like she’s had the most genius idea. I know exactly where she’s going, and I don’t think I’ll like it. “Why can’t you set her up with one of them?”
Yup. Exactly where I thought.
“What?” Gemma looks affronted. “My brothers?”
