Page 18 of Wilde Ride

He pulled into a parking spot in front of Anna’s Café. I stared at the building, then at Levi. “This is where you want to eat lunch?”

“Would you rather have pizza, or something else?”

Granted, River Falls was small, but over the last few years, we’d gotten more restaurants. The locals, however, still seemed to eat at the older places, like Anna’s Café.

Nodding toward the door, I said, “It’s just…Anna is Janet’s sister. And Janet writes The Daily Dirt column.”

He grinned. “Are you afraid we’ll end up in the next edition?”

“Yes, I am. She doesn’t have anything to write about. She actually wrote about Ms. Betty’s chickens getting out, Levi.”

“All of her chickens got out?”

I nodded.

“Did someone let them out?”

“Levi!”

“Sorry, you got me curious now about her chickens. I know how much she loves those birds, or at least she used to.”

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. “All I’m saying is, don’t be surprised if people talk when they see us together.”

“About us eating together? Em, it’s just lunch. Your brother is my best friend. I have a son whom I want to enroll in your summer camp, and I’m pretty sure I was volunteered to help at each session this summer, not just the one Rhett’s attending. It’s not like we don’t have a reason to have lunch together.”

“You’re right. It’s just a business lunch.” I knew I sounded a bit childish, so I attempted to play it off. “You know how small-town gossip is. I just didn’t want you to have to deal with it right off the bat, considering everything else you have going on in your life.”

“Truth be told, Em, I don’t give a shit what anyone says about me.”

A small laugh slipped free. “Well, okay then. Let’s go get some lunch.”

Levi

The moment the bell above the door rang, I wished I’d listened to Emeline.

All heads turned and stared. And I don’t mean a curious stare; I mean the kind where you just know the moment they get a chance, they’re going to tell everyone who they saw together at the local café.

“That pizza sounds good right about now,” I whispered as a young girl walked up to us.

“Too late,” Emeline replied, an I-told-you-so expression on her face.

“Hey, Emeline. Table for two?” the young waitress asked.

“A booth, if you can, Lucy.”

Grinning, she grabbed two menus and motioned for us to follow her. She tucked us into the back corner and set the menus down. “Thought you might like some privacy.”

Emeline looked at me with one brow raised.

“It’s fine, we don’t need privacy…Lucy, is it?” I asked.

Her cheeks flushed. “Lucy Miller.”

I didn’t dare look at Emeline. “It’s a business lunch. We’re here to talk about my son attending a session at River Falls Summer Camp.”

“And having Dr. Tucker here volunteer at the camp, as well,” Emeline interjected.

Lucy’s eyes lit up. “A doctor? Are you new in town? Will you be working at the new clinic that just opened?”