Page 14 of Lovestruck
Even if I’m not good enough for her.
Even if her brothers try to push me away.
There’s no turning back now.
Chapter 7
Kat
“Someone’s looking pretty happy for a Thursday morning. Doesn’t she look happy, Mila?” Serena smirks at me over her cup of peppermint tea. Now that she’s with my cousin, she’s family to me as well. Including all the nosy teasing apparently.
“Exams are over. I’m excited for the break,” I answer hurriedly, tying my apron around my waist.
I forgot how damn perceptive the women around here are.
“Hmm. Okay, fine. I’m outta here, ladies, there are precious young minds to teach.”
With a flourish, she turns and leaves, but Mila studies me closely. “She’s not wrong, you know, you do seem to have a glow about you today. Are you sure it’s just winter break that has you feeling so good?”
I nod, trying not to be too obvious. Hunter and I didn’t exactly get the chance to talk last night about how to tell people we’re dating, if that’s even what we’re calling it. Crap. It’s been so long since I was in a relationship, I don’t know how to do this anymore.
“Yup, totally just winter break. Can’t wait to sleep in, maybe read a book that isn’t for school, you know.”
Does my voice sound too cheery? Ugh. I don’t know. Mila still has her eagle eyes on me. The damn woman is a super sleuth. But I’m saved from further interrogation by someone calling her name from the bakery side of the building.
Just as she walks away, the door opens and my cousin walks in, giving me a wave.
“Hey, Leo, you just missed Serena.” I put a coffee cup on the counter in front of him and fill it with the last of the pot.
“I saw her on my way in.” The content look on his face makes my heart pang. In the year and a half since Leo and his daughter moved to Dogwood Cove, I’ve never seen two people more in love. They found each other after almost two decades apart, and their second chance at love has been the start of forever together.
I want that someday.
“That’s good. How’s work? Everything going okay? Any big crime sprees?” Here’s hoping Leo isn’t as good of a detective as he probably should be, or he’ll see right through my not-so-subtle question. I’ve never bothered to ask him about work before, that’s for sure.
But he doesn’t question me; instead, Leo’s brows draw together. “No crime sprees. Everything’s fine.”
“That didn’t sound convincing.”
“You’re too observant sometimes. Maybe you should forget the nurse practitioner gig and become a cop.” He says it lightly, teasing, but then Leo falls silent and takes a sip of his coffee, studying me. “You know some of the guys from the station pretty well, don’t you?”
I grab a cloth and start wiping at an imaginary spot on the counter. “I mean, yeah, I guess so.”
“Well, if you ever get a chance to find out why one of them decided not to put his name in for the next round of promotions, that would be a good thing. Because I have to admit, I was disappointed I didn’t see a certain name on the list.”
I stare at him. “Hunter?” I blurt out, not thinking about the fact I just obliterated any chance of Leo not figuring out I’m involved with him somehow.
“I can’t tell you that, Kat. But if the hunch I’ve had about you two for over a year now is correct, maybe you can get through to him. He needs to stop holding himself back.”
Leo stands up, as if he hasn’t just dropped a couple of bombs in my lap. “I gotta get back. Think about what I said, Kat.” He raps the counter, staring straight in my eyes. “And what I didn’t say.”
After he leaves, I’m lost in thought as I refill the coffee machine. Hunter has said before he wants to move to a bigger city eventually, somewhere like Victoria. Honestly, that’s a big part of why I figured the two of us could never have a future together. He wants to leave and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
But why wouldn’t he want the opportunity to advance his career in Dogwood Cove? Wouldn’t that look good on his résumé?
Unless he’s already got one foot out the door. Unless he’s already planning to leave soon.
That makes my heart sink. But before I can dwell on it, the door opens, and Hunter himself walks in with a couple other cops. I file the conversation with Leo away as something to think about later, and push off the counter, ready to go say hi, already feeling a stupidly large smile stretch across my face just from seeing him. But Hunter doesn’t even look at me as he turns and drops into a chair, deep in conversation with his coworkers.
