His Final Wish Said He Settled for Me, So Reborn, I Left novel · Chapter 2 of 24

Chapter 2: Steady Hands

Calvin returns for pie and Leah refuses him in front of the regulars, until his mother says a line she has heard before.

I looked at the receipt for a long time.

The ink had not faded, because it was only an hour old.

Behind me, the pie case hummed, and the bell over the door jingled.

"Earth to Leah," Bridget said, snapping her fingers by my ear.

Bridget Lund was twenty-four, short and loud, and she was alive in my ears for the first time in years.

In my other life, we had drifted apart after the wedding.

Calvin's mother had a way of making Sundays too busy for friends.

I hugged her before I thought about it.

"Okay, weird," Bridget said into my shoulder. "But I'll take it."

"Sorry," I said. "Rough dream."

"You've been standing there like a ghost for five minutes."

She nodded at the booth by the window.

"Also, your pretty boy came back."

I turned around.

Calvin Reeve sat in booth four with his tie loosened and his sleeves rolled up.

He was twenty-seven, with light brown hair, a lean face, and the easy smile that had fooled a whole church.

He was breathing like a healthy man.

He was not wearing an oxygen line, and he did not have a bruise in the crook of either arm.

My knees almost gave out.

I had washed that face with a warm cloth four days ago.

Now it grinned at me.

I wanted to run across the floor and hold on to him.

That was the horrible part.

Some stupid, loyal piece of me still wanted to.

Then I heard his voice again, thin and airy, saying settled for Leah.

The wanting went cold and stayed that way.

"Pie?" Bridget whispered. "I'll take it if you won't."

"I've got it," I said.

I walked to booth four with the coffeepot, because I wanted to see his hands.

They were steady and warm, and one of them lay flat against his chest.

"Hey," Calvin said. "You didn't call."

"It's been an hour."

"I'm an optimist." He smiled wider. "Sit with me for ten minutes. I'll buy you a slice."

Three regulars at the counter had gone quiet to listen.

A retired mailman had even lowered his newspaper.

In my first life, I had sat down.

I had said, "Ten minutes," and kept saying it for fourteen years.

"No, thank you," I said.

Calvin blinked.

"Sorry?"

"I'm not going to sit with you," I said. "And I won't be calling that number."

I set the coffeepot down on the table, gently.

"You can order the pie. I'll bring it. That's all I'll bring."

Someone at the counter sucked in a breath.

Calvin's smile held for a second, then slipped.

Men like him weren't refused often.

"Did I do something?" he asked quietly.

"Not yet," I said.

It came out before I could stop it.

He frowned, trying to find the joke.

"That's a strange thing to say to a guy you just met."

"It's a strange day."

I took his order and walked away with my spine straight.

Behind the counter, Bridget grabbed my arm and mouthed, "What was that?"

"Later," I whispered.

I pulled the pie, set it on a plate, and carried it out.

I put it down without a word.

He ate half and watched me work the room.

I felt his eyes on my back every time I turned.

I was tired in a way a twenty-three-year-old body had no right to be.

Through the front window, I saw a gray sedan parked at the curb with the engine running.

A woman sat in the passenger seat, watching the diner.

Silver bob, a cardigan, a small cross pinned at the collar.

My stomach dropped through the floor.

Norma Reeve.

I had never once seen her wait in a car in my first life.

I had only ever met her at his front door, smiling, with a plate of cookies.

At four o'clock, Calvin paid his check and left a ten-dollar tip.

He did not look back at me.

Instead, he walked to the sedan and bent to the window.

I watched Norma say something to him and glance at the diner.

Then she opened her door and got out.

She crossed the sidewalk in sensible shoes, and she came inside.

"Hello, dear," she said, holding out both hands.

I knew that voice like I knew my own pulse.

"My son says you've been very kind to him."

I took her hands before I could stop myself.

They were soft and dry and cool.

She turned them over in hers, studying my palms, my short unpolished nails, my fingers.

"Oh, my goodness," Norma said warmly. "Such steady hands."

My blood went still.

She had said those exact words to me once before.

It had been in a church basement, thirteen years ago, six weeks before our wedding.

I had thought it was the nicest thing anyone's mother had ever said.

← Chapter 1 · All chapters · Chapter 3 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend