Chapter 2

Daniel lingered, even after the last customer had left. "Do you need help closing up?"

Melinda flipped the 'closed' sign. "No, I got this. Besides, you've already done so much. I feel like I should pay you or something."

Daniel shook his head. "Don't you dare."

"Well, your dinner is on the house, then. It was probably cold by the time you got around to eating it."

"Some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in a pot nine days old," he said with a shrug.

Melinda laughed, and it lit up her eyes. He wondered how many people got to see that side of her. Most people equated her with a scowl, but she had the most beautiful, genuine smile, when she allowed it to shine through.

"And what kind of guy are you?" she asked. "Let me guess—nine days old?"

"How did you know?"

"You eat at the diner often enough, there's no way you are a picky eater," she said with a teasing smile.

Daniel laughed. "Your food isn't that bad."

"Oh, really?" Melinda asked, challenging him.

"If you ever ate my cooking, you'd see what I mean."

She glanced back into the kitchen. Daniel followed her gaze to Devon and Claire. They were finishing up dishes and wiping things down. "It's not their fault, you know. They are amazing cooks. It's all on my parents—they say they won't let anyone change the recipes because they don't want to dishonor the family name. But to be honest, it's probably a good thing. The better ingredients would cost more. The food would get infinitely better, but I'm barely making a profit as is." She blew out a long breath. "Though that fault belongs to me. My attitude doesn't help attract the customers and it certainly doesn't win me tips."

Daniel leaned on the counter. "Why don't you just sell the place? Maybe your folks would let you take some of the profit to go do what you really want. It's practically yours anyway."

Melinda let out a bitter laugh. "I've asked before, and they said no. Apparently this is a life lesson they're teaching me—a decade-long lesson. They say there are still things I need to learn that don't include crunching numbers and inventory logs."

Daniel studied her. She didn't seem like the type to let someone else tell her what to do. "So, close up the store and walk away."

She stared. "What?"

"You're obviously miserable here. Why stay?"

Melinda looked down at her feet and mumbled something incoherent.

"Come again?"

"I said, ‘I can't.’" She glanced back at the kitchen. "It should belong to Devon and Claire. When my parents hired them, it was with the understanding that once I was finished as manager here, they would sell the diner to Devon and Claire. But they've been stuck cooking in that kitchen for nine years, making crappy food because in my parents' eyes, I'm still not good enough. If I walk away, it will never be theirs. This is their dream, not mine, but I don't know how to prove to my parents that I've learned whatever lesson they wanted to teach me all those years ago." Melinda slammed her hands down on the counter. "How can I do that, if I don't even know what I am supposed to learn?"

Daniel placed a hand on top of hers. She acted so callous, and yet she genuinely cared about other people, even at the expense of her own happiness. He wished he could tell her how incredible she was, but Melinda didn't accept compliments. She usually just shrugged them off with sarcasm.

Instead, he blurted out, "I'll be your date for the wedding." Yeah, that was nowhere near what he had been thinking. Why would he even suggest such a thing? From what he had overheard when she had been on the phone with her mother, that was the last thing Melinda would want. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. "If you go against your mother's wishes, you'll be proving them right, won't you? She's more likely to agree to selling if you show up on time, with a date, and play the role of the perfect daughter."

"Yes," Melinda said slowly. "But that means my mother would win, and I don't know if I can handle that."

"She's already winning," Daniel pointed out. "She has you trapped in this place, and this may be the only way you get out."

Melinda nodded, like she was seriously considering it, but then she paused. "I couldn't ask you to do that for me," she said, though her voice belied her words. It lacked its usual power, and it seemed she was trying to come up with a reason not to accept his offer. "Bob will never let you take the time off."

"Why not?" Daniel asked. "I have some vacation time, and even if Bob doesn't understand, I'm sure Mayor Freedman would."

Melinda slipped her hand out from under Daniel's and locked eyes with him. "Why would you do that for me? I'm the least-liked person in the whole town."

Even though her last statement was true, Daniel waved it off like it wasn't. "I am your friend. We all need someone in our life who's looking out for us, so why shouldn't it be me? Do you have someone else you'd rather take as your date?"

He doubted there was anyone else. Most of Melinda's dates were more flings than potential relationships. And they certainly weren't the type who would go away with her for a few days without ulterior motives. It always drove him nuts to watch the line of guys who came in and out of her life. Couldn't she see she was better than that?

Melinda chewed her bottom lip. "All right," she said. "But I owe you for this, and for all your help in the diner, and…well, everything. I don't deserve as good a friend as you've been to me. And I only feel right about being in your debt."

Daniel was about to protest, but Melinda held up a hand.

"You're not coming with me unless you agree."

He didn't feel comfortable with that. That wasn’t what friendship was. But if that was the only way Melinda would accept his help, then he'd go with it. Just because they agreed that she was in his debt didn't mean he needed to act on it. "You got yourself a deal."

* * * * *

Daniel tossed Melinda's bag into the back of his car, though it was more like the bag tossed him. It was so heavy, he lost his balance as the bag slammed down. He hoped she didn't have anything fragile in there. Daniel had convinced Melinda that if he was going to be her date, they needed to act like it, which meant he would be the one driving. Sure, she was the better driver, but her parents were the old-fashioned sort, and they needed to play to that.

"All right, four hours until the performance of a lifetime," Daniel said with a grin. "Are you ready?"

Melinda bit her fingernails and glanced back at her apartment, looking anything but ready.

"Look, if you'd rather not do this—"

"Oh, we are so doing this," Melinda said, straightening up and dropping her hand to her side. The fire had returned to her eyes, and Daniel smiled. She was the feistiest yet most caring person he'd ever met. She was a living oxymoron, and for some reason, it made him want to be close to her to find out what she'd do next. "Though we need to bring the rest of my bags out to the car before we head out."

"You mean you have more than the one?"

"Three others," Melinda said with a smile, like she was testing him to see how he'd react.

"Oh, is that all?" Daniel asked. "I brought seven bags, two pillows, and an alpaca. I'm sure we can manage three more."

Melinda's eyebrows popped up in surprise, and she smiled. "Well, alrighty then. Let's go get those bags."

Between the two of them, they managed to drag the bags down to the car in one trip and were on the road before either of them could change their minds about spending the next five days together.

Melinda was silent for the first hour, staring out the window. She sat slumped in her seat, like she carried the weight of the world. Her naturally wavy hair spilled over her shoulders, and she looked more beautiful than ever, but in a tragic kind of way.

"Do you mind passing the snacks over?" Daniel finally asked. He wanted to give Melinda her space, but if she didn't want to talk, he needed to find another way to occupy himself.

She sat up with a start, like she was surprised he was there. "What? Oh, yeah." She handed over a bag of trail mix. "Did you want the chips as well?"

"No, this should be good for now," Daniel said. If he ate the chips now, he'd end up with a pile of crumbs on his lap large enough to attract some of the desert wildlife.

Melinda went back to staring out the window and gave a long sigh.

Obviously, something was on her mind, and Daniel couldn't resist asking about it. Was it prying? Yup. But everyone needed someone to talk to, so why shouldn't it be him?

"Penny for your thoughts.” He glanced down at his cup holder. "Actually, I only have a nickel. Do you make change?"

Melinda looked over and gave a small smile. "Nope. Sorry. It's a nickel or nothing."

"A nickel it is." He handed the coin to Melinda. "So, what's up?"

Her smile faded. "Just wondering what we're about to walk into."

"They'll be so busy with the wedding, they'll hardly know we're there," he said with a cheesy grin. "Think of it as a couple of friends going on vacation, who have to occasionally do boring things like attend a fancy dinner with amazing food."

Melinda tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Believe me, I've tried, but my mom isn't going to let me off the hook that easily." She paused. "I'm Bree's only sister, and I'm not even the maid of honor. She chose an old friend from high school instead."

"Did you even want to be her maid of honor?" Daniel asked.

"No," she said. "Then I would have been in charge of things that I don't really want to deal with. But it's the principle of the matter. We were super close until my parents moved away for work and she moved away to college, and then—everything changed."

"Is that the real reason you've been dreading the wedding?" Daniel asked. He wished he knew what that felt like, but he didn't have any siblings. He’d always wanted a brother or a sister. All his friends told him he was lucky to be an only child, but even if he’d had the most annoying sibling ever, he thought it would be better than not having one at all. It had been lonely with just his parents for company.

Melinda looked back out the window. "I just wish things could go back to how they were in high school." She gave a small chuckle. "Well, mostly. Maybe if I was a slightly better version of myself."

"Oh, come now, you couldn't have been all that bad," Daniel said. He had only lived in Amor for a couple of years, but when he had moved there, it had felt like coming home. Except, everyone there had known each other their entire lives, and there were times he felt like he had missed out on a completely different life.

"Let's just say, I wasn't any more popular back then than I am now," Melinda said. "I've always been a little too into the guys, and it got me into trouble."

Oh, so that was what she had meant. Yeah, he could see that. Time for a change of subject.

"Tell me about your family," Daniel said. "I want to know who is safe and who to stay clear of."

Melinda shrugged. "Stay close to my dad, steer clear of everyone else. My grandma is an older version of my mother, and I haven't seen my cousins or anyone else in ages. I have no idea what they're like now." She didn't seem to have anything else to say on the matter and fell silent again.

Daniel considered coming up with another topic of conversation but decided to leave it. Melinda was obviously not in the mood to talk, and it was exhausting trying to get her to open up. He'd become friends with her when he first moved to town, and he still felt like he barely knew her at times. He shoved a handful of trail mix into his mouth and turned on the radio.

This was going to be a long five days.