careful. Though there was plenty of chatter to drown out our conversation from our usual corner table, I didn’t want to take any chances that we’d be overheard.
“I’m sorry.” Petra cupped a hand around her ear and leaned closer to me. “Are my ears deceiving me, or did you just use the phrase ‘blissfully happy’?”
My lips twitched, a grin threatening. “And what if I did?”
“I honestly don’t know. I might keel over from the shock of it. Thea Gale…blissful.” She tapped a finger against her temple, as though trying to get her head to function properly. “Nope. Does not compute,” she added in a robotic voice.
I didn’t blame her for her teasing. When we’d met, I never would have imagined describing myself as happy, much less blissfully so. Even if I’d contemplated the prospect, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible.
“What can I say? Things change.”
“Maybe for you.” She pushed her now-empty plate away. “Nothing ever seems to change for me.”
“Then, why don’t we do something about that?”
“Like what?”
I’d been waiting for this opportunity, so I had no trouble coming up with an answer. “We can start with you letting me set you up on a date.”
Petra narrowed her bright green eyes on me. “A date. With whom?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Just say you agree.”
“You know I don’t really date.”
I gave her my best gotcha smile. “And maybe that’s why nothing changes for you. Ever thought of that?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again in a perfect imitation of a fish. A cute, blonde fish with a teal stripe. “You’re sneaky.”
“Just this once.” Normally, I was too straightforward to be sneaky. “Does that mean you’ll give it a try?”
“You’re asking a lot.”
“It’s just one date. And I promise he’ll be hot.”
She brushed her hair over her shoulder. “Fine, but it better not be with that Lincoln guy. He’s way too much of a pretty boy player for me to bother with.”
I half-laughed, half-choked on my coffee. “I promise. No pretty boy players for you.”
“Okay, then, I agree.” She wagged her forefinger at me. “But don’t make me regret this.”
“I won’t. Promise.”
“Thank god you’re finally back,” Levi said that afternoon. I’d spent the last hour manning the register while he made drinks, and the constant line of customers had finally let up enough for us to talk. “This place was so boring without you.”
“Why? Because my boyfriend didn’t show up with another black eye?” His plan to keep Leo out of trouble with the football team for boxing on Halloween had worked out perfectly. “I still owe you for that, by the way.”
“Did Leo not tell you what he did?”
I eyed him curiously. “No. What did he do?” When it came to Leo, there was no telling.
“He got me tickets to go see Jason Isbell and the 400…in Nashville. With the plane tickets, hotel, and everything.”
“Holy shit. How did he even know what band to buy tickets for?”
“He said he saw the sticker on the back window of my beater.” Levi shook his head. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.”
“He probably didn’t want to make a big deal of it.”
“I don’t say this often, but I was wrong about him. He’s a good guy.”
I nodded, smiling. “If it makes you feel any better, I had to admit the same after I eventually saw past his football god persona. And, yes, he’s the best.”
“Yeah, well, the gift was way over the top, and I probably should have refused it.” He shrugged helplessly. “But I didn’t.”
“Don’t feel bad. If I can drive around in an expensive Audi, then you can accept a trip to Nashville.”
“Speaking of Nashville…” He shot me a wicked grin. “How about a country music edition of This or That?”
I laughed. He wasn’t the only one who was glad I was back at work. I’d missed my easy friendship with Levi. “I lived in Kansas for eight years, so I know my country music.”
“Good, then you can go first.”
“Okay. George Strait or George Jones?”
“Jones, for sure. I mean, you can’t beat that classic honky-tonk sound, not to mention ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ is one of the greatest country songs of all time.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Yeah, but think of all of the George Strait songs that make you want to sing along. ‘Ocean Front Property.’ ‘Amarillo By Morning.’ ‘All My Ex’s Live in Texas.’ Strait is the George that makes you smile.”