50. Cohen

As we drove to the restaurant, she kept one of her hands in mine and the other on her phone. I listened as she spoke to her grandpa. She clearly adored him. And judging by the way she smiled at me as she got off the phone, she adored me too.

"We're good to go," she said.

I grinned at her, happy she was happy. "Anything I should know before I meet him officially?"

She chuckled. "Well, he's very protective of me."

"Why am I more nervous to meet him than your dad?" I asked.

"Because he's the one you need to impress."

I lifted her hand, drawing her knuckles to my lips. "I'll be on my best behavior."

"Just be yourself. He's going to love you."

Did that mean she already did?

When we got to the diner, she showed me where to park around the back, where the servers and cooks always left their cars. She got out and looked around, making sure there wasn't anyone from the school there before hurrying me inside.

I didn't like being her secret. Keeping our love on the down-low, but I reminded myself it wouldn't be forever. I had to believe my case would be good enough to change the rules about staff dating parents. I wouldn't let myself worry otherwise.

Inside the building, I could hear the sounds of the kitchen, but she brought me to a small back room with a table inside. It wasn't the kind of dining tables from the main restaurant, more like those white plastic ones you saw at craft fairs and business meetings. Two of them were pressed together, forming the place I figured we would eat.

"Where are your grandparents?" I asked.

Just then, the door cracked open, and the old man who always sat three booths into the diner came in, holding his wife's hand. They were a cute couple—him with his plaid, pearl-snapped shirt, her with curled white hair and a string of pearls around her neck. When she smiled at me, I could see where Birdie got her grin.

"You must be Cohen," Chester said.

Birdie held on to my arm. "This is him." Her voice radiated pride, and I realized I wasn't her secret. Not where it really mattered.

I extended my hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, sir."

Chester shook my hand. "It's Chester to you." He turned toward his wife. "This is my bride, Karen." The love in his eyes was clear, just as clear as it was between Gayle and Chris.

I liked them both instantly. "It's nice to meet you, Karen," I said.

She took my hand in both of hers. "Don't let us scare you away," she whispered.

Chester batted his hand at her and said, "Let's sit. I'm having Betsy bring back burger baskets. I hope that's okay..." He raised his eyebrows. "Unless you're a vegetarian."

"No—Chester," I said, and at his smile, I had a feeling I'd passed some sort of test. That was good because I could tell this mattered to Birdie, which meant it really mattered to me.

"Good," he said. "And how are you around the house?"

"As in cleaning?" I asked.

"Among other things," he said, despite looks from his wife and granddaughter. "Can you fix a pipe? Replace a doorknob? Change the wax seal on a toilet?"

"I used to work in construction," I said simply. "If I don't know how to do something, I'm pretty good at figuring it out."

Even Chester looked impressed at that answer.

"Good," Karen said. "Now can the interrogation stop?"

Chester gave me a wicked grin. "It's only just begun."

Although Chester joked about an interrogation, the next hour was filled with laughter. We talked about business, and he gave me tips on the food service and employee retention side of my business. I referred him to Jonas since Chester's accountant was retiring.

Karen asked me about my son. She and Chester both remembered us coming into the restaurant for milkshakes.

"He was the most adorable boy," Karen said. "With those pretty brown curls and big brown eyes."

I grinned. "He was always the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I don't know how he came from me."

She chuckled, her eyes shining. "Our children have a way of surprising us, don't they?"

"Always," I agreed.

Under the table, Birdie gripped my hand, and I knew without a doubt everything was going just as it should.