“And he didn’t show.” She still couldn’t believe it. “I haven’t heard a word from him since. Granted, he’s been pulling away for a while, but I figured he was just partying with his friends, celebrating being done with school, whatever. But this? Not a single word of explanation? I mean, what kind of person just blows you off like that?”

“A fuckstick”

“That’s exactly right. He’s a fucking fuckstick.” Anxiety rising, she swiveled around to check out the diner. “Does this place serve booze? I could go for another lemon drop. That was really good.”

“They don’t. But we can walk out that door and find all the booze we want.” He held up his hand, gesturing for the bill. “You have any idea what he’s doing? Maybe he got in an accident…?”

She let out a bitter laugh. “Unless he accidentally caught a flight to Hawaii with his high school girlfriend, then I don’t think so. For three days, I’ve been reaching out to his friends, his parents, everyone I could think of. And then, out of total desperation, I checked out her social media pages. Get this, they’re going to teach surfing. And the thing is, I can’t even be angry about the fact that he’s with her, because I’m too worried about my own future. I counted on opening this business, so I have no backup plan. Why would I? He was seriously in it all the way up until a few weeks ago. I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

He reached across the table, turning his hand over. She set her palm on top of his, and his fingers closed around her in a warm, solid grasp. “You’re going to shake things up.”

The waiter appeared, scanning their full plates. “Everything all right?”

“Yep. Everything’s great. We’ve just got somewhere to be.” Becks handed over his credit card, and the waiter took off. He shifted out of the booth and slid in next to her, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “It’s not over, you know.” He picked up her hand, pressing his thumb over her finger. The simple gesture made her realize she’d been mutilating her cuticle. “You can still open this business. Find another partner, get some investors. You don’t want a chickenshit for a business partner anyway.”

She could do that. She’d thought about it. It was just…

“You don’t want to do it?” he asked.

Warmth spread through her. She loved how easily he read her. “How do you do that? Read me so well?”

He brought the back of her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “It’s all right there. You can’t hide anything.”

“Maybe, but I have a feeling it’s your superpower.”

He shifted. “I don’t know about that.”