Page 68 of Moonlight Hearts

I sighed, holding the door of the locker.“Hey, uh.Can I apologize?I think… I don’t know.Yesterday was an off day for me, and I don’t think I was very nice.Do you think we could start over?”

He gave me those wide eyes again, full of genuine surprise.“You’re apologizing to me.”

“Yeah.Because I wasn’t welcoming, you know.The Moonlight… Look, this isn’t just a place where you work.We’re family here.That’s the first thing I should’ve told you.”

“Explains why the staff bathroom is so clean.”

“Huh?”

He shook his head.“Forget it.I was being facetious.Someone apologizing will do that to me.Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why’re you apologizing?Or why do you want to start fresh, even?”

I gestured to the front of the diner.“Like I said, we’re family.It sucks being welcomed to the family by someone who’s grumpy and maybe subconsciously doesn’t want you here.Which, to be clear, that was me.But Soyer said he thought you and I would get along, and I think he’s finally starting to realize that the Moonlight is family too, so if he picked you and thinks you’ll fit in, he’s probably right about that.”

Thaeros opened his mouth and closed it, repeated that twice.“Amory, you are a strange person.Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Uh…”

“Never mind.We can start over, but keep the apology.I was trying to get a rise out of you yesterday, and I don’t want an apology for that.”He pulled on his shirt.“I had the uniform already and decided not to put it on when I came here.”

“O-okay?But you want to be here?”

He sighed, shrugged, and looked away.“Let’s just say I don’t want to be anywhere else.That good enough for you and your work family?”

I had a strange moment of clarity.Dwayne had given me this too.I’d not been Thaeros, but in essence, Dwayne had given me this exact same thing.And right now, I got to pay it forward.It made me feel nostalgic all over again, and also very…old?No.Adult, though.As if I knew something about life.Huh.

“Sure.You look good in the uniform.”

“Oh my fuck, stop that.I’m going to hang around for a little while longer in case you need to do some planning stuff I don’t know how to do.”

He walked off.I pulled out my phone.

Soyer, I managered.

Of course he texted right back.

You know grammar.Why are you not grammaring?

“You’re so silly,” I mumbled while I typed.

I think I just made friends with my co-manager.That’s a different skill.Better.It’s called managering.

Say that three times fast.

But: ??Awesome.You want to call it a night early?I’ll take you out to celebrate.

You’re not being a good boss person.A good boss person would send me out there to keep doing a good job.

Go out there, Amory.Do what you always do.

Yes, boss!

I put my phone in my apron, ready to get started.

Chapter Twenty-One