The bell above the diner door chimed as Autumn pushed it open, warmth spilling over them at once.
The smell of fried food, coffee, and something sweet wrapped around her like a blanket. The place was buzzing, but not loud. Laughter hummed in the background. Cutlery clinked. Someone fed coins into the jukebox near the wall.
“This place hasn’t changed at all,” Autumn said softly, looking around.
“I told you,” she said. “Best place in town.”
Caleb glanced around. Red leather seats. Old posters on the wall. Couples laughing. A bell chiming behind the counter.
“It feels… real,” he said.
“That’s because it is.” She slid into a booth by the window. Snow tapped gently against the glass, slow and lazy. “No fancy plates. No judgment.”
He sat across from her. “I like it already.”
The waitres
