Author's note: Thank you all for the wonderful feedback! I have a lot of things planned, and I can't wait to see what you think of them :-) Thanks again to xphilehb for the beta and all of her help!

The girls made their way through the small town, seeking out the diner that Lorelai had seen, which didn't prove to be too difficult.

Lorelai was reaching for the door handle when her daughter stopped her. "What? I thought you were the one dying a slow death."

Rory pointed inside where two men were arguing. "Maybe we shouldn't eat here."

"Why not? This should be interesting." She grinned at her daughter. "You're the one who wanted entertainment. What could be better than dinner theater?" She opened the door, letting the sounds of the argument drift out, and ushered Rory inside.

"I didn't mean the kind of entertainment where someone ends up in a body bag," Rory muttered.

"But that just makes it more fun," Lorelai answered, taking a seat at a table that offered them a good view of the fight.

"Taylor! For the last time, I said no! Do you need me to spell it out for you? N-O! No!" the one man hollered.

"We got here just in time!" Lorelai whispered.

"I'm still not sure if this was such a good idea," Rory replied. "This doesn't seem like the friendliest place."

"Party pooper."

"Luke, how many times do I have to tell you the importance of this town's history?" Taylor asked.

"Oh, Luke!" Lorelai called in a singsong voice. "We could really use some coffee over here."

"Mom!" Rory hissed.

Luke glared at the strange new woman before answering Taylor. "Apparently a thousand more times, Taylor." When Taylor opened his mouth to speak, Luke quickly continued. "Don't even think about it. My answer is still no. It'll always be no. Now, get the hell out of my diner, before this town has a new history involving murder!"

"One of these days, Luke, your actions are going to come back to haunt you," Taylor remarked, but he was already making his way out of the diner.

"Probably on the same day the men with the white coats come for half the people in this town," Luke answered him. He came over to Lorelai and Rory's table and poured them each some coffee.

"That was fun!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Do you do that often? Because I so need to be here for each and every one of them."

Luke ignored her. "Do you want anything besides coffee?"

"A pony!" she said excitedly. "My mother never let me have one. She was so mean."

"Maybe I should have been clearer. Do you want anything to eat? Or are you just here to be a pain in my ass?" He was really looking annoyed now.

Lorelai appeared to be in thought for a moment. "Hmm..."

"We'll have two cheeseburgers and fries," Rory quickly answered. Luke nodded at her before walking away to make their order. "What is your problem? Are you trying to get on the bad side of the angry diner owner?"

"I'm just teasing him," Lorelai said before taking a sip of her coffee. "Oh, my God!"

"What now?" Rory asked as if she was talking to a young child.

"This is the best coffee I have ever tasted, and we both know that I have tasted plenty of coffee. Starbucks should hire me as a consultant, because I have tasted so much. Seriously, there should be fireworks going off from the excellence of this coffee." Lorelai took another sip. "Heaven," she sighed.

"You exaggerate. You just haven't had any coffee since this morning. I believe that's the withdrawal speaking." Rory took a sip, her mother watching her expectantly. She had to admit, the coffee was amazing. "Wow."

Luke placed their food down in front of them. "Don't eat too fast. You'll choke," he grunted, turning to leave but Lorelai stopped him. He turned back to face her, and for the first time that evening, he noticed this woman's beautiful appearance. Her dark hair grazed her shoulders in gentle waves, and her smile seemed contagious. But her eyes were what reeled him in. They were the most amazing shade of blue that he'd ever seen. He allowed himself to hold her gaze for a second longer before shifting away awkwardly. "What do you want?" he asked, his tone much softer than it had been seconds earlier.

"Uhh..." Lorelai had momentarily lost her train of thought. "I could really use some more of your delicious coffee," she recovered quickly. "It's the best I've ever tasted, and believe me-"

Rory cut her off. "Piece of advice? I'd get her more coffee before she begins proclaiming her love for it again."

Luke smirked, "Got it." He returned seconds later to pour them both another cup. "Are you new in town, or are you just passing through?"

"We just moved here," Lorelai answered. "How did you know that we didn't already live here?"

"Small town," he replied.

"It seems like a really nice town," Rory supplied while munching on her burger.

"It is. Once you get passed all the nutcases," he added. Why was he still standing here talking to them? He never made small talk.

"Tell me about it," agreed Lorelai. "When we left to come here to the diner, we noticed that our neighbor was talking to her garden gnomes."

"Oh, so you just moved in next to Babbette, then?" Before Lorelai could question how he knew that, he reminded her, "Small town. Everyone knows everything about everyone else."

"Right. I'm going to have to get used to that." She held out her hand. "I'm Lorelai, by the way.

He shook her offered hand briefly. "Luke."

"I got that. Small town," she joked before turning to her daughter, "And this is my offspring-"

"Mom, don't be gross." Rory stopped her mother. "I'm Rory."

"Nice to meet you, Rory. I need to get back to work," he excused himself.

"He seems nice," Rory noted.

"He does..." Lorelai agreed softly. "And you thought that we shouldn't come, because he seemed all big and scary!" she added in a much more bubbly tone.

When they were finished eating, Lorelai went up to the counter to get their bill. Luke had his back turned to her, working on some paperwork. "Hey! You in the baseball hat!" she called to get his attention.

He jumped. "Jeez!" He faced her, and she smiled at him.

She reached into her purse in search of her wallet. "I just need the check, and you will be rid of this annoying woman. Well, at least for today."

Before he could stop himself, he found himself saying, "First time is on the house."

She stopped her search. "Really?"

'It never has been before,' he thought, but he answered her, "Yes."

She smiled at him even more brightly. "Thanks, Luke. This is the start of a beautiful friendship. I can feel it."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. It's a gut thing," she explained. "I'm never wrong. You may think that I'm annoying now, but just you wait, I'm going to grow on you."

"Like the way mold grows on bread?" he asked sarcastically, but his eyes were laughing.

"Make fun all you like." She gave him a small wave. "Bye, Luke. We'll see you around."

"Bye, Luke!" Rory echoed.

Luke watched them both as they were walking down the street, laughing at something. He caught himself grinning. There was just something about those two...

To be continued. Please review!