4. Caden
4
CADEN
It’s been a long fucking day, and I’m starving.
I worked late to close the gym, covering Marshall’s normal shift so he could leave town early. Normally, I don’t mind. He’s done it for me plenty of times. But that was before his little sister set up her landscaping camp right next door. If I’d known Ruby McCray was going to torture me with her nearby presence all week, I’d have been the one skipping town.
It doesn’t matter that she only came into the gym once to turn off the water and once to pick up Gram today. I was painfully aware of her presence my entire shift.
I hope to hell it won’t always be this way. That one day, I’ll be able to breathe the same air without wishing I could draw her into my arms and kiss the fucking daylights out of her. But since we’ve both established businesses in Daisy Hills, I don’t foresee that day coming too soon.
If ever.
“Hey Caden,” Kelsey, the hostess at Jax’s Bar & Grill greets. “Want a seat at the bar?”
“Actually, I’ll take a booth if you have one.”
“You got it.”
The place is only half full, but there’s a steady hum of conversation and music. I instantly scan the place, noting which tables are occupied and which are empty. Reminding myself of the exits. My quick, assessing gaze searching out any potential threat. A habit I suspect I’ll never be able to turn off.
I’m also painfully aware that Ruby McCray is not here.
Not that I expected her to be.
She’s at home, with Gram.
I should feel relieved.
Not restless.
“Can I grab you a beer?” Kelsey offers.
“Just a water tonight.”
“On call?” she guesses.
I nod, still not used to the small town life where everyone seems to know everyone’s business. Which is just one of the infinite reasons I can never let anything happen between Ruby and me. The entire fucking population would be talking about it by dawn. “Covering for Marshall,” I offer, so I don’t feel like a complete dick. I’m supposed to be personable to help grow the gym clientele.
“Heard he took off to Vegas.”
“You know more than I do,” I admit, offering the closest thing I can to a smile.
“Also heard he’s eloping in the Bahamas,” she adds with a carefree shrug.
“Unless you heard it from Candie, I kinda doubt that one. Guess we’ll find out Monday.”
Marshall was very tight-lipped about where he was headed off to this weekend. It could be about a woman, I guess. But I’ve known the guy for years. We’ve been in combat together. He’s never once just disappeared for a weekend to meet up with a woman. Then again, we’ve both been known to make our fair share of stupid decisions without giving the other one a chance to talk us out of it.
“Know what you want?” Kelsey asks, nodding at the menu.
“Not yet,” I answer, deciding I need something different from my usual. Being predictable is making me uncomfortable.
“I’ll be back with that water.”
“Thanks.”
I return my focus to the menu, wondering if anything else will replace my craving for my typical bacon cheeseburger. Jax makes one helluva burger, and I’m fucking ravenous. I know what I like, but it might be time to switch it up.
I’m debating between the mushroom Swiss burger and the heart attack burger when I hear the light jingle of bells overhead. My gaze flickers to the entrance. I spot Haley and Bryan Collins approach the hostess stand. The veterinarian has his arm protectively around his wife, and I’m mildly gut-punched with envy.
In another lifetime, that would be Ruby and me.
Not happening.
Kelsey leads the happy couple to a table near the window, and I return my attention to the menu.
The bells chime overhead, and I will myself to focus on the menu. Daisy Hills has proven to be one of the safest places I’ve ever lived or visited. But it’s the sound of familiar laughter that has me lifting my gaze this time.
Ruby.
She’s on her phone, oblivious to me lurking in a corner booth. Her carefree expression and unguarded smile makes her even sexier somehow. As if that were even fucking possible. Her curly blonde hair is half down, half up. All frizzy. What I wouldn’t give to wrap one of those curls around my finger and gently tug. Would Ruby laugh? Or would she get even?
“Did you decide?” The hostess’s voice startles me, and I silently curse.
“Mushroom Swiss burger. With a side salad.”
“You got it.”
Ruby ends the call and heads to the bar, and I fight the urge to join her. Every day since the first day I met her, I’ve been fighting the magnetic pull between us. The urge to be next to her no matter where we are. Never in my life has another woman had such an effect on me.
She’s off limits. That has to be the biggest reason I want her. It doesn’t stop me from watching Jax slide her a fruity pink cocktail.
I check my phone, hoping for some gym emergency. Or a fire call. At this point, I’d take a cat in a tree over the torture of watching her lips press against her neon green straw. If I wasn’t fucking starving, I’d abandon my order and get the hell out of here.
I’m just about to tell Kelsey to make my order to go when I notice the prick at the opposite end of the bar slip off his stool and beeline toward Ruby. I haven’t seen him in town before.
My entire body stiffens.
“Jax might make you pay for the menu if you rip it in half,” Kelsey says, her tone light and teasing as she follows my line of sight.
“Who is that guy?” I ask, suddenly not giving a shit about the rumors I might cause by acting like a jealous boyfriend.
“Not sure,” she admits, her smile falling. It’s possible she notices what I do. That the guy in his dark jeans, sports jacket, and smug expression seems out of place. “Haven’t seen him in here before.”
“He been here long?”
“An hour maybe?”
It takes all my willpower to stay in my seat as he sidles up to Ruby. I should be fucking glad someone else is about to hit on her. If she were dating someone else, maybe my brain—and my fucking dick—would get the message to move the fuck on.
Except when Ruby turns to look at the man trying to get her attention, her entire expression hardens. Her eyes narrow and she leans back, nearly tipping her barstool to avoid him encroaching in her space. As though the idea of him touching her is the most repulsive thing. My Spidey senses kick into overdrive. She knows him .
“Are you and Ruby?—”
I ignore Kelsey’s question—and the warning it should be driving home—and fly out of my booth.