Chapter 4
CASSIDY
It’s been two days since he came into the diner, and I’ve been like a cat on hot bricks waiting for him to return.
There’s no doubt about it; he’s going to.
The hatred that rolled off him in heated waves told me everything I needed to know.
This man despises me with a burning passion, and while I should be terrified, my life experiences have overcompensated the warning signs of danger and the forbidden, and he just so happens to radiate both.
I’ve barely slept a wink for the past two nights, reliving the way his blue eyes darkened to the point of a midnight blue bordering on black as he sneered down at me.
The way he licked his lips and his eyes roamed over every inch of me made slickness gather between my legs in a welcome sensation of wantonness I am unaccustomed to.
I hate the vulnerable feeling washing over me when I consider the situation I’m in and the way I panic at all the changes I’ve endured the past few months, but I’m determined to keep out of his line of sight, even though my body craves him.
Am I really so damaged that I’m attracted to a man who loathes me?
He clearly believes I had something to do with Benjamin’s crimes, and that only adds to my belief that he’ll show up again; it’s just a matter of time.
He’ll want answers. They all do.
Answers I can’t give.
I run the cloth over the last of the tables and step back.
Finishing my section and leaving it tidy after the lunchtime rush has become a routine that I’m proud of.
Nancy, one of the other servers, is busy chatting to Reg, the owner, and I glance over at her section.
It’s covered in food debris that her last bunch of messy customers shared with the floor, and my fingers itch to correct it.
A need I’m unsure I’ll ever be able to break.
“Don’t even think about helping her,” Jolie says, taking the broom from my hand. “She’s shoving her tits in Reg’s face, hoping for a pay increase. She has time to clean her section.”
My eyebrows shoot up, and she continues. “She tries it at least once a week. Doesn’t even attempt to disguise the fact.”
If all you have to do is flirt to get a pay rise, maybe this is something I should try. I glance down at my ample chest. “Does it work?”
Jolie snorts. “Hell no, trust me, we’ve all tried at some point.”
I giggle. Since starting work at Reggie’s, Jolie has been the nicest to me. The single mother of four has taken me under her wing, and while I started out a nervous wreck, I’ve found the more I’m around people, the more confident I become.
“Here.” She shoves my denim jacket and purse into my chest. “Your shift finished”—she points toward the clock—“five minutes ago.”
A smile creeps over my face. “Thank you.”
She takes my apron from me and beams. “Go have a good evening, honey.”
I smile back at her as she playfully pushes me toward the door.
“You too,” I call, heading out the door. The sunshine hits me, warming me from the inside out, and I delight in the strength it brings, along with the sense of freedom my new life gives.
As I turn down the sidewalk toward the bus stop, a feeling of being watched sweeps over me, and for the first time in a while, I know I’m in danger.
It’s him.