Prologue 2
Jo
Today was going to be rough. I could still feel last night's adventure between my legs and damn if it didn't make me want to find him again and go another round.
That never happened to me before.
I was a one-and-done kind of woman. Some would even call me aggressive, but hell, if men could have meaningless sex, then so could a woman.
So what if I drove into the city every few months and found random men to have a one-night stand with? That was my prerogative. It was better than having sex with the men in this town, who all wanted to settle down.
Not to mention I had known most of them since I was in diapers, and there wasn't a single one of them who sparked my interest.
Nope, I was the kind of woman who needed anonymity. I needed to set down the rules and have them followed to a T. Then after the deed was done, I could walk away without a single glance back.
For years, it worked well for me.
Until last night.
Well, more like this morning. Last night I was fine with walking out of the hotel room and driving home. It was this morning, when I woke up and still felt him between my legs because he fucked me so good, that everything changed.
Suddenly I wanted a second go-around just to see if the night wasn't a fluke, and the man had the stamina to do it again.
Damn him for being the best I ever had.
"Josephine!" My grandmother snapped her fingers in front of my face. Effectively pulling me out of my dirty thoughts and back to what I was supposed to be doing. Working for her. "What's with that stupid look on your face?"
I sneered back at her until she smiled at me. "That's more like it. I can't have you going soft on me, girly."
Bee––my grandmother––owned the Crazy Fox Diner where I worked simply to help her out. I didn't need the job. I made plenty of money working for the newspaper and from my blog but working at the diner meant I was privy to everyone's secrets. And for a person like me, those secrets were gold.
"I don't think anyone can describe me as soft, Grams." Nope, I was a hard-ass just like her. I gave as good as I got, and the people in this town were used to it. Expected it even. It was what made them love us and kept bringing them back to the diner day in and day out.
Or maybe it was just the simple fact that we were the only food establishment in our small town. Either way, I could set my watch by the people who came in here to eat. That was how predictable the people of Willow Creek had become.
"Did you need something, or do you just enjoy snapping your fingers in my face?"
"Fresh blood just walked in the door. I'm going to need you to get out there and check them out."
I rolled my eyes. I loved my grandmother dearly, but she was a bigger gossip than me. And she loved when people passed through town because it gave her a chance to find out everything she could about their lives.
"I thought you preferred the newbies. Why are you having me take them?"
Despite being in her eighties, my grandmother still worked the floor like she had when she first opened this place. She said it kept her young and in the loop.
"Because he's one fine silver fox and much too young for me."
And there it was. The reason she was passing the table off to me. My grandmother was constantly trying to set me up and marry me off. Too bad I had no intention of ever settling down.
"Fine, I'll take the table, but you owe me."
"This is literally your job."
I waved her off because she was right, but I wasn't about to tell her that.
Grabbing a pot of coffee, I walked out of the kitchen through the swinging doors and glanced around to see which table Grams was referring to.
I found it nestled in the corner in one of the few booths the diner housed. The man's back was to me as he faced the door.
Plastering a fake smile on my face, I weaved my way across the diner to the booth. "Can I start you off with some coffee?" I didn't bother to look at the man but instead focused on the cup.
"Son of a bitch," the man hissed.
My eyes shot up in an instant. I knew that voice. I was very much acquainted with that voice. But, no, it couldn't be.
"You!" he growled.
Shit, it absolutely was.
"Welcome to Willow Creek, darlin'. Can I get you some coffee?" My voice was like syrup. Both sugary and sweet and completely fake.
The man whose name I didn't bother to get the night before placed his hand over the cup. "Actually you can get me a different server."
Oh this was going to be fun. I put my hand on my hip and popped it out some. "Sorry to break your heart, but this is a small-town diner with only one server. Unless you would rather make my eighty-year-old grams wait on you."
Little did he know Grams waited on tables all the time, but what this man didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Before he could give me what I imagined was going to be a snide remark back, Leroy––the town realtor––slid into the booth opposite from the silver fox. "Maverick, hey. Sorry it took me so long. My daughter wouldn't stop talking on the phone."
Maverick. I rolled the name around on my tongue and decided it fit the man.
"Hey, Leroy. Would you like some coffee?" I smiled at the man who had to be about the same age as Maverick. But that was where the similarities ended. Maverick looked like a sexy Santa with his white hair and extremely defined physique.
Leroy, on the other hand, had a receding hairline and a little pudge around the middle.
"Of course I would." He moved the cup closer and continued to talk as I poured his coffee. "How's your grams doing today?"
"Oh you know. Spicy as ever. Just how she likes to be."
Leroy chuckled. "Of course she is, and you learned from the best."
I flipped my ponytail for some extra spice. "Don't I know it." I gave Leroy a dazzling smile. The one I used on patrons to keep those tips rolling in. "The usual for you?"
"Of course. Why mess with perfection?"
I snickered at his remark and waited as Leroy glanced at Maverick. "This is why I love coming here. Jo here knows my order and always serves me with a smile."
That sounded way dirtier than it should've, but I wanted to kiss Leroy when I saw the frown on Maverick's face.
I, of course, kept my smile firmly in place. "And for you?"
I was one hundred percent making this more uncomfortable than it needed to be, but that was just who I was as a person.
"I'll take the same."
I never brought over menus, so I guess it was hard for the man to pick anything else even if today's specials were written on the board when you walked in.
"You sure you don't want to see a menu? Maybe shake things up a bit." I wiggled my eyebrows at him.
Maverick certainly didn't appreciate my sense of humor. Not like he did last night. "No, I'm fine."
"Suit yourself." I walked away with more bounce in my step than usual.
I was whistling when I pushed through the swinging door and found Grams on the other side.
"What has you in such a good mood?" She looked at me skeptically and for good reason. I was never this happy to be working at the diner.
"You know Leroy always makes me smile." At least that was true. The older gentleman was corny enough that I laughed at his jokes.
"Is that who the nice gentleman was with? I wonder if that means he's moving into town."
Grams’ words stopped me short. Was Maverick moving into town? And if he was, did I want that?
Well, if he did, I absolutely wasn't having sex with him again.
No way, no how.
At least that was what I was going to tell myself.