Chapter 10
SUTTON
I probably could have made up an excuse to see her.
Say that I needed my car back, but that would be a lie.
I told her the truth, I don’t drive much, and she can keep it as long as she wants—even if her car is now in the best shape I’m sure it’s been in years.
At least I feel better knowing she’s safe, regardless of which car she’s driving.
Now that she’s here, I’m no longer worried about the car, the coffee delivery, or anything else. We might have only spent one night together—one perfect night before she ghosted me—but I know her. I’ve seen her let her guard down. I’ve seen those parts she’s afraid to show anyone else.
Standing in front of me now, I know this is one of those times.
One of those rare occasions when this impossibly stubborn and strong woman lets me, of all people, see through the gaps in her armor.
I see her stiff posture, and the circles under those beautiful, gray eyes that even her smoky makeup can’t hide.
I see the way she keeps flexing one hand at her side, and the tension in the muscles of her slender neck that I desperately wish I could put my lips on.
I’d give anything to breathe in her rain-kissed skin with its lingering hints of coffee and honey again.
The scent that’s so ingrained into my memory, I’ve spent the last two years trying to incorporate it into a dessert to put on the menu.
Clearly I need more friends, or hobbies, or something.
Somehow I bottle up the urge to lean closer and breathe her in.
Instead I reach out and cup her shoulder.
To my surprise, she doesn’t recoil or hit me.
In fact, her body relaxes and she leans into my touch.
That little gesture makes my heart fill with pride that I’ll store for another rainy day because I don’t know when she’ll ever let me get this close again.
I rub a small circle on her shoulder with the pad of my thumb. Her eyes flit to the spot where my hand is before she looks up at me.
“Hey.” I smile softly at her, but I don’t miss how shaky my voice is. “What’s wrong, Shadow?”
She closes her eyes and I see water pricking the corners of them when she scrunches her nose.
“Everything. It feels like every little fucking thing is wrong.” She keeps her eyes closed and takes deep breaths.
“What can I do?” I ask, wiping away a stray tear from her cheek.
She laughs through her nose. “You don’t happen to have a helicopter I can use to get to and from work, do you?”
“No.” I shake my head and click my tongue. “I’m afraid the restaurant industry hasn’t been that lucrative for me.”
Her eyes finally meet mine. “Got it. Porsche money, not helicopter money.”
“Yeah. Something like that.”
She nods and looks down again and I notice her teeth digging into her bottom lip.
“Is it really that bad with the pass closed?”
She runs the back of her hand across her eyes, smudging her makeup just enough to make her look like the most adorable raccoon. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Pretend like you care.”
My jaw tenses. I hate the fact that I don’t know what I did that’s made her resent me—resent my presence—for so long. Part of me wants to pry the answer out of her right now, but I know it isn’t the time. “I never pretend when it comes to you.”
She huffs an exasperated laugh before her stance relaxes again and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Her eyes drift to one of the walls of the restaurant, covered in old photos of my family.
She studies them for a moment and I take the opportunity to admire her profile again.
The way her bangs dance over her forehead and her gold, triangle earrings dangle against her dark hair and creamy skin.
I even love the way her nose scrunches when she’s focused.
“I just don’t get it.” Her words are practically a whisper. “Sometimes, it feels like none of this is fair.”
“The long drive starting to get to you?” I know it’s been rough on people that work in town. Some of my staff has been impacted too. We’ve had to adjust our schedules and shifts and we’ve made it work so far, but that doesn’t mean it’s been easy on anyone.
She looks at me out of the corner of her eye and gives me one short nod. Then her eyes go back to one of the photos on the wall.
I want to ask if she has someone who she can stay with in town, but I feel like that’s a bridge too far and I’m sure she’s already thought of all of this.
This already feels like she’s let me in more than I ever expected her too.
It feels like if I take one wrong step, she’ll slam that door shut again.
“You can keep my car longer if that helps.”
“I appreciate that,” she says and I relish in the hint of a smile that she directs at me. “But as nice as that is, it’s just a bandaid.”
“That’s not a no,” I reply, giving her a little smirk.
She rolls her eyes. “It is a very nice car and Felix is enjoying the spacious backseat.”
“Then do it for it him. Who would I be to deprive my favorite good boy of his comfy backseat?”
That little smile returns and my heart melts just a little more.
I’ve craved the warmth of her rare smile ever since my first night in town.
The first time I saw her, I couldn’t look away from the girl with the smile she’s afraid to show.
Two years later, that smile is even more beautiful because I know just how hard it is to earn one.
I let the silence linger too long and she looks back at the wall before shaking her head. I don’t move, I just follow her eyes. She’s looking at a picture of Slade and me with our grandma, Gloria, at the first restaurant in Denver.
“I can barely afford to work here—” her fraying, rattled voice brings my focus right back to her, “—much less live here. All I want is to be able to spend time in the place I love, the place that’s always been my home. I’m starting to wonder if it’s even worth it anymore.”
She brings her fist to her mouth before turning to me. “Like what’s the point of trying so hard if it’s never going to change anything? I’m never going to be able to afford to stay here. At what point do I just move and start over somewhere else?”
Fuck. My heart cracks seeing her like this.
And the thought of her leaving? No. Absolutely not.
Fuck it. I’m crossing that bridge.
“I have a spare apartment. It’s not much, but it’s yours if you want it.”
She looks up at me, a blank expression on her face.
“Not helicopter money, but two apartments?”
I rub the back of my neck. “We built the restaurant on the first floor, but didn’t need the second floor.
The original house was so big, we remodeled the upstairs into two apartments.
I live in the main one, but we built a studio apartment with its own entrance from the old stairs going to the backyard.
It was supposed to be for Slade, but he’s never stayed here.
He prefers the fancy hotel on the odd occasion he visits.
He’s kind of a diva that likes to be pampered. ”
Her blank expression doesn’t change. “You have a spare apartment and you want me to what—just take it?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. If you need a place to crash or you just need to avoid that long drive every now and then. Or hell, a place to go scream into a pillow after someone tries to place a coffee order for their entire office. I don’t care, I just thought you could use it if you want.”
Her blank expression begins to shift. Now I watch as a range of emotions play across her face. Doubt, contempt, maybe even anger.
Shit. This was definitely a bridge too far.
I step toward her, reaching for her shoulder again. “Please just say yes. I hate seeing you like this.”
This time, she recoils away from my touch. “There’s no fucking way I would ever spend a night here, Pretty Boy.”
She ducks under my outstretched arm and hurries toward the front door.
I think about chasing her down, but I stand here, frozen like an idiot. I already know I fucked up.
Every time I feel like I finally gain an inch with her, I lose a mile. Every time I think I can read her and she’s letting me in, she slams that door right in my face, leaving me wondering where I made the wrong move.
By the time I turn to say something, the creaky door is already closing behind her.