“You doing okay today, Caroline May?” Bob asks. Maybe he’s too old to be in the gossip loop.
I smile wide. “Of course. It’s a beautiful day,” I reply. Then I remember how wet and gross it is outside right now from the torrential downpour last night.
The smile he returns is sad. “You working by yourselfthis morning?”
Raising my brows, I nod. “Giving Mama a break this morning.” And Shirley, who is probably just now waking up in someone else’s bed. After a night filled with what I couldn’t bring myself to do once.
Caleb coughs from behind me in the kitchen. I’ve kept interaction with him to the bare, professional minimum. “Ketchup with your hash browns,” I say, setting the bottle in front of his plate. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
Bob winks at me, and I head over to a few of my other tables—all men, stopping in for an early breakfast before work. One tries to engage me in conversation. He asks me about my seashell bracelet and smiles too wide as he listens to my curt reply.
I know what hides behind that smile. The lies. The games. I cut him off. “If you need anything, else just let me know.”
His false grin falls. I walk away knowing I’ll never feel the same way about a man again. As if my thoughts alone could conjure him, Tahoe walks in, the bell jingling like a death sentence. A few of his teammates follow in behind him. His piercing blue-red gaze finds me immediately. The pain is etched in every feature—the guilt plainly visible.
Regardless, my pulse quickens and my whole body electrifies. “Take any seat,” I call over to them as I head back to the kitchen. As I pass Tahoe, I say, “You’re alive.Fantastic.”
I don’t look at him or wait for a response.
“I told you so,” Caleb says as he pushes a plate through the window. His cocky grin boils my blood.
“Fuck you, Caleb.” I grab the plate and spin on my heel.
Caleb doesn’t respond, but when I glance at him as I set the plate down in front of a customer, he’s wide-eyed and gaping at me. Maybe he won’t mess with me anymore. I should swear more often. I might be taken more seriously.
“What are you guys drinking?” I ask, standing in front of Tahoe’s table.
His friends laugh, and I’m reminded of the immature jerks I went to school with. “If drinks are funny, then last night was a real roar of a time,” I deadpan. “Water for the table then?” I meet their eyes one by one. “Or did you drink enough bay water last night, too?”
Their smiles vanish. I avoid looking at Tyler for fear of feeling anything except anger and misery. Leif replies, “Coffee for the table, and a plate of regret for him.” He tilts his head toward Tahoe.
“I’ll be back with your coffees and his plate of chicken shit in a minute. Anything else while I’m here?” They laugh at my joke. Well, Tahoe doesn’t, but I didn’t expect him to. Then again, I’m not sure what to expect from him.
“Fuck you guys. I’m outta here,” Tahoe growls,standing from the table and blowing through the diner and out the front door.
Aidan looks smug. “We made him come here,” he says.
“Why?”
“He said you broke up with him last night, and we didn’t believe him.”
Leif cackles. “He also didn’t think you were working this morning. You should have seen his face when he saw your bike outside.” Their booth roars with laughter. These huge, burly men with their deep baritone voices echo in the small space.
I place my hands on my hips, looking around at my tables to see if anyone is trying to get my attention. I’m okay for the moment. “Listen, he broke up with me,” I say, placing a hand on my chest, over my heart. I think of Caleb’s reaction to my cursing. Swallowing down the woman I used to be—the one who got burned. I have their attention, and I take full advantage of this moment. “It seems Tyler Holiday isn’t good at everything,” I say. “He doesn’t even know how to take a woman’s virginity.”
Their smiles fall, and Leif’s mouth hangs open. Aidan licks his lips. “Oh,” Leif says, shaking off the shock of my unfiltered words. The silence turns awkward, overtaking every particle of oxygen. “It all makes sense now,” he mutters, though I’m not sure he meant for me to hear.
“Maybe you boys can give him some pointers? I’ll be back in a jiff,” I say, scribbling the coffees down on theticket.
Their gazes are boring into my back, I’m sure of it. Caleb’s eyes look wary as I approach. “Don’t say a word,” I say, shaking my head. Leif exits the building and comes back in a minute or two later, a grim expression on his face.
As I’m pouring coffee in their mugs, Leif clears his throat. “Uh, can you spare a second to chat with him? He’s still outside. We all rode in together,” he explains.
I shake my head. “Even if I wanted to, I’m waiting by myself today.”
Aidan hops up. “Give me your apron. I have this. I’ve always wanted to live out a waitress fantasy.”
Leif quirks one bushy brow. “You mean fuck a waitress in uniform. Not be one, right?” he asks, then realizes I’m standing right here. “Not you, though. I’m not suggesting he wants to fuck you.” His face is horrified as he tries to talk around his blunder.
