She left the apartment and trudged toward the bus stop that was just a few yards away from her place. Her mind wasn’t really on work, though.
It was on “Tonya.”
And that hot guy Tonya knew. Was there any chance he’d be interested in her? Sure, she was a brat. But some Daddies like brats, she reminded herself.
Perhaps she’d see if Kendrick was one of those who did…
Chapter Eight
Kendrick didn’t want to be too obvious about his intentions, so he tried to appear as casual as possible while looking in the big windows of the diner.
The various glares from the fading sun, Christmas lights, and just the busyness of L.A. made it hard to see anything inside.
He’d just have to go on in and see if the waitress who’d captured his attention was working. If she wasn’t, he could force himself to eat something, even though the food there wasn’t what he was really craving.
That looked like what he’d have to do. Upon entering, he didn’t see the beautiful girl anywhere. The woman behind the counter was probably about sixty. A second later, another person came in through the door that presumably led to the kitchen. But it was a man of about forty-five or so.
Kendrick watched as the guy dropped off the plates he was carrying and then walked behind the counter to start chatting with the woman.
The table who’d just received the food held three guys, all of them wearing long-sleeved, bright-yellow shirts and tattered ball caps. Kendrick guessed they were part of some work crew.
Another table held an older couple who already had their food. Besides them, there was a younger couple at a table not too far away, and then one other occupied booth that had two middle-aged men sitting across from each other.
Through the rectangular open window that ran part of the wall behind the counter, showing the kitchen, Kendrick could see two cooks.
He laughed to himself.
Old habits died hard. He constantly scanned faces and counted people. Everywhere he went. Without fail. Years of being a cop had made him hypervigilant and ever watchful.
Kendrick considered just spinning around and going right back outside, but the waitress behind the counter noticed him, smiled, and called out, “Sit anywhere you’d like.”
Damn.
Offering her a little smile, he nodded and took a seat in a booth by one of the front windows. He grabbed one of the stained, laminated menus and looked it over, though he already knew nothing there sounded good.
He thought of himself as a pretty decent cook, so his standards were a bit high. Sure, sometimes he was in the mood for some really greasy food. It could hit the spot. But most of the time he wanted something better. He didn’t quite consider himself a food snob. But he borderlined it.
He was perusing the menu, searching for the lightest option so he’d still be hungry when he got home and could whip up something better, when the bell over the glass door rang. He looked up and saw… her.
She must have just been arriving at work.
Okay, he thought, this is getting better. Now I have a reason to eat this stuff.
For a moment, he thought about averting his eyes quickly to the menu. But then he thought better of it. Might as well makehis intentions known. He wasn’t the type to play games. No one had ever accused him of being subtle, either.
But…
Was he sure he wanted to pursue this woman? She was gorgeous. Something about her called to him. But he needed a Little.
Kendrick was a Daddy, after all. He wouldn’t be happy living his life any other way. A “vanilla” relationship just wasn’t in the cards for him. Wasn’t how he wanted to live his life.
Why then was he so drawn to this woman he didn’t even know? They’d met one time. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know her name.
Okay, so maybe she’s not the one for me, he thought. It still wouldn’t hurt to get to know her a bit. Maybe a good friendship would come out of it. She’s from Kentucky. You’re from Tennessee. Hillbillies have to stick together.
He laughed slightly at his own internal joke.
But he was also laughing at the notion that he was just there to pursue a friendship. He knew damn well that wasn’t his intention. This woman had a powerful hold on him. Maybe spending some more time in her presence would tell him why.
