I go through the motions…pouring refills, taking orders, faking normal. But I feel his eyes on me the whole time, dragging over my body…checking me out. The diner’s rhythm usually calms me, but today every clang of a plate, every laugh, every detail grates my nerves. He pulls me out of myself, out of my comfort zone. And right now, I just want to be back in my bubble, living my comfortable small-town life.
At the counter, I lean against the sticky surface and stare at nothing while trying to remember to breathe. In the reflection of the window, I catch him watching me, and it takes me right back to that night… during the reception. I snuck outside for some fresh air, down at the barn behind the inn; my heart bruised and hurting, my dress bunched in my fists. He was there, hidden in the shadows. “You look like you could use a distraction,” he’d said, his voice low.
And I did… I let him kiss me rough and hungry, let him slide his hands up my thighs, bunch my dress around my hips, not giving a fuck if anyone saw because I needed to feel. Needed to forget. We barely made it back to my place, stumbling over each other, clothes everywhere, his large body heavy and hot, mouth greedy, hands rough. There was nothing sweet about it. Just sweat and need and the sting of his teeth on my skin, the sound of my name on his lips. He fucked me like it meant something, and for one night, it did. I fell asleep tangled up with him, feeling safe. But the next morning, I woke up alone.
No note.
No number.
Just a bruise on my hip and the lingering feel of his calloused hands on my skin. When I realized he was gone, I’d never felt so empty…or so unwanted. For weeks, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. How empty my bed felt. How broken I was. But for that one night, I was someone else. And now he’s here. Right fucking here, acting like nothing happened.
I blink hard, holding back my unexpected tears, trying to ground myself in the here and now…the hiss of the coffeemaker, Mrs. Ethan trying to tend to her twins, the familiar scent of bacon and maple syrup.
But every time I look up, there’s Dean. Making the air around me suffocating, like I’m drowning.
The breakfast rush starts to die down, and the morning sun now pours through the windows, painting everything gold. Dean’s still in his booth, nursing his coffee, looking like he’s got nowhere to go. I want to scream at him or crawl into his lap and ask why he left without saying goodbye.
I wipe down the counter for the tenth time, hands shaking. Gina comes up beside me and nudges my elbow. “Do you know that guy?” She grins mischievously.
I try to shrug it off. “Nope. Just another drifter.”
She snorts. “Yeah, sure. He’s got that ‘I’d wreck your life and make you thank him for it’ vibe.”
I blush, every word she just said hitting home. “Yeah. Something like that.”
Eventually, I have to take him the check. My heart’s in my throat as I cross the dining room, desperately trying to look like I don’t care.
“You need anything else?” I ask, trying to remain cool, distant, like my heart isn’t beating out of my chest.
He looks up and holds my gaze for a long second. “No. I’m good,” he says, and it feels like a challenge.
He pays and throws down a tip that’s way too generous. As he stands and heads for the door, I let myself watch him walk away. My skin prickles. The bell chimes above the door, and he’s gone.
My shoulders slump, and the tension begins melting away, but there’s no relief associated with it. It’s disappointment…want.
I stand there in the quiet diner; the sunlight shining across empty tables, breathing in his lingering scent…the way I did that morning after.
Maybe I’m crazy to think that one night with a stranger could mean something. Maybe I’m just so fucking lonely I’ll settle for anything that feels real.
But Dean is back in Crystal Falls, and nothing about my quiet, predictable life is ever going to be the same. And if I’m honest? I don’t know if I want it to.
Chapter 2
Dean
My roomat the Mountain View Inn smells like pine cleaner and cheap linen. There’s a weird stain on the dresser I’m not about to investigate, and the mattress has the bounce of a half-flat tire, but it’s fine. It’s all more than I deserve anyway.
I stare at the ceiling, hands laced behind my head, trying to ignore the throb in my shoulder…old injury, old memories. The sun’s barely up. I haven’t really slept since I rolled into town. I never do, not anymore.
Crystal Falls.
I swore I’d never come back to a town like this. It’s too small, too exposed, too… normal. The kind of place where everyone knows who you are, and no stranger goes unnoticed. It’s exactly why I should keep moving, but something has got me stuck here. Something soft and warm, with honey-blonde hair, a crooked little smile, and brown eyes that could undress me from across a fucking parking lot.
Aubrey.
I groan and rub my face. Months later, and she’s still in my head. What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve never had trouble moving on before, but Aubrey stuck…her taste, her voice, theway she was wet for me, clawing at my back, gasping my name like she was drowning, and I was her last breath.
Fuck.
