“Excuse me, miss. I need to squeeze by you.”
I spin, facing a woman who is smiling awkwardly at me. “I’m sorry.” I shift to the side to let her pass, but my focus steers right back to the bikers. The female is holding the hand of a little girl who bounces excitedly next to her. Her partner, I assume, is tall with broad shoulders and he easily towers over each of them.
Okay. That’s good. Bad bikers wouldn’t have a cute family with them, right? It’s fine. Stay cool. I breathe and then muster the courage to walk by.
I set down the drinks at table five and then get out my notepad to take the newcomers orders. My heart is pounding, and my hands are getting clammy.
The little girl and woman, who is undeniably stunning with her jet-black hair, are facing my direction. Both laughing. Both seeming happy.
Okay. They seem innocent.
I can do this.
When I get to their table I smile at the woman and the little girl. It’s not until I get close enough that I notice her pregnant belly. “Hi. Welcome to Eric’s diner. Where we feed you quality food at a freakishly fast pace.” I roll my eyes mentally at the ridiculous tagline we’re all forced to say.
The three of them stare at me with empathetic looks.
Yeah, I hate my job.
The little girl giggles. “That’s funny.”
“Chloe,” the woman says sternly, embarrassed of the little blonde girl’s outburst and I can’t help but chuckle.
“What can I get you to drink.” I’ve avoided it too long and finally decide I need to fully glance over at the man sitting with them.
Holy hell.
With his sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes, he’s just as gorgeous as the woman he’s with. And then he smiles. Iswallow, quickly darting my eyes back to my notepad pretending to scribble something.
“Hi! You’re pretty,” Chloe, who looks like a perfect mixture of them both waves at me and my heart instantly warms.
“And so are you. I love your French braids.”
“Thanks! My auntie Angel did them. She’s really good at braiding hair. Probably because hers is so long.”
My smile grows bigger.
“Chloe. I think the nice lady would like to take our order now and then get back to work,” the beautiful woman says to her.
“Trust me, I’d much rather talk about braiding hair with you,” I mutter with a smile, but it drops to a frown when the man with the stunning eyes grunts then answers his phone.
“If you’ll excuse me ladies, I need to take this. Go ahead and order for me, pretty girl. You know what I like.” When he stands, he towers over us making me feel smaller than I already am. He lays a kiss to the woman’s forehead, and heat rises on my cheeks feeling like I’m interrupting a private moment. Whoever they are, they love each other. I can’t place it, but I feel like I’ve seen him before.
As he slips by, I cast another quick glance at his cut.
The Steel Valley Chains MC.
My heart leaps into my throat.
It’s them. The ones who saved me.
I turn my head back to the woman and she’s studying me with curiosity. She wears a shiny engagement ring on her left hand and she’s probably wondering why I’m staring at her fiancé.
“Is everything okay? Do you need to sit down?”
“Mommy. She looks really pale.”
When the world around me starts to spin, I don’t hesitate to slide into the booth where the handsome man recently vacated.
