She just didn’t know it yet.
3
MAREN
Ilocked the front door behind me and took a deep breath of the morning air, trying to shake off the strange restlessness that had clung to me for days. It didn’t help, though. I still felt off, probably just from not sleeping enough since I hadn’t fully adjusted to working late-night shifts.
Or maybe it was the weather. Late spring was my favorite time of year. It was warm enough to make me feel antsy but not quite hot enough to slow me down. Unfortunately, I hadn’t spent much of today enjoying it since I needed to catch up on laundry.
Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I walked over to my car. The garage was empty, but I still parked in the driveway out of habit.
Opening the driver’s side door, my gaze slid to the curb across the street, where a black SUV with tinted windows was parked again, a few houses down from where I noticed it a couple of days ago. I had wondered if the Johnsons bought a new car. They were the only neighbors who parked on the street, but usually only in front of their own house. Another reason it surprised me was to see the SUV out there again.
“You’re being ridiculous,” I told myself under my breath as I climbed into my car. “Getting worked up over nothing.”
Riverstone was safe. Everyone knew the Hounds of Hellfire MC kept it that way. My parents never even bothered to lock the front door except at night when we were asleep.
Backing out of the driveway, my mind wandered back to my trip to the grocery store yesterday. I’d been grabbing cereal when someone stepped into the aisle behind me. Near enough that I’d shifted out of the way automatically, but he stayed too close for comfort.
When I’d finally looked up, the man moved away without glancing at me. Maybe I’d imagined how long he’d stood there because I was already jumpy.
I probably just needed a real vacation.
Especially since my parents were on one in Florida right now, sending me pictures of beaches and sunset dinners like they weren’t rubbing it in. I’d wanted to go with them, but I was still new at the diner, so requesting a week off was out of the question.
“I’m starting that vacation fund tonight,” I mumbled.
I clearly needed a break if I was jumping at shadows and SUVs that probably belonged to a neighbor.
By the time I pulled into the lot at Fuel & Flame, my nerves were mostly under control again. I clocked in and got straight to work, but every couple of minutes, my gaze drifted toward the front door.
After a few times, Susan noticed and poked me in the side. “Are you checking the door for customers or your big, broody biker boyfriend?”
“He’s not…I don’t—” I groaned and covered my face for a second, my cheeks going hot so fast it was embarrassing. “You can’t blame me for hoping he shows up again, but he’s not myboyfriend. I barely know the guy. He’s only come in…um…a few times.”
“As if you don’t know exactly how many nights in a row he’s come in here to see you.” Susan snorted as she filled a coffee carafe. “And when he shows up again soon, it’s not going to be because of the burgers.”
I pretended to be very interested in rearranging the salt shakers. I hoped she was right because each time Kevlar walked through that door, my body reacted before my brain caught up. My breath would catch in my throat, and a warm flush would spread across my skin.
“Can you really blame me?” I finally asked.
Susan wagged her brows. “Not even a little bit.”
I wasn’t surprised she agreed. My coworker was about twenty years older than me, which actually put her closer to his age than I was. He looked mid-thirties, and she’d mentioned turning forty soon. And he was undeniably hot.
Six-foot-five and broad everywhere, with a chest and shoulders that strained the seams of his shirts. His arms were thick with muscle and inked in black, with full sleeves of tattoos on both.
His brown hair was kept short, and his jaw was clean-shaven. And his midnight-blue eyes were always scanning, like he was aware of anything in the diner that could be a possible threat. Which was probably true since he was a Hound.
His leather vest was impossible to miss. Growing up in Riverstone, I’d seen plenty of members of their club around town over the years. But Kevlar hadn’t been one of them. I definitely wouldn’t have forgotten him.
Intense didn’t even begin to cover Kevlar. Just like my reaction to him, something I’d never experienced before.
The bell over the door chimed again, and my breath caught before I even turned.
Kevlar stepped inside, and his gaze skimmed the room before landing on me and making my pulse skip. Then he strode straight over to the same booth in my section he’d sat at each time he’d come in.
I grabbed a menu even though he never needed one and headed over, hoping my cheeks weren’t as pink as they felt. “Hey. Your usual?”
