“Mellow.”
I laugh softly.“I’m not thinking about him.”I lie.I can’t get him off my mind.But she doesn’t need to know that.
Marie gives me a look that says she absolutely does not believe me.“Mm-hm.”
I sigh.She rests her forearms on the edge of the car door.“He’s a good guy, Lucy.”
I glance toward the school entrance where Quinn disappears inside with the other kids.“So everyone keeps telling me.”Lindsey made sure to sing his praises the first time she saw me after learning of the encounter at the bar.
“Because it’s true.”She smiles.“All the Kings are cut from a different cloth.There isn’t a single one of them that is anything but pure alpha male.No bullshit, no games.What you see you get.”
“He’s also intense and apparently thinks sleeping on people’s porches is normal.”
That makes her laugh.“He is a fixer.If he sees a problem, he has to come up with a solution.”
“That might not be better.”
“Maybe not.”Her smile softens.“But I’ve known him a long time.He takes care of people.”
I think about that.About the tea.The porch.The quiet way he checked on Quinn before anything else.My stomach flutters and I immediately hate that it does.“I have to get to work,” I say, because that feels safer than saying anything real.
Marlaina pats the edge of the car door and steps back.“Just don’t write him off because he rides a motorcycle and growls like a bear.”
I laugh despite myself.“Noted.”I pull away from the curb before she can say anything else.
And spend the whole drive to the diner trying very hard not to hear her voice in my head.He’s a good guy.
The bell over the diner door jingles nonstop through the breakfast rush.
Coffee pours.
Orders fly.
Plates clatter.
I lose myself in the rhythm of it because that’s what I do best—move, smile, work, keep everything balanced.By ten-thirty, I’ve almost convinced myself the morning is normal.Then the bell over the door rings again.And Tucker walks in.My breath catches so fast it almost hurts.He’s not alone.Another man is with him—broad shouldered, rough looking, a patch on his cut and an easy grin that says he knows exactly who he is in every room he enters.
Tucker spots me immediately.
Of course he does.His gaze lands on me like a hand.Steady.Intent.And suddenly I am acutely aware of the fact that I’m wearing a fitted diner T-shirt, my hair is up, and I spent all morning pretending I didn’t wake up with his face on my mind.
Heat climbs into my cheeks.
I hate that too.The man with him notices.Naturally.He grins wider.Tucker gives him a look, and whatever silent conversation passes between them happens fast enough that I almost miss it completely.Then they head for a booth.Not the counter this time.A booth near the back where he can see the whole room.
I should not notice that.
And yet, I do.I grab two menus and walk over, forcing my face into something polite and normal.“Hi.”
Tucker’s eyes move over me slowly, not in a way that feels crude, just present.Like he’s taking in the fact that I’m here, upright, fine.“Hey.”
The other man smiles up at me.“You must be Lucy.”
I blink.Tucker doesn’t look surprised.Great.
I glance at him.“I’m guessing this is another one of yours?”
The man laughs.“I like her already.”
