It was unsettling how easily Colton had disarmed him.
“Enjoy your breakfast.” I’m totally not running away. Zack made a beeline for the counter.
Jace appeared at his elbow. “Table six needs a check.”
“On it.” Zack grabbed the slip and headed in the opposite direction of Colton, but his traitorous eyes drifted toward the booth.
Colton was focused on his food, yet Zack would’ve sworn those pretty brown eyes were tracking hid every move.
Shrugging, he ran the check, cleared two tables, refilled the counter coffees, and absolutely did not look back toward Colton.
Liar. Okay, maybe he’d looked once. Twice? Okay, fine. Every ten seconds.
By the time he looped past the booth again, Colton was staring out the window like he’d gotten lost in his own thoughts.
“Top off?” Zack lifted the pot, waiting for an answer.
“Sure.” Colton watched him pour. “What time do you get off?”
The carafe hovered for half a second. Zack set it down carefully. Spilling hot coffee on a man he’d just met would have been a brand-new category of disaster, even by this morning’s standards.
“Three,” Zack said. “Why?”
“Second Scoops.” Colton stirred cream into his coffee. “Ice cream place two blocks over. You know it?”
“I’ve walked past it.” Which was technically true. He’d also stood outside the window a few times, staring at the display case like it might personally invite him in.
Then he’d walked away.
Most of his life he’d been overweight, and after working hard to shed most of it, Zack was determined not to gain it back.
“Care to join me after work?” Colton asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
Zack meant to say no. Instead, he nodded. What the heck? His body really needed to stop moving without his permission.
“Great. I’ll meet you here at three.”
“Three,” Zack repeated. Then he walked away, wondering if Colton was actually real or just a figment of his overworked brain. If he wasn’t real, Zack decided he would simply pretend otherwise. Therapy was expensive and he was flat broke.
Probably the worst coping strategy imaginable. But on the bright side, his possible hallucination was smoking-hot.
Chapter Two
Colton couldn’t believe the shy human was his mate.
As Zack walked away, Colton’s gaze zeroed in on the guy’s ass.
Nice.
From the kitchen pass, Axel barked for table six’s check, and Zack moved with a frazzled energy Colton found endearing. He took a slow drink of coffee, finally dragging his attention away from his mate’s backside.
By the time Zack dropped the check at Colton’s booth, the breakfast rush had thinned out.
“Three,” Zack said, tapping the edge of his order pad against the table. “If you stand me up, I will take it very personally and probably make up some dramatic story.”
Colton smirked. “Not my style.”
“I don’t know that.” Zack smiled, but there was a tightness to it.
