“Pick a booth and I’ll be out in a bit.” He shoved his hands back in his pockets and slipped through the swinging doors, looking back at her over his shoulder before he disappeared.
Maggie froze in place, her ears ringing, her cheek tingling. She raised a hand to cover where he’d kissed. That was a yes on the beard burn, then.
After Sean, she never thought she’d want to be with a dominant guy again. Luke had basically just steamrolled her into accepting breakfast. But as the delicious scents of waffles cooking and meat frying wafted out from the kitchen, the differences between the two stood out in sharp relief. Sean hadwanted to control her. Luke just wanted to take care of her. Could she let him?
With a shiver, she pulled herself together and took two rolls of silverware to the booth next to the kitchen door, where she and Katya usually took their breaks when they weren’t busy. She went over to the drink station, taking two mugs and some creamers back to the table. She’d seen Luke drink coffee, but she didn’t know how he took it.
Maggie busied herself with doctoring her coffee, hoping to get her racing heart to calm down. Luke wasn’t for her; she was still married, and he was her boss’s son. The line from her wedding rings had only just disappeared after all. Dating was out of the question, even if she was separated. Besides, who said she wouldn’t make another massive mistake and choose the wrong guy again?
By the time he came back through the swinging doors, she’d almost convinced herself she’d imagined the heat between them. She about died when he laid her plate in front of her, though. No wait, make thatplates. Plural.
A stack of waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream stood at one end, a huge pile of scrambled eggs filled the middle, and sizzling home fries sat at the other end. Then he placed two smaller plates, one of bacon and one of sausage, on the table.
“I forgot to ask if you wanted sausage or bacon, so I made both. You can take whichever you want and I’ll eat the other.”
Next came his own plate, which was filled almost exactly the same as hers, just without the fruit and whipped cream. He sat a pot of syrup down as well.
“Oh wow, Luke, I don’t know if I can eat all this.”
He slid into the booth across from her and put two sugars into his coffee. “I bet you can. You work hard and you need the energy.”
Tears pricked her eyes. Sean would have never been caught dead in the kitchen, but here Luke was, still wearing his apron, having cooked her a veritable feast. If she’d ordered this much food while they were out, Sean would have sneered and admonished her appetite, saying he didn’t want her to get any chubbier.
But Luke wanted her to eat. He wanted her to be strong.
God help her, but she could fall for this man so easily.
Aftertheirimpromptubreakfast,customers started trickling in and Maggie reluctantly returned to work. Luke didn’t even let her bus their table.
The Busy Bee was quiet that day. As Luke had predicted, she only had a few tables to check on. It wasn’t great for her tips, but it was nice to have a calm day with her head spinning over Luke. Maybe she could go out with him, despite the badge. But Maggie also knew she was very likely to get attached to someone who wasn’t sticking around.
But was that such a bad thing? As she weighed the pros and cons, one of her customers waved her over.
“Can I get you something else?”
The kid wore a Penn State hoodie that swamped him, and his textbook and laptop were open on the table next to his empty plate and silverware. “Is it okay if I leave these here while I go to the restroom?” His eyes darted around, nervous like a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.
“Of course, sweetie, no one will disturb them.” She’d asked already if he went to Penn State, but he’d answered that no, he was in the local community college. He hoped to transfer someday, that’s why he wore the sweatshirt.
“Thank you.” He rushed from the table, his head down.
Goodness, she hoped he wasn’t having a reaction to their food! Luke would feel terrible.
She refilled the waters for table six and put in an order for a mother and her child at table four. Chicken fingers and fries for the little one, a chef’s salad for Mom. The little girl asked for chocolate milk, and Maggie was happy to oblige.
Luke produced the food in record time, and Maggie carried it out to their table. She looked over, expecting to see the student back in his booth, but it was still empty. Frowning, she looked back at the restroom door. She couldn’t go in there, but Luke could.
After making sure her tables didn’t need anything else, she slipped through the swinging doors.
“Hey, Luke?”
“Yeah?” He looked up from scraping the griddle.
“One of the customers went into the men’s room and he’s not back out yet. He looked like he was going to be sick or something. Would you check on him?”
“Who was it?”
Still being new to town, Maggie didn’t know the kid’s name. She described him and peeked back through the door just to be sure he hadn’t returned yet. “He’s wearing a Penn State hoodie, but he says he’s not going there yet.”
