“How?” she’d asked, wiping down the table.
Her mother smiled faintly but the memory lit up her eyes with a glow. “Because your father made my life steadier the second he walked into it.”
The words settled deep in her chest, where they rattled around as she grabbed another order from the bar kitchen.
Then came the harder part of the discussion, the part that still felt like a cramp in her stomach.
“Stop blaming yourself for what your ex did.”
Her mother had never spoken so plainly to her, not even at the time Michael left. She didn’t hold anything back when she blamed the man who lied and abandoned them.
Every time she thought about it, fresh tears stung her eyes. She’d spent so many years carrying humiliation alongside heartbreak. Kicking herself for not seeing it coming.
Now, setting a basket of piping hot fries on table nine, she couldn’t help but think it was time to let go of her past.
As she swung away from the table, she glanced toward the back. Vander sat playing poker with the usual crowd. Just seeing his handsome face sent a wave of affection through her whole body, and it felt stronger now that she knew her parents liked him.
One thing weighed on her, though. Nothing had happened since the tires or the groceries. The threat that brought Vander into her world seemed to have fizzled.
She trusted the Black Heart Security team. They were still investigating the incidents, and they must see enough reason for Vander to continue protecting her.
But what if the trail had gone cold?
Every day that passed without answers should have reassured her. Instead, a small selfish part of her worried that eventually Black Heart would decide she didn’t need protecting anymore.
That Vander would move on.
The thought bothered her far more than it should have.
She stopped beside a high-top table where a man perched on his stool, grinning at her with that hazy half-drunk expression she’d seen too many times to count. He was a local in his mid-forties who came in often enough she recognized him but not enough to know his name.
“There she is.”
She’d seen him sitting at the bar for the last hour and he’d moved to the table, probably hoping to continue being served when he was already nearing his limit.
He gave her a long once-over that made her feel like she needed a shower.
“What can I get you?” she asked evenly.
“Another beer.” His tongue darted out. “And maybe your number.”
She ignored that entirely and reached for the empty bottle. “I bet you’d like some fries with that.” The potatoes would help soak up some of the alcohol in his system.
“Sure, sweetheart. I’d likeyouwith a side of fries.” His hand landed on her hip.
Spine stiffening, she stepped out of reach. “Don’t.”
He lifted both hands with exaggerated innocence. “Relax.”
Summer hurried away, glancing in Vander’s direction. He looked up at her and gave her a cocky wink that usually sent flutters through her body, but the lingering feel of that man’s hand left her filled with irritation.
When she brought his beer, she made sure to stay out of reach, leaning in to set the bottle on the corner of the table. “Be back in a few with your fries.”
Before he could deliver a new creepy line, she swung around and hurried to another table.
Ten minutes later, she passed the same table carrying drinks, and his fingers brushed her ass.
The tray nearly tilted in her hands, and she stopped in her tracks. “I said stop touching me.”
