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The hostess looks over her booking sheet, trailing her fingers through the names. “Ah, yes. Brad. We have you right here. It doesn’t look as though he’s arrived yet. Can I offer you a seat at the bar while you wait, or would you like to go straight to your table?”
“The table will be fine, thank you.”
“Sure thing.”
The hostess leads me through the restaurant and shows me to my table, and as she scurries off, I take my seat and gaze over the menu.
The waitress comes by, and I order a glass of water while I wait. As the time passes, I stop watching the door with anticipation and stare into my empty glass.
By the thirty minute mark, any remaining hope I had for tonight plummets out of existence. The waitress brings me a fresh water, and I let out a sigh as she places it down in front of me. “I’m embarrassing myself, aren’t I?” I ask. “I should leave and save my dignity.”
“Girl, I would have left twenty minutes ago. Any man who makes you wait thirty minutes on a first date is not a man worth waiting for.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I say, getting up. “Sorry for wasting your time. You could have been waiting on a decent table instead of watching me sulk for half an hour.”
“It’s fine, honey.”
She gives me a pitying smile before disappearing. Trying to save what’s left of my night, I make my way toward the exit of the restaurant when the door opens and a tall beast of a man strides in. His gaze shifts around the restaurant, quickly scanning the faces before finally landing directly on mine.
A forced smile cracks across his face as he approaches me. “Hey, Raleigh, right?”
My gaze shifts up and down his tall frame. There’s no denying that he’s hot. Almost perfect, actually, but I’m not impressed. “I take it you’re Brad?”
“Yeah. Shit. How long have you been here?” he questions, not giving me a chance to bail before stepping into me and bustling me back toward the table I just vacated.
“Long enough,” I tell him. “I’m out.”
“Don’t be stupid. Sit down. Have a drink,” he says, leaning back as though he’s got this in the bag. “Relax.”
Getting the feeling he’s the type to cause an embarrassing scene, I drop my ass back to the seat and swallow my pride. Who knows, maybe he might have some redeeming qualities buried in there somewhere. It’s unlikely, but would I be the kind-hearted person I’ve always claimed to be if I didn’t at least give him a chance? Perhaps he got a flat on the way. Maybe he spilled water down his pants and had to head home to change so he didn’t look like he’d pissed himself. There could be any number of excuses for why he’s late.
Brad clicks his fingers at the waitress. “Yo, baby. Hit me with a menu.”
The fuck? Is this guy for real?
The waitress comes back over and hands Brad a menu before turning her body to face me. She meets my eye and pulls a face, and I do what I can to swallow my laughter.
Brad scans over the menu, looking less than impressed with the options as he makes an attempt at small talk. “So, you’re Raleigh Stone, huh?” he asks, glancing up to show me the deceit in his eyes. “Is that any relation to Axel Stone from Demon’s Curse?”
Well, fuck. I should have known.
How could a man possibly be interested in me when he could use me to get to my brother instead?
“The one and only,” I say blandly, realizing within an instant that Madds was so off the mark with this one. There will be no dick tonight, no solid pounding up against the wall, no Earth-shattering orgasm to clear out the cobwebs.
This guy is a fucking joke.
“Oh, cool. So like, they just wrapped up their Australian tour, right? So that means they’re heading back to the States.”
“Yeah. Sure, I suppose.”
“So, I guess you see your brother a lot, then?” he questions, his brow raised. “Will he come see you now that he’s got a few weeks off? Like surely you’re his first stop on his way back to LA?”
I shrug my shoulders, and as I watch him closer, it occurs to me that this asshole is trying to figure out if he fucks me for the next few days, what his chances are at meeting Axel.
Holy fucking shit. “You know what, he doesn’t usually come out to see me mid-tour.”
“Oh.”
