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I can’t talk about this right now. And there’s really nothing to talk about.

Phoebe

OMG! She’s with him right now!

Dakota sent a string of exploding head emojis that made me roll my eyes and let out a little giggle. At the end of the day, it felt really nice to find out a hot guy was interested.

Even if the thought of doing something about it gave me anxiety.

Putting my phone on vibrate, I stuffed it down into the bottom of my bag so Rake wouldn’t be able to hear it vibrate as my friends continued bombarding me with texts.

My head whipped around just as the driver’s side door swung open. Rake’s eyes locked on mine, a small grin on his face, making him look even hotter.

He hopped up into the cab, closing the door behind him and sealing us in together. “Ready to roll?”

I returned his smile with one of my own. “Ready when you are.”

My stomach decided that was the perfect time to let out a growl, reminding me of the fact that I’d forgotten to eat lunch.

Rake’s warm chuckle filled the truck. “It’ gonna take a little bit for your tires to be replaced. Al’s is right across the street. Meal’s on me.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask you—” I started but cut the sentence off when he turned to look at me as he shifted the truck into gear.

“Something to know about me, gorgeous; I never do anything I don’t want to do. And what I want to do right now is feed you.”

My smile slowly widened at the man’s kindness, and for the first time in several days, I felt some of the negativity that had been following me around shake loose and fall away.

“Well, in that case, who am I to argue?”

THIRTEEN

IRIS

“Hey, beautiful girl,” Bea greeted with a smile and a warm kiss on the cheek as Rake and I walked into Al’s diner a short while later.

Everyone in town loved Bea. She was a staple in town as much as here at Al’s Diner. She didn’t hesitate to show love, but she also wouldn’t pause at putting your ass in its place if you stepped out of line.

Although, lately, she had this whole new softer side about her thanks to her new relationship with Dakota’s father and fellow Wraith, Ezra Riley. Turned out, she’d been carrying a torch for the man for nearly half her life, watching from a distance while he was married to Dakota’s mom. A nasty, abusive piece of work who never once deserved the wonderful family she had.

For years, Ezra had punished himself for not being a good enough father to his girls by living a half life. Once Dakota came back, they all mended fences, and without the guilt and shame hanging over his head, he was ready to start living again, and that meant going after the woman he’d been secretly pining for, even while trapped in a miserable marriage.

The two of them were finally together after all this time, and I’d never seen either of them look happier.

She glanced from me to Rake, her smile growing even wider. “Just the two of you? Table or booth?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rake answered. “Booth if you got one.”

She led us to one of the only empty booths in the diner, and I didn’t miss the way heads turned in our direction as we passed on the way to our booth.

He waited for me to slide into my side before moving in across from me, and as soon as we were seated, Bea handed us menus.

“I’ll give you guys a minute to look those over and be back to take your order.”

My stomach let out another groan as I scanned the laminated pages. My cheeks flushed brightly as I smiled across the table. “I didn’t realize I was so hungry.” I scanned the options again, struggling to make a choice. “I’m so hungry, I can’t decide what to pick.”

“Get whatever sounds good.”

“That’s the problem. It all sounds good.”