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I laughed. “If it happens, just blame it on the squeaky tiles,” I said, eyes crinkling around the corners with amusement.
My smile instantly faded when I saw her ‘cute customer’. The one who was supposedly perfect for me.
It was Hunter Connery.
After the party I worked at a couple of months ago, I never thought I’d see him again. I didn’t care, either, given his attitude toward me at the end of our chat… or at least that’s what I told myself whenever he popped into my mind over the last several weeks.
Now my palms were trembling and sweaty on the edge of the countertop, and my face was flushing with heat. I definitely cared.
“See?” Joanna whispered, nudging me. “Gorgeous, right?”
“Right,” I murmured.
Hunter seemed to feel our eyes on him, and he lifted his chin and stared right at us. I gulped, grabbed a cloth and pretended to wipe down the already-spotless countertop. Joanna ducked behind the pie case under the pretense of rearranging the desserts.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hunter still looking over at me. He wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I detected an air of danger around him all the same. His stiff demeanor and slightly-narrowed eyes betrayed a dark and fierce undercurrent flowing beneath his skin, sinful and seething.
For one mad moment, I considered going over to the booth and asking him if he remembered me. If he had some sort of problem with me.
I didn’t do it, of course. He was too scary with his impossibly-perfect face and intense gaze, equal parts shrewd and assessing. Instead I silently interrogated him in my mind as his eyes followed my every movement.
What are you doing here, Hunter? Why are you watching me like that? What dark little secrets are you hiding in that irritatingly-handsome head of yours?
We all had secrets.
A sudden flash in my mind startled me. A memory. Blood. A pitiful choked cry. Eyes filled with fear.
I blinked and turned away, slipping around to the other side of the counter, where Hunter couldn’t see me.
I stepped out onto the main floor a few minutes later to mop up a strawberry milkshake that a child had just knocked over. On the other side of the diner, Joanna was giggling and fawning as she handed a check to Hunter. A few seconds later, she gasped.
I whirled around to look over at her, concern pinching at my face. She hurried toward me, holding up a hundred dollar bill. “Laney, look!” she said, eyes alight with excitement. “This was my tip!”
Back at her table, Hunter was slipping his phone and wallet into his jacket pocket. Then he got up and headed over to the exit. I couldn’t help but notice a cruel smirk playing on his lips as he tipped his head toward me in a subtle nod.
“That’s awesome!” I said, turning my attention back to Joanna. “You should use it to spoil yourself later. Get some wine and nice chocolate.”
“Oh, I will. I still can’t believe he gave me so much,” she gushed. “He said he thinks I’m the best waitress in this place, and he can’t wait to come back!”
I shouldn’t have taken that as a dig made at me by Hunter, but I did. I couldn’t help it, and it felt like a cold knife in the gut.
“Well, you’re great. You deserve it,” I said, briefly turning my head to one side to finish wiping up the remnants of the milkshake. I could see Hunter outside the window, waiting to cross the street.
“Thanks, hon. You’re so sweet,” Joanna replied, leaning down to help me. She lowered her voice for a second. “Hey, are you okay?”
I turned back to her. “I’m fine. How come?”
“You had a funny look on your face for a second.” She glanced out the window in the same direction I’d just been looking in a moment ago. “Do you know him from somewhere?”
“Hm?”
“The guy who just gave me the huge tip,” she said. “You guys keep looking at each other.” She paused and leaned closer, slow smile spreading over her face. “I thought maybe you had a secret fling going on, or something like that.”
I swallowed hard and gritted my teeth. “No,” I said, lifting my chin high. “I don’t know him at all.”
* * *
My feet were blisteredand aching by the time I made it home at six.
