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“Wake up, mi amor. We are stopping at a diner to get something to eat. We know you didn’t get anything to eat for dinner, and that’s our fault for not getting you something sooner. Let’s head inside, sleepyhead. You fell asleep pretty quickly there. Though I guess that’s a good thing. Your body needs rest,” Mateo says.
Opening the door, I step out and shiver. Even with Luca’s jacket, I’m still cold. It must be super early in the morning for the temperature to have dropped this low. I look over at Luca and see he is in just a t-shirt.
I feel bad that I have his jacket. I should give it back to him. It’s my fault that I didn’t bring a jacket with me. He shouldn’t have to suffer. Heading over to Luca, I start to take the jacket off, and that’s when he sees me. Yet when I see him, his brow furrows in anger.
“You’d better not be thinking about giving that back to me, Pai. You need it more than I do. I can survive one night in the cold. Besides, it’s not like we will be out here forever. Just long enough to get inside the diner,”he signs with a serious face.
Ugh. I know it’s pointless to fight him. Sighing, I put the jacket back on and follow the other guys toward the restaurant. Heading inside, I look around and there are those red booth seats with the white stripes down the middle all around the walls of the building. There is a little low bar top with seating in the middle of the restaurant. I feel like this place is very quaint and cozy.
Kade takes my hand and leads me between him and Atlas to the booth that’s farthest away from the entrance. I’ve read about this in my books. It’s so they can see who comes in and out of the building.
Interesting. I don’t understand why they are doing so much to protect me. We are in a tiny diner in some po-dunk town. No one is going to be looking for me here or causing us any problems.
Once we are seated, a waitress, whose name tag says Devin, comes up to the table with some menus.
“Here are some menus. The daily special is pancakes and bacon, and coffee is free with every combo meal. I’ll be back to get your orders, but let me get your drink order,” she says.
We each give her our drink order, and she walks away. Looking over the menu, I decide I want some French toast, eggs, bacon, and gravy. I used to love dipping bacon in my gravy when I was little. I have no idea what the guys are getting, but it seems they have made up their minds. Their menus are already on the table, and they are conversing with each other, since I was in my own little world with my menu.
“After breakfast, we still have about two more hours before we hit the area that we are going to be getting our stuff from. Then from there, we have another hour before we get to hiking. You still cool with the plan, wallflower?” Atlas asks.
“Yep. As long as I’m with you guys, I’m good with whatever. I trust you to keep me safe, and to know what’s best,” I beam at them.
Before too long, Devin is back with our drinks, and she asks us for our orders. We relay them back to her and she says they will be out shortly. I sit back and watch the guys talk about something, but I’m not really paying attention.
“Where did you go in that brain of yours, Paisley Girl? You kind of blanked out and started staring off into space,” Kade whispers in my ear.
I shiver, heat coursing through my body. God, this feeling is something I’m not used to and have no idea how to cope with. I look up at Kade, and he smiles. All I want to do is kiss him right now, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that in front of the other three. Frustrated, I try to shake the feeling off, then turn to Kade.
“I was just thinking about us, and how we got here. How far I’ve come in such a short time and how much I’ve changed. It’s just been a short amount of time, and so much has happened. I can’t believe I’m here with you all.”
“Well, believe it. You have us, and we aren’t going anywhere. No matter what,” says Mateo as he grabs my hand from across the table. “All I know is since day one, you’ve intrigued me and I’ve wanted to know more. Since then, my feelings for you have grown more and more every day.”
I blush and try to move my hand away but he doesn’t let me.
“Stop being embarrassed. There is no need. Remember. Nothing you say or do will scare us away. We like you for you, and want to be with you because of that,” Mateo says.
I look between the guys, making sure that they all agree with him, and I see nothing but affection in their eyes. I really can’t detect any deception or lies. My heart warms.
“I’ve got your orders right here,” Devin says.
She passes out the food, and we eat in silence. Eating is actually relaxing. Besides Betty’s cooking, this is the best food I’ve had in forever.
“Mmmmmm,” I moan when I eat a piece of bacon dipped in gravy.
All the guys but Luca stop what they are doing and look at me.
“What?” I ask.
“You just moaned over food, and our brains went to a dirty place, is all,” Kade says.
Mateo gets Luca’s attention and tells him what just happened. Luca’s gaze lands on me, and his eyes are full of lust.
Wanting them to get back to eating, I quickly look away and go back to my food. I don’t want to be the center of attention right now. I just want to enjoy their company.
Needing to go to the restroom, I let the guys know, and Kade follows me back to the restrooms.
“Just in case,” he says.
