Pulling her gloves off in preparation for running more food, she locked eyes with Landon. He had three mimosas balance in one hand, one in another. He was on his way from the bar to a table of women Kait remembered from the original LeClarks.
“Stalkers at Table 9,” she grinned at him.
He smiled back but shook his head. “They’re not coming in for me this time.”
Kait glanced over her shoulder at them and saw the familiar craning of necks. “Yeah, they are. But it’s okay. The croissants will keep them coming back when you’re gone.”
They were passing each other now, and he looked down at her with a glint in his eye. She thought he said, “Who says I’m going anywhere?”
But that didn’t make any sense. Of course he was leaving again. It didn’t matter how great the last couple of nights had been. He had a billion-dollar company to run.
Two hours later, they could officially declare their soft opening a success. The last customer had left, the last server had cashed out, the prepared food had been stored, and the restaurant was sparkling clean again.
“Great job everyone,” Gray said enthusiastically at their end-of-shift meeting. “We had the usual opening day kinks, but you all handled them. Get some rest so we can do even better tomorrow.”
After most of the staff had trickled out, Landon found Kaitlyn’s gaze, and he discreetly nodded toward the door.
Kaitlyn shook her head, “I’m doing the closing paperwork for Gray today because he has a meeting with the bank.”
“Should I stay?”
“No, you don’t have to. This will take me an hour or so, and then I can walk home. It’ll still be daylight.”
“Come over when you’re done,” Landon tilted her chin up in a gesture so intimate that even though it wasn’t a kiss, Gray would know just by looking at them what had happened between them.
“I will,” Kaitlyn promised and stepped away. She wasn’t quite ready for her big brother to know she was sleeping with Landon.
She did the close-of-shift paperwork in the small office. The computer was positioned on the desk against the far wall, and she had to sit with her back to the door. Kait was nearly done when, suddenly, the fine hair on the back of her neck prickled up and she had the distinct feeling someone was watching her.
She whirled around in the chair, hoping to see Landon, but the dark kitchen beyond the well-lit office was empty. Kait waited another moment, just in case, and then turned back to her computer. She flew through the last bit, hastily double-checking her figures only once instead of Gray’s method of triple-checking. It was unnerving that, when one was trying, there were a dozen different sounds to be heard in an empty restaurant. The ticking of the clock, the sighing of the cooling ovens, the bubble of heating water in the reservoir of the coffee maker.
I turned that coffee maker off myself, Kaitlyn thought suddenly. She had a distinct memory of reaching behind the machine and flipping the switch, of emptying the grounds and cleaning the basin.
Sharp talons of fear dug into her heart, and she whirled back around, clutching the edge of the desk. Why didn’t they keep a gun, or at least a bat? The best she could find was a pair of scissors, and not particularly sharp ones at that. Kaitlyn grabbed them anyway and dug for her phone. Of course it wasn’t in her purse but, rather, still in her LeClarks apron, hanging in the coat closet. Her breath hitched and she reached for the landline insurance required them to have.
Numbly, she dialed the first number that came to mind. While Landon’s line was still ringing, she heard the tell-tale chime of the bell over the door they’d never taken down. Barely able to breathe, Kait disconnected the call when it went to voicemail and dialed Gray’s number.
“Gray,” she gasped when he answered on the second ring. “Someone’s in here with me.”
“What do you mean?” Her brother’s voice was instantly alert. “Someone is in the restaurant?”
Kaitlyn nodded, the soft prowl of footsteps had crossed the dining room and was in the kitchen now.
“Kait,” Gray said urgently. “Are you still there?”
She nodded again, her heart in her throat, and then managed, “Yes, I’m still here.”
“I’m on my way. Stay on the phone.”
Kait was clutching the receiver so tightly it was hurting her hand. Was it heavy enough to hurt someone if she whacked them with it? What about the lamp? She cast her eyes about wildly for anything that could serve as a bludgeon. Back in New York, she hadn’t left her apartment without mace. She’d gotten too complacent here.
“No, wait,” Gray said, and she could tell he was jogging down the stairs. “Call 911, then call me right back.”
“No,” Kaitlyn whispered. She wasn’t letting go of this lifeline.
Suddenly, the kitchen lights flipped on, and Landon’s voice called, “Kait? Are you still here?”
Every bone in her body seemed to liquify. Kaitlyn sagged in the office chair, too weak for a moment even to tell Gray that everything was okay.
Landon appeared in the doorway. He took in her deathly pale face in an instant. “What happened?”
“Is that Landon?” Gray asked through the receiver.
Kaitlyn nodded. Landon crossed the small office and took the phone from her. “Is that you, Gray? What happened? She looks like she’s seen a ghost.”
Kait heard her brother explain, then Landon replaced the receiver and squatted in front of her. “Breathe, Kait. It’s just me.”
She took deep, noisy breaths that made her feel more lightheaded than stable.
“Not like that,” Landon said. “You’ll hyperventilate.” He stood up and rubbed her back, pushing her head down between her knees. “It’s okay. It’s just me.” He repeated it like a charm, and
