He turned back to the table and shook off Krista’s embrace. He met T’s eyes. His eyebrows shot up in question. Stone had fucked up again, all because he couldn’t get involved with her. And he couldn’t. His job wouldn’t allow an outsider to get too close. He had to keep her away from him, even if that meant being a jerk to her. His mind knew he had to stay away but his heart wanted to protect her and stand by her. After reading her file, he wanted to punch something or someone. And now he’d done the same thing everyone else in her life had done. He hung his head low.
“Are you okay?” Krista asked in a sugary tone that had Stone raising his head and glaring in her direction. She shifted her seat and glanced away. He looked over at T. T cocked up his brows again in question. “What are ya gonna do?”
Stone jumped up from his seat and stormed to the door without a word to the group. Everything in his head told him to “sit the hell back down and let her go, she’s not yours.” But his heart gave a big “Fuck you!” to his mind. All those smiles he had seen her give to others, he wanted them. Her laugh that he’d heard when she was joking with customers, he wanted that. The easiness she had when talking with the other waitresses, he wanted that. He wanted it all. He was done trying to stay away. He wanted her, needed to be with her. Fuck what was right!
He pushed through the door and made his way around the diner to the side. He saw her fumble in her purse and pull out her keys. She hadn’t noticed him as he walked over to her car. She dropped the keys and bent down to grab them. Stone stopped next to the passenger side door looking over to where she had disappeared. She popped back up and was just about to unlock the door when she saw Stone standing across from her, only her car separating them. His sudden appearance caught her off guard and she jumped back. She stared at him with wide eyes. She looked like a deer caught in headlights, startled and so damn cute. Her hair whipped into her face from the breeze and her small hand tucked it behind her ear. There was an innocence about Sadie that drew him in. The first time he walked into the diner, her body, all tits and ass was what caught his attention. It’s what caught every guy’s attention. But it was her face and those doe eyes that brought him back day after day. When he finally got to see her smile, he knew she had ruined him for any other girl. Thick full lips, smiling and sweet eyes, laughing, he was done. Now, he was left to wonder when he’d become such a fucking pussy.
“Ethan talk to you?” Stone asked, resting his forearms on the roof of her car.
“Yes.” She quivered.
“Ya understand now?” he prompted.
She nodded.
“Okay, good.” He looked off into the parking lot. He made no attempt to leave. He was unsure how to approach her. He was done pushing her away and scaring her. But this was new territory for him.
“So why are you leaving early? Your shift ends at five.” He turned back to Sadie. She shifted her head slightly and her eyes squinted. She seemed confused. Of course, she was, she had no idea that he knew her schedule. Stone chuckled to himself. She probably thought their encounters were coincidence but there was nothing coincidental about it, he knew her shifts. He would adjust his schedule just to make sure he went into the diner when she was working, just to see her. She had no clue how agitated he’d get on her days off, not being able to see her.
Her voice cracked when she began to speak. “Bernie needed me to come in early. I started at seven so I get to leave at two.” They stared at each other in silence. He knew from the look in her eyes she was ready to leave. She wanted to be away from him before he hurt her again.
“Well, I should let you get back to your date and I need to get to mine.” She unlocked her door and gripped the handle.
She had a date? What the fuck? Stone’s body went rigid. A possessive urge ran through his body, something he’d never felt for anyone but her. He had spent the last three weeks fighting everything inside him to stay away from her. Yet, every day she crept into his mind and he couldn’t stay away. That face, those eyes, and that warm sweet smile. He had told himself over and over that it would never work, their lives were too different. He couldn’t bring her into his world, she’d never understand. She didn’t belong with him. Stone grinded his teeth together and balled up his fists. None of that
