Being a waitress wasn’t easy, but Sandy didn’t mind hard work, and the people she worked with made it fun. Rico and Jeannie were like a second family to her. Carmella was awesome. The other servers, busboys, kitchen staff—Sandy got along well with all of them.
Except Marietta. Marietta was both an annoying twat and a lousy waitress.
She’d been shooting Sandy death glares all evening, probably because most of the people who’d come into Franco’s tonight had asked to be seated in her section. Marietta probably would have been fine with it, too, because the less she had to do, the better. But what she liked even more than not working was flirting with hot, sexy men, and Matt’s crew was like the mother lode of hot, sexy men.
What Marietta didn’t understand was that Sandy wasn’t competing for their attention or their business. Sure, she liked the guys, and they tipped very well, but that applied to most of her customers.
Bonus: Sandy hadn’t gotten her freak on with any of her other customers, only him.
Double bonus: She didn’t want to.
Franco’s business came primarily from locals, and none of them had ever incited the kind of chronic lust one diamond-studded, tattooed bad boy did on a regular basis.
Heff was an exception. Simply being around him sent tingles ghosting over her skin, as if there were some kind of supercharged energy field around him. It was doubly hard to ignore when she felt his gaze on her as she moved throughout the dining room. She just had to keep reminding herself that it was a one-time thing, and the only reason she’d done it was because she hadn’t planned on sticking around.
But you are sticking around, so you could do it again.
No! Once had been folly. Twice would be madness.
And judging by the way Marietta had cozied up to him earlier, he probably had his hands full. The thought shouldn’t have been as disheartening as it was.
Thankfully, her shift was drawing to a close. Her last table had paid their bill. Her tables were clean and reset. She hung her apron up on the peg in the kitchen and said her good nights, gratefully accepting the to-go box Jeannie held out to her. It was so much easier—and affordable with her employee discount—than making a full meal when she got home. She wouldn’t have bothered for herself, but now, she had Kevin to think about, and that boy could eat.
The air was thick and sultry as she slipped out into the midsummer night. There wasn’t even a slight breeze to cool things down, which meant the house would be hot and stuffy and she’d be cranking up the window units in the bedrooms. More electricity meant higher bills. She was fine now, but if she had to start paying day-care costs in addition to Mrs. Mitchell’s hourly sitting fees, she’d be cutting it close. Plus, there was the extra fuel to consider because the nearest special needs center was a good twenty miles away. And that was only if they accepted Kevin into their program.
“Hey.”
Sandy jumped as Heff’s dark figure stepped out of the shadows, her hand flying to her chest. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Her heart pounded furiously beneath her palm and not just because he’d startled her. This man!
“What do you want?” She continued to her car, acutely aware of him trailing behind her, though he made no noise whatsoever.
“I wanted to thank you.”
“For what?”
“For making those calls and pushing the paperwork through.”
“Ah. No problem.”
She pulled out her keys and pressed the unlock button. When she reached her car, she opened the door and leaned in to put her purse and takeout bag in the passenger seat. She felt his gaze on her ass, and damn if it didn’t make her heart beat even faster. He had done some amazing things to it ...
She momentarily closed her eyes and prayed for strength. “Is there something else?” she asked, injecting what she hoped was enough mild annoyance for him to get the message. Unfortunately, it came out sounding more breathless than anything.
When he didn’t answer right away, she made the mistake of turning around and looking up into his face. Half of it was still cast in shadow, but the half that wasn’t was clearly visible in the lot lights. Dark, intense eyes pulled at her like a tractor beam, that damn diamond stud catching the light.
He was closer now too. Too close. The sultry summer air was nothing compared to the heat radiating off his body. He smelled good too.
“You were going to leave town, weren’t you?” he asked suddenly, surprising her, making it sound like an accusation.
“Yes. So?”
His eyes grew more intense, not less. “But you’ve decided to stick around.”
His voice was low, sensual, sending shivers down her spine despite the cloying heat of the evening. Her nipples pebbled beneath the Franco’s polo, teaming up with other sensitive areas demanding a repeat performance.
She shrugged. “Things change. Again, I ask, so?”
He arched an eyebrow—even that looked sexy—and moved in closer. Not close enough to touch, but close enough to surround her with his presence and potent male pheromones and send those supercharged ions sparking and crackling to life between them. Temptation personified—that was what he was. Six-plus feet of lean, hard male with a proven proficiency providing cataclysmic orgasms. And she so wanted another one of those.
He didn’t have to speak the words to hear what he was saying.
“No. We can’t. I can’t.”
A slight tilt of his head sent locks of his overlong hair draping over his face. Hair that was long enough for her to tangle her fingers in as he performed magic with his mouth between her thighs.
“Why not?”
She blew out a breath and forced herself to step back, hating just how shaky her legs were. “Because ... I can’t. I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.”
She got in the car and drove away before she changed her mind.
She ignored the wave of disappointment that washed over her, followed by the dreaded sense of FOMO—fear of missing out. Then, she spent the rest of the ten-minute drive arguing with herself.
He’s only interested in sex.
Yes, but it was really great sex.
Someone will find out.
So? You’ve been the subject of neighborhood gossip most of your life.
You have Kevin to think about now.
Yes, and I’ve already given up my dream job and my place in the city. Do I have to give up everything because my father’s a worthless, self-serving prick?
Her heartbeat had returned to normal by the time she pulled into her driveway, but the lingering ache of unsatisfied arousal remained coiled tightly in her core.
She’d have to do something about that later. Until then, however, she took a few deep breaths and forced her thoughts back into those more suitable for a big sister having dinner with a brother half her age.