“So, let me get this straight. You can screw Amie, who has been seeing you and half the town for years, but I can’t date Savannah?” Isaac asks, unable to mask his annoyance.
“Yes, and do you know why?” Jameson replies, giving Isaac his full attention. “Because what Amie and I do is just that. Sex. We fuck and go about our lives. But you and Savannah are like gasoline and water. You don’t mix. Every time she comes back, you jump in with both feet, only to find out she’s not really in the same fucking pool as you. She uses you, but you refuse to see it.”
Walker and I stare at each other from across the table, both of us afraid to take a breath. Jameson’s not wrong. At all. The problem is Isaac is too obsessed with Savannah to see how she treats him. The last time they dated was for about four months, and she broke it off with him when something newer and shinier came along. We hate it. We hate seeing the sadness in his eyes, because Isaac is a good man and doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. All he wants in life is to belong, to have someone to love. Has since his dad walked out on them when he was a kid. This thing with Savannah is like a merry-go-round ride that you can’t get off. Round and round they go, until the ride breaks down again.
“Well, I guess you’re entitled to your opinion,” Isaac finally replies curtly.
“So, basically, what I’m getting out of this,” Walker starts, looking for a redirect, “is Jasper is the only one not getting laid.”
“Leave me alone. I’m not a project.”
“All I’m saying is you could be, you know,” Walker states, shoveling fries into his mouth.
“Ahhh, yes, the woman across the street,” Isaac teases, smirking at me.
“Shut up, assholes,” I grumble. “That shit isn’t happening. I’m not into her. Period.”
“She asked about you earlier,” Walker adds.
My ears perk up and my eyes automatically move to the windows at the front of the bar. “She did?”
All three of my friends—or should I say former friends after this little stunt—are sitting there smiling at me.
Assholes.
I walked right into that one.
***
I’ve been done with work for an hour, but I can’t seem to make myself leave. Not because I don’t trust Ross, the dinner shift chef, who works three nights a week for me. Because when I was near the windows earlier, I noticed lights still on in the bakery, even though she was long closed.
I need to stay away.
So, I busied myself in my office and tried not to be a shadow on the wall in the kitchen. I really do trust Ross. In fact, he’s the only one I feel comfortable enough to turn over my grill to a few nights a week. In the beginning, I didn’t trust anyone. I worked them all, seven days a week, lunch and dinner. I thrived on it, really, but the guys wouldn’t let me burn myself out. We hired Ross after the first year to work three nights a week, giving me the small reprieve they insisted I needed. It does hold merit, though I’ll never tell them that.
Twice since he arrived, I casually strolled up to the front of the restaurant under the guise of checking things out. You know, making sure the servers were doing their jobs and the hostess was ready. Things I did not need to check on. Our staff is top-notch. Yet, while I was up there, I was able to see the small bakery across the street.
The lights had been on in her kitchen.
For the third time, I move from my office, this time heading for the bar. At least over there, the hostess won’t wonder why the hell I’m up front again, and since Walker doesn’t work on Monday nights, I won’t have to worry about him giving me shit for spying on our neighbor. As I approach the window, I peer through the gap of a beer sign and find the business across the street the same as I left it thirty minutes ago. Lights are on in the kitchen.
I make a rash decision and return to the kitchen. “Hey, you mind if I use a corner of that grill?” I ask Ross as I wash my hands.
“Not at all, boss,” he replies, making sure I have enough room to work.
I press two fresh patties and drop them on the grill top, seasoning them with my own special blend. I drop two big handfuls of cut fries into the grease and grab my spatula. As the hamburgers cook, I add four strips of applewood bacon to the grill and grab an avocado. I cut it easily, securing the unused strips in a container and toss it in the fridge.
Once I flip the patties, I prepare the bun. First, it’s toasted, then the top half smothered in mayo. Grabbing two slices of aged cheddar, I lay them on the meat to melt, while placing the slivers of avocado on the top bun with the mayo. When the patties are cooked, I place two slices of bacon on top of each and place them on a bun, before adding the top. I have two perfect Strip and Go Naked Burgers.
Don’t think about how much you’d like to strip and go naked with a certain woman…
I secure each hamburger with a healthy amount of fries into a Styrofoam container, clean up my mess, and grab my keys. Once my office light is off, I holler, “See you later,” to Ross and head out the back door.
The temperature is brisk and bites my cheeks as I make my way to my car and fire it up. Of course she starts right away, growling with horsepower and ready to run. Unfortunately, she’s not going to stretch her legs yet. Instead, I drive from the lot and to the street out front, pulling to a stop in front of Sugar Rush.
“What are you doing?” I whisper to no one.
I should pull away and head home, but that’s not what I do. Pulling my keys from the ignition, I hop out of my car, two burgers in hand. I consider knocking on the back door, but I noticed it’s not lit the best back there and don’t want to scare her. With that in mind, I raise my hand and tap my fist on the glass entrance loud enough to catch her attention.
It only takes a second for her to peek around the doorway between the kitchen and front room, a look of question on her beautiful face. I hold up my hand in greeting, and a smile quickly follows. Lyndee is hesitant but makes her way to the front door and releases the lock. “We have to stop meeting like this,” she greets, offering me a small grin, her delicate hand holding the handle.
“Yeah, sorry about stopping by unannounced, but I saw the lights and I…” My words trail off, whatever thought I was about to say getting jumbled in my brain. All I see is the way the light reflects off her hair like a halo. Her brown eyes are bright, almost like chocolate embers of fire. And her face, there’s a smudge of flour across her cheek and nose I want to wipe off.
With my tongue.
She looks at me expectantly, waiting on me to pull my head out of my ass and finish my sentence. This is when I should definitely walk away. My mind is all over the damn place, just like it’s been since I found out who was opening this place one week ago today. Hand her the food and go. It’s the only way to save my sanity.
But that’s not what happens. Words I shouldn’t say come out of my mouth.
“I brought dinner. May I come in?”
Chapter Ten
Lyndee
I step aside, allowing Jasper to slip by me. I catch a hint of his sandalwood scent mixed with grease and cheese, which surprisingly, I seem to like. Of course, the smell could also be coming from the Styrofoam containers in his hand, and considering the way my stomach responds noisily, I’d say it likes the aroma too.