He goes home tomorrow. I feel a knot twist in my belly when I think about never seeing him again. Then, there is the home and the life I’ve made for myself here in Florida. It might not be a sprawling five-bedroom, but I have a place to lay my head at night. Sure, times are tight, but I’m making it on my own.
By the time the lunch rush is over, my feet are begging me for a break. I’m just about to clock out when I hear a familiar sexy voice from behind me at the bar.
“You taking a break?” he asks.
Turning, I see Owen standing at the bar, looking as handsome as ever. “Yes. We just finished the lunch rush. I was going to grab something to eat.”
“Mind if I join you?”
“You hungry?” I ask him.
His eyes rake over my body. “Sure. Whatever you’re having is fine. Oh, and it’s on me.”
“I get a discount because I work here. It’s my treat this time,” I tell him.
“Layla,” he warns.
That makes my smile grow. “Go sit.” I point to a small corner booth where the staff eats out of the view of customers. “I’ll be right over.” He shakes his head but does as I ask and heads toward the small corner booth.
“Linda, how about a couple of burgers and a plate of fries?” I ask sweetly.
“Was that him?” she asks, nodding toward the bar where I was just talking with Owen.
“That’s him,” I confirm.
“He’s a looker.” She wags her eyebrows.
“Linda!” I pretend to scold her. “What would Ronnie say?”
“I’m married, not dead. Now, help me get this fixed up so you can have lunch with your man.”
“He’s not my man.”
“No? Sure looks that way to me.”
“What makes you say that?”
“It’s all in the eyes. He didn’t take his off you.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s mine.”
“Maybe not yet, but you want him to be.” I open my mouth to object, but she stops me. “Don’t try denying it. You and I are still going to have that chat.” She points at me before pulling down three plates.
“I’m going to grab us some drinks. I’ll be right back.” I rush to the bar area and make us both a glass of sweet tea, and drop it off at the booth. “Our food is almost ready,” I tell him, placing our glasses on the table.
“Hey.” Reaching out, he grabs my arm. “Come here.” He gives my arm a gentle tug so I’m leaning into him and presses his lips to mine. “I missed you.”
“You dropped me off this morning, and we spent the day together yesterday.”
He shrugs. “I want all your time, Lay.” He winks and releases me.
I stumble back to the kitchen on shaking legs. As soon as Linda sees me, a huge grin lights up her face. “He’s yours all right.” She grabs a serving tray and places two small plates, each holding a juicy burger and another filled with more than one order of fries. “Go on. You only get thirty minutes. You don’t want to keep your man waiting.”
I roll my eyes at her but don’t bother to object. For one, I know Linda, and I know it wouldn’t do me a bit of good. For two, I like the way it sounds, Owen being my man. I also like the way it makes me feel. Just the thought of all the things he said to me yesterday about us being together coming true, warms me from the inside out. I want him. I’m just afraid to take that leap.
“Here you go,” I say, placing our plates on the table. I slide into the booth and grab the bottle of ketchup, squirting some onto the side of the plate of fries. “I hope you like ketchup.” I grin at him, sliding a fry through the condiment and popping into my mouth.
“If I didn’t, I would now,” he says, his eyes heated as he watches me.
“Eat up, Riggins.”
He smiles, shaking his head before repeating my process with a fry.
“Have you thought anymore about my offer?”
“Owen, it’s been hours, and I’m working.”
“Don’t try to make me think that that beautiful mind of yours isn’t spinning over our circumstances.”
“Fine. Yes, I’ve thought about it. That’s all I’ve thought about.”
“Can I help?”
“Tell me this isn’t crazy. We barely know each other, Owen. I can’t just move in with you.”
He nods, wipes his mouth, and takes a drink of his tea before he replies. “It’s crazy,” he agrees. “It’s soon,” he agrees. “However, no one can tell you how you feel, Layla. I know that it’s a very short amount of time, but already you’ve become important to me. I’m a firm believer in when you know, you know. I know that you are the woman for me. Yes, it sounds crazy as fuck, but the feeling here—” He taps his chest, over his heart. “—that feeling is strong, and I know this is the magic.”
“Magic?”
He sighs and leans back in the booth. “This is going to sound even crazier. My dad claims that the love of a good woman is magic. He swears that when he first laid eyes on my mom, he felt what he likes to call the ‘magic.’ That having the right partner changes a person.”
“Do you believe that?” I ask softly.
“See, that’s the thing. I always used to think it was just something Dad spouted off to my brothers and me. That changed recently. First, when Royce met Sawyer. He was married before, and I could feel it in my gut she wasn’t right for him. Hell, we all tried to tell him, but he married her anyway. It ended in disaster, and with my brother's heart broken. It wasn’t until Sawyer came into his life that the pain and betrayal from his marriage left his eyes, and he started to live again. To really live. He stopped working sixteen hours a day, and he was the fun-loving guy we all remember before he married the she-devil.”
“He changed?”
He nods. “For the better. That was the first time I believed in the magic my dad always talks about.”
“And the second?”
“When I met you. I used to be just like Royce, working long hours, throwing all I am at my job. I keep to myself. I’m the quiet Riggins brother.” He smiles. “I’ve never wanted more with a woman, not until you limped into my life.” He winks, and I can’t help but smile. “I think we owe it to ourselves to see where this goes. I know you feel it, Lay. I can see it in your eyes, in the way your breathing changes when I’m close.”
I nod. “What if it doesn’t work out? What happens when I give up my steady job to take yours and follow you to Nashville, and you decide it’s not the magic, and the feeling is just a bad case of indigestion?”
He throws his head back in laughter. It’s a deep rich sound that I could listen to all day. His white teeth shine through his thick beard, and I wish I had a camera, or a cell phone I could use to take a picture of him. I want to remember him this way.
“That’s not going to happen. If it makes you feel better, we can draft a contract that ensures your job security.”
“I might suck at it.”
He nods. “You might at first, but you’re a fighter, Lay. I’ve seen you, and from what you’ve told me, you fought to be where you are today. I want to give you a better job, a safe place to live, and share my family with you. I want to give you all that I have to give. I just need you to take a leap of faith and trust the magic.”