Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126602 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
His arm around my body tensed. I knew that was him hearing me again.
And since he said no more, that thought was only confirmed, and knowing Sean was accepting my promise, I was able to quietly cry myself to sleep.
The next day at work, I was trying to keep focus on all the positive things that had happened the night before, but I was having difficulty keeping my mind off those words marked into Sean’s skin.
I was also wondering while taking down an order how often he used that bucket, not that frequency would matter much to me at this point. Just the fact that Sean had a bucket in his room for when he got sick from nightmares was enough to make me want to go postal.
Never in my life had I daydreamed about torturing people before. It was all I could seem to do today, though. I’m talking Saw movie torture. I’d go all out.
“Bastards,” I mumbled.
“I’m sorry?”
I looked up from the ticket I was writing on and focused on the man seated at the booth.
Angelo—he was a young guy I’d waited on a couple times before; I recognized him. Italian. Dark hair. Always came in here wearing business attire. He smiled at me a lot and liked chatting me up whenever I came by his table to check on him.
I always got a nice tip too.
“Uh, sorry. Nothing.” I gave him a smile. “Would you like fries, coleslaw, or homemade chips with your burger?”
“The chips good?”
“Oh yeah,” I answered, and I wasn’t just saying that either. Sean’s chips were the bomb. “They got a little seasoning on them. Just the right amount of kick. Trust me.”
“All right. Chips it is.” He handed me his menu and grinned.
I smiled back. “I’ll put your order right in. Let me know if you need anything in the meantime.”
“I’ll do that.”
After sticking the menu up at the podium, I tore the ticket off my book and headed for the kitchen window, passing Tori along the way, who was training a new girl—Lauren—and looked ready to gouge her own eyes out.
At least I wasn’t the only one struggling to be a people person today.
“Cheesy crab burger and some chips,” I announced, sliding my ticket across the window to Sean, and, getting his eyes when he looked up, smiling at him.
I didn’t need to be a people person. I was still a Sean person.
“I’ve decided that when you do make me dinner, I’d like those chips on the menu,” I announced.
His eyes brightened, like he was proud of himself, and that made me seriously happy. “That right?”
“Yep. I’ll let you decide on everything else. But I’m going to be adamant about the chips. I’d eat them every night if I could.” I winked at him before turning away, grabbing a small stack of napkins and carrying it over to Angelo.
“Order’s in. It’ll be out shortly,” I told him.
A slow smile twisted across his mouth. “Thanks, Shay.”
“No problem.”
“You seeing anyone?”
His question caught me off guard, and I stumbled a little as I was turning away. “Uh…” Our eyes met. “What?”
He laughed. “Dating. Boyfriend. You got one?” Leaning back in his chair, Angelo regarded me with kind eyes, but his mouth was all trouble, and lifted flirtatiously.
I glanced back at the kitchen, saw Sean busy working and concentrating hard, then turned back to Angelo.
How to answer this…
“It’s complicated,” I settled on. “And new. Very new. Very, very new.”
Angelo chuckled. “Bad timing on my part then. I should’ve said something last month.”
I shrugged and offered him a smile.
I didn’t know how to respond. Angelo was good looking and always nice to me, but would I have been interested last month?
No. Probably not. I was in love with Sean last month…
“Well, your order will be up soon,” I repeated, not knowing what else to say. This was slightly awkward.
Angelo kept the grin he was wearing, revealing not one hint of awkwardness on his part, then he pulled out his phone when it beeped from his pocket.
Just as I turned away, Tori grabbed my elbow and hurriedly pulled me to the back of the restaurant, directly opposite the kitchen.
“What?” I whispered.
“What nothing. You need to fill me in on the details,” she said, releasing my elbow and standing to face me. “I’ve been too busy training Little Miss Zero Personality to get a moment of gossip time. Now, spill it.”
I looked over Tori’s shoulder and watched Lauren study her nails like there was some big, important, hidden message written all over them. Then I glanced at the kitchen window again.
Sean was looking at me. I waved at him before turning back to Tori.
“Oh, my God, you totally made your move,” she said, a big grin on her face. “What happened? Tell me now.”
No way was I planning on telling anyone about the words I’d seen tattooed on Sean’s skin. Or about the bucket. And since I hadn’t really made my move, I wasn’t sure there was too much to tell.