She hadn’t even asked me if I wanted to join her at tonight’s soiree before she high-tailed it out of there as soon as the doors were locked. Probably because I’d been in a funk all week, the kind of funk that would be a major buzzkill at a party.
Almost every table needed bussed and cleaned since tonight’s florentine and triple berry crepes were a favorite, so I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and slid my promise ring off and put it into my pocket. Industrial strength chemical cleaners and scorching hot water weren’t exactly jewelry friendly.
I was about to turn on the radio and get down to cleaning business when my phone rang. I was more disappointed than relieved when I saw it wasn’t Cole’s number. His calls had stopped coming in that morning, and even though I hadn’t answered a single one, I missed them. For those few seconds, I knew Cole was thinking about me.
“Hey, Dad,” I answered, carting the first batch of dishes back to the dishwasher.
“Hi, sweetheart. How was the night?”
“Crazy busy. Not an empty table all night.” Like the queen of multi-tasking I was, I propped the phone up on top of the dishwasher and started loading a tray of dirty dishes. I was eager to get out of there. I hadn’t had a night off yet that summer and I’d managed to convince dad to give me the whole weekend off. I didn’t have plans, but that was kind of my favorite way to spend a day or weekend off. If I didn’t have plans, I could do whatever I felt like when I woke up in the morning.
“Those florentine crepes are a crowd pleaser, that’s for sure. Breakfast and lunch was hopping today, too,” he said, sounding more tired than normal. “I’m heading to bed early tonight, Elle, so would you just wake me up and let me know when you get home? I think I’m catching that summer bug going around.”
“Yeah. Sure,” I said, trying to remember a time Dad hadn’t been waiting up for me when I’d come home from work. I couldn’t recall a time.
“Oh, and about this weekend,”—I started to grimace, already anticipating what was coming—“with the big baseball games going on and all the hotels being booked, I’m sure I underestimated the number of wait staff we’ll need Saturday and Sunday night. I talked to Logan earlier and he said you two didn’t have any set plans, so you’d be able to work,” he continued as I felt my grimace work into a scowl. “I just wanted to let you know about the change in plans.”
“Sounds like you and Logan have got it all worked out,” I said, purposefully sounding overly sweet because I knew if I let my tone convey how I felt right now, Dad would wonder if I’d been lobotomized.
“Thanks so much, sweetheart,” he said, clueless to my emotions. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
After saying goodbye, the line went quiet. I stared at my phone for a few seconds, contemplating when I’d let Dad and Logan start mapping out my life. I knew it wasn’t done maliciously, but somewhere along the way, I’d handed them the reins.
Cole was right. If I didn’t take control of my life, someone or someones would.
Right now, that was all I could think about. The electives Logan had chosen for me in school when I’d hmm’d and haw’d, the Jeep dad had picked out for me when I couldn’t decide, the earl grey tea Logan ordered for me every time we went out to breakfast when I couldn’t decide on drip coffee or a cappuccino. The darn promise ring tucked into my pocket he’d went out and purchased the same day I told him I needed some time to think about our future.
I’d become a backseat driver to my life years ago and I’d had enough. Dad’s and Logan’s intentions might have been good, but I was done with being steamrolled over at every turn.
At least for tonight I was.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. The anger was more self-directed than anything, but it was a powerful motivator. I had the diner clean in record time.
After turning off the lights, I locked the place up. I was halfway across the parking lot before I noticed the old Land Cruiser beside my Jeep, complete with the smiling face I’d been thinking about all week.
“Don’t you know a young woman shouldn’t walk into a dark parking lot alone at night?”
I really wished I would have freshened up before rushing out of the diner tonight, but it was dark and Cole was far enough away maybe he wouldn’t smell the odd mix of tarragon and apple on my clothes. “Since crime doesn’t really happen here, unless you count a sketchy guy harassing a young woman in a parking lot, I think I’m going to live to see another day.”
“Just because something’s never happened doesn’t mean it never will,” he said, watching me with that intentional look. That look that said he both had me totally figured out and barely figured out. “You want to be ready for it when it does.”
Stopping a few feet in front of him, I kept my expression in check. It was hard. Especially with the way he looked tonight. Like sex, seduction, and sin had decided to get it on and Cole Carson was the result. His dark hair was still damp from what I guessed was the shower, but what I liked to imagine was another round of skinny dipping, and his skin had darkened a couple of shades in the summer heat, making his eyes almost glow. Worn jeans and a dark tee that hugged his chest and arms topped off the triple S lovechild.
I told myself to breathe before replying.
“Was some veiled, cryptic message in that warning?” Good. I sounded relatively unphased by the deity that was Cole Carson.