Page 53 of Whispers and Wildfire
I appreciated his understanding, but it wasn’t my divorce holding me back. So what was it?
This guy? Really, Mel?The voice in my mind sounded suspiciously like Luke Haven.
Luke. Freaking. Haven. He really needed to get out of my head.
Although I knew it wasn’t Luke talking to me telepathically, the fact that he was invading my headspace when a nice, good-looking man was asking me out infuriated me. A burst of hot anger swept through me like a spark igniting dry tinder.
“Hank, I would love to go out with you,” I said, my voice both cheerful and decisive. “That would be wonderful.”
“Great,” he said with a smile.
Triumphantly, as if I’d just won a victory over Luke, I gave Hank my number and put his in my contacts. We set a date. Dinner, maybe drinks afterward.
I went for a slice of the loaded baked potato pizza and took a hearty bite. That would show Luke. Not that he’d actually done anything. But still. I had every right to go out with Hank. Luke and I were… nothing. He was my temporary boss. So what? He wasn’t going to care who I dated.
I tried the arugula and mushroom pizza. It was awful, so I tossed it and took another slice of pickle. Everyone else seemed to be avoiding it, but that was their loss. I scarfed it down, and I was absolutely not eating my feelings.
Okay, maybe a little.
Because what if Luke didn’t care who I dated? What if he was completely indifferent?
Obviously, he was supposed to be indifferent. But his imaginary nonchalance about my potential love life made me angrier.
So I ate another piece of pickle pizza.
I’d go on a date with Hank, and it would be wonderful. And there wasn’t a thing Luke Haven could do about it.
CHAPTER 14
Luke
My stomach rumbledat the smell of fries while Evan Bailey and I waited for our food. The Zany Zebra was great for greasy burgers, fries, and milkshakes. I was starving, so it was going to hit the spot.
The guy at the counter handed us each a tray with our orders, and we found an empty table.
Evan Bailey was a big dude with a perpetual scowl. The fact that he and I were friends was only slightly less shocking than my sister marrying his brother, Levi. Annika and Levi had ended the feud that had raged between our families for generations. But the rivalry between me and Evan had gone beyond the feud. It was personal. We’d hated each other.
Funny how things could change. Once he and I grudgingly admitted we respected each other—at least on a professional level—we’d started to run out of things to hate each other for. He was a good guy, and we had a lot in common. Like me, he restored classic cars, and we could spend hours talking shop.
He’d asked me to go with him to take a look at a car he was interested in down in Wenatchee. It was a 1969 Camaro—a favorite of both of us—and the news had been good. The car was in rough shape but definitely salvageable, especially if he could get it for a decent price.
We’d decided to stop at the Zany Zebra for food on our way back into town.
I was about to sink my teeth into my double bacon cheeseburger when the door opened, andshewalked in.
My heart rate picked up, and a burst of heat ran through my veins. In a sleeveless black dress with her hair up, she looked amazing. Damn it. Why did she have to show up everywhere I went? Having her at work every day was one thing—I was getting used to that—but it was starting to feel like I couldn’t go anywhere in town without running into her.
I took the bite, ready to ignore her, when some guy walked in behind her.
No, he wasn’t behind her. He waswithher. And by the way he put a hand on the small of her back, he was her date.
My eyes met hers and I caught a glimmer of surprise in her expression. She glanced at her date—whoever the fuck he was—and back at me.
Really, Mel? That guy?
Evan raised an eyebrow and looked over his shoulder. I ignored him, narrowing my eyes at Melanie. She narrowed hers at me. We were like a couple of gunslingers facing off, ready to draw as soon as the other one twitched.
Her date didn’t seem to notice. With his hand still on her back, he led her to the counter to order.
