At the look on her face, I stopped short. She was studying my sundaes with an odd, vacant expression. I followed her gaze, and stifled a gasp. One of my bracelets had shifted forward, exposing the raw, angry skin for the whole world to see.
I looked up. Slowly, her eyes met mine.
Her voice was quiet. "What's that?"
I shoved the bracelet back in place. "Nothing." I felt my eyes water, just a little. Damn it. I gave a quick shake of my head. I wasn't going to do this. Not now.
I summoned up what I hoped was a smile. "Weird cooking accident." I gave a quick wave of my hand. "Long story, you don't want to know."
"Oh." She frowned. "Okay. Well, if you ever want to talk--"
"I don't. But thanks."
I picked up the tray too fast. The sundaes wobbled dangerously, clinking and slopping globs of fudge over the sides. This was just great. They now looked nothing like their menu picture. Talk about a mess. Meandthe sundaes.
Before Josie could say anything else, I turned and plunged into the dining area.
On autopilot, I made my way through the maze of tables and booths. Cooking accident? Seriously? Was that really the best I could do? Maybe Iwasa ditz.
Silently I delivered the sundaes. No sass. No attitude. Probably no tip either. Leaving the table, my breath was coming too short and too fast. I tossed the empty tray on a dirty table and ducked into the crowded ladies room.
I dove for the farthest stall and locked the door behind me. I leaned against the cool tile wall and closed my eyes. I had three hours left. Damn it. I so needed the money. If I were smart, I'd make every hour count.
I wouldn't think about Keith. And I definitely wouldn’t think about Lawton.
It was Lawton's fault I'd been late for work. And it was his fault that Brittney was out to get me. Finally, it was his fault that I was having a hard time holding it together.
He'd stolen my heart, and then smashed it to pieces.
That fucker.
I wrapped my arms tight around myself and made a solemn vow. For the rest of my shift, I wouldn't think about anything except my job, and making up for lost time.
Icoulddo this. Ihadto do this. I took several deep breaths and thought happy thoughts – the feel of sunshine on a warm, spring day, the smell of an open campfire, the sound of Lawton screaming as I whacked him with a baseball bat.
In real life, I'm not prone to violence. And the odds of Lawton actually screaming were slim at best. But hey, they're called fantasies for a reason. When I ditched the bat for a tire iron, the screaming seemed a lot more genuine.
Ten minutes later, I left the stall just as shaky, but a lot more determined. Miraculously, the restroom had emptied, giving me more privacy than I had any right to expect.
I stood alone in front of the long mirror and made myself smile. It felt fake and foreign, and no matter how hard I tried, it never did quite reach my eyes.
But a stranger wouldn't know the difference, right? Besides, I didn't have to be cheerful, not exactly. I only had to be entertaining.
For once, I thanked Heaven and Earth that this wasn't your average waitressing job. If I had to be perky right about now, I'm pretty sure I'd end up killing someone.
With that stiff smile plastered in place, I left the restroom, grabbed a fresh tray from the waitress stand, and hustled to my next table. With an overblown sigh, I plopped down into an empty chair.
"So, how's the food here?" I asked. "Anyone got a menu?" I looked around. "I'm totally starving." I glanced at the woman's purse. "Hey, got anything to eat in there? Gum? Chocolate?" I leaned closer. "A pizza?"
This time, my intro was technically true. I reallywasstarving. How many hours had it been since I'd eaten, anyway?
But the couple laughed, and eventually I took their order. Soon I was delivering their drinks. After that, it got a little easier. It got easier still when Keith disappeared into his office in the back. If I were lucky, I wouldn’t see that weasel – or his squid – for the rest of the night.
An hour later, I was finally getting into a groove. The place was swamped with the after-bar crowd, which was probably all for the best. Running from table to table and juggling too many things to count, I could almost forget my life was a walking disaster zone.
But then, Keith made his first move.
Chapter 5
