Nineteen
“Order up, babe.”
Shay turned around and rushed across the minimal space inside the food truck to grab the two cartons of larb served over thin noodles. Snatching up napkins and plastic utensils, she placed everything in a bag and handed it to the waiting customers through the window. Smiling and thanking them, she turned to the next person and took his order for green papayasalad.
Bridgette had called that morning, asking if she would help her out on the truck again. Though Shay suspected her friend had arranged this sudden lack of help to keep her busy and her mind off a certain person, she’d jumped at the chance to get out of her newly leased, empty Edgewater apartment. More specifically, she’d been eager to get out of her head.
In the almost two weekssince she’d walked away from Gideon, she’d found an apartment—despite Bridgette’s argument that she could stay with her as long as she wanted—located a small office space for Leida Investments, officially resigned from RemingtonNeal, opened a safe deposit box for the damning file on her brother and done more research on start-up companies that she could invest in.
Yes, her family and lovelife had exploded, but she refused to stop living. A gaping hole existed where her heart had once been, but that didn’t mean she would roll over and give in. She’d meant every word she’d uttered to Gideon.
This was her time. Her life. And no one but she was in control of it.
She might have lost the man she loved because he wanted revenge and hate rather than her, but for the first timein longer than she could remember, she loved herself. Shevaluedherself. And she was demanding it from everyone in her life.
As Bridgette had put it, Shay was a boss.
Dammit, yeah, she was.
She’d learned something in the last couple weeks. She would’ve loved having Gideon in her life. But hewasn’ther life.
And she was okay with that.
“Have another order for the larb, butby itself, without the noodles,” she called out to Bridgette over her shoulder before returning her attention to the window and the next customer. “Hi, how can I...” She trailed off, the sudden lurch of her heart to her throat preventing the rest of the words from escaping.
No.
No.
She stared into midnight eyes with stars and the scream inside her head increased in volume. It wasn’tfair. What the hell was he doing here? Telling him she loved him and having him reject her had been agonizing, humiliating. How did he not know that? Was he a sadist getting pleasure from her pain?
Well,screw that.
She schooled her features into the cool, polite mask she’d mastered since she’d been old enough to sit at the adult table. He wouldn’t get anything else from her. She didn’thave it in her to give.
“What are you doing here, Gideon?” she asked, proud when not so much as a tremor shook her voice.
Behind her, Bridgette appeared next to her elbow like a bodyguard. “What the hell is this?” she demanded, spatula still in hand.
“I got this,” Shay murmured to her friend. “We’re busy, as you can tell,” she said to Gideon. “And you and I don’t have anything leftto say to each other.”
Again, she sounded calm even to her own ears. Sounded as if her fingertips didn’t tingle with the need to touch him.
But inside...
Inside she quaked. Love, hurt, yearning, desire—they all coalesced and swirled in her chest, leaving almost no room for air. She dragged in what little she could and waited.
“You don’t have to say anything, moonbeam. All I askis for you to listen.”
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped, and silently cursed herself for betraying that much emotion. She shouldn’t care if he murmured that endearment. It shouldn’t affect her.
“Two minutes, Shay.” His dark gaze searched hers. “Please.”
Please.
Like before, it gave her pause.
“Two minutes. That’s it,” she agreed.
