Flexing my fingers on the steering wheel, I nod. “Yep. That sound good to you?”
“Yes.”
I pull a U-turn at the next traffic light. If Roxie wants diner food, she’ll get diner food. Five minutes later, I’m parking, and she’s hopping out of the truck.
“Next time, let me get your door,” I state when I walk around the front of the vehicle.
“Next time?”
Rather than answer, I reach for her hand without thinking, and she jerks away from me. I put a little space between us, not wanting to spook her. I might not have seen the signs with my sister, but they’re flashing in bright neon with Roxie.
A waitress leads us to a table tucked into a corner, but after we sit, she doesn’t retreat. Instead, she stands next to my chair and stares at me with appreciation.
“Seriously?” Roxie snaps. “You do see me here, right?”
The waitress clears her throat and looks at my dining partner. “Yeah, I see you. Sorry. I, um… I’m Jenny, and I’ll be taking care of you today.”
“Respectfully, no, you won’t,” I tell her, and her eyes widen. “Is Kate working today?”
“Kate?”
“Did I stutter?”
“N-no, sir,” Jenny babbles. “I’ll, uh… I’ll go get Kate, and she can take care of you.”
“Thank you, Jenny.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Roxie hisses when Jenny walks away.
“I beg to differ.”
“But… why?”
“Because she was disrespectful to you, and I’m here with you.”
“But we’re not together.”
Shrugging, I reply, “Maybe not, but I’m still here with you, sweetheart. And Jenny doesn’t know that we’re not a couple.”
Roxie leans back in her chair. “You’re?—”
“Not like all other men.” I grab two menus from the holder and hand her one. “Any clue what you want?”
Returning the menu to its rightful place, she nods. “Burger, fries, and a milkshake.”
I clap my own menu closed. “That sounds good. I think I’ll have the same.”
Kate comes to the table and takes our orders. We exchange polite chit chat for a few minutes, and she includes Roxie. Once we’re alone again, Roxie glances around the diner as if to make sure she knows exactly what’s going on around her.
The door opens, and a man walks in. He hesitates at the entrance for a moment before Jenny escorts him to a table onthe other side of the restaurant. The guy is wearing a white Polo shirt with black trousers, and his shoes alone would give him away as an outsider, but it’s the way he carries himself that rubs me the wrong way. I shift my eyes from them to Roxie, and her face is pale as she looks at me.
That’s not good.
For a brief moment, I wonder if that’s the guy who hurt her, but I dismiss it. No way a guy would be stupid enough to show his face in Marble Falls. Shuffle would kill him… if he knows what happened.
“Everything okay?” I ask. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
She’s quiet for a second, and then she stands. “I gotta go.”
